The tea trade union front of Trinamool has taken up the task to exert pressure on the saffron camp by flagging shortcomings in tea estates run by a central government enterprise in the Dooars.
It has also raised questions over the role of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), also a central government authority.
The Trinamool Cha Bagan Shramik Union (TCBSU) organised demonstrations in Karballa and Banarhat — the tea estates owned by the Andrew Yule & Company that functions under the Union ministry of heavy industries — on the issues of due wages and lack of basic services.
The union has planned a rally and submission of a memorandum at the regional EPFO office in Jalpaiguri next month while underscoring different PF-related issues related to tea workers.
“The central government has replied in writing that there is a delay in the payment of wages in the tea estates of Andrew Yule. This is disappointing. We have also found that in most of these gardens, no buses are available for schoolchildren. They go to school in trucks and trailers instead of buses, which is risky and unacceptable,” said Ritabrata Banerjee, the state president of INTTUC, the TMC’s workers’ front.
Banerjee, also a TMC Rajya Sabha MP, had raised these issues in the Upper House recently. “We were surprised by the replies where the Centre admitted to irregularity in wage payment and also that light commercial vehicles and not buses for students. That is why our tea trade union leaders demonstrated at the gardens with workers,” he added.
In north Bengal, Andrew Yule owns five gardens — four in the Dooars and one in the hills. In Dooars, it runs Karballa, Banarhat, New Dooars, and Choonabhutti, all of which are in the Banarhat block of Jalpaiguri. The fifth is the Mim tea estate in theDarjeeling hills.
The company also owns seven tea gardens in neighbouring Assam.
Over the past few years, the BJP has managed to drum up support in the tea belt and managed to win the Lok Sabha seats of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar and most of the Assembly seats.
With the Assembly polls due in a year, TMC is now desperately trying to revive its support base by playing the development card and simultaneously raking up shortcomings in tea gardens run by the central government.
The TCBSU has also planned to organise a rally across the Dooars on thePF issue.
Nakul Sonar, the chairman of TCBSU, said on April 8, two rallies of tea workers would commence from Malbazarand Kumargram.
“These rallies will merge at Gayerkata on April 10, and on April 11 we will submit a memorandum to the EPFO office in Jalpaiguri,” he said.
“In most of the gardens, tea companies do not deposit the PF regularly, despite deducting the workers’ contributions from their wages. Also, workers face problems in withdrawing their PF after retirement. EPFO authorities can’t evade their responsibilities,” Sonar added.
The BJP leaders, however, termed this as hogwash.
“The EPFO authorities have filed several complaints with the state police against tea companies for defaulting on PF, but the police have not taken action against those companies. The trade union leaders of Trinamool should approach the state police authorities and ask them the reason for their inaction instead of visiting the PF office,” said Manoj Tigga, the BJP MPof Alipurduar.