Tea-garden workers to get 20% bonus—workers happy
The decision on the bonus for tea-garden workers of the Terai and the Dooars regions was taken on Friday
There is good news for tea-garden workers. They will get a 20 per cent bonus for the upcoming Durga Puja.
This decision was taken following a meeting on Friday between the tea-garden owners’ rule-making body, Consultative Committee for Plantation Associations (CCPA) and the tea garden workers’ unions. Representatives of tea-garden owners like the ITPA, DBITA and others were present under the umbrella of CCPA.
However, some leniency free hand has been provided to the owners of sick and heavy loss-making tea gardens regarding payment of bonuses.
The year before last, the tea-garden workers of Terai and the Dooars were provided festival bonus at a rate of 18.5 per cent, which was increased to 20 per cent last year.
There are 168 tea gardens in the Terai-Dooars region (that is, outside Darjeeling district). Out of these, 39 are suffering from financial crises.
Every year, the decisions for the Durga Puja bonus for workers in the Darjeeling district and the Terai-Dooars region are taken separately. Discussions on the bonus for the Darjeeling garden workers will be decided later.
The tea-garden workers’ and their association officials are reportedly very happy. Earlier, the workers’ daily wages had been increased significantly through several iterative hikes as per instructions from the state government.
