Tea garden workers protest over bonus; management releases first instalment

Workers of a tea garden in Northern Bengal organized protests in front of Durga Puja demanding a bonus. The protests sought 20% of their wages as a bonus by Nagaisuri Tea Garden workers in the Jalpaiguri region on 26 and 27 September. The police resorted to a Baton accusation to disperse the protesters.

The opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari shared a video of the police action on social media on Sunday and said that the pressure was not provocation to unarmed tea workers.

Adhikari, “under the mistake of Mamata Bannerjee, the state’s tea workers have always been deprived. Mamata Banjee goes to North Bengal and makes great promises to tea workers, but they do not even get their rights,” he said.

The workers of the Nagaisuri Tea Garden called their agitations after guaranteeing that they had a bonus. WIt can be paid in three installments. Western Bengal Prime Minister Ms. BANERJEE announced that the tea garden workers would receive 20% of their fees as a bonus in the 2025 festival season.

Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity (PBCMS) Central Committee Member Kirsen Kharia said, ık We received the first installment of the bonus on Sunday, September 28th. If the workers had not been protested, they would not receive any bonus. Mr. Kharia added that the management has only provided half of the bonus so far and the remaining amount has been promised in two installments.

Emphasizing that a bonus is a legal legal under the payment of the bonus law, not a bonus, PBCMS said in a press release that the crisis reflects a larger exploitation model by Merico-Sammelan Group, which manages 12-13 garden in the region.

“In at least nine of these gardens, the workers were subjected to two to six months of wages, while the management has decreased the contributions of the reserve fund for two to three years without investing a single rupee in EPFO. This is a crime violation and a brazen theft of the workers.”