Alipurduar, Aug. 21: Tea planters have said they will suggest a low bonus rate this year at a meeting with trade union leaders in Calcutta on August 26.

The annual bonus for tea workers is fixed at bipartite meetings ahead of Durga Puja in Bengal.

The planters said the decision was taken as tea estates in the Dooars and the Terai were adversely affected by recent flood and those in the hills had been closed for almost two months because of the ongoing Gorkhaland agitation.

The minimum rate of bonus is 8.33 per cent and the maximum is not fixed. In 2016, the bonus rate was 20 per cent.

A planter on condition of anonymity said: "We will suggest at the meeting that the bonus to be paid to workers be cut as the tea industry has suffered losses because of recent floods and the ongoing agitation in the hills."

The trade union leaders, on the other hand, have said the bonus workers will receive this year is of last fiscal and so, the flood should not be a factor to determine the rate.

Sumantra Guha Thakurata, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of India Tea Association, said: "Recent floods have caused havoc in tea gardens. The bonus may be of last fiscal but the tea estates will have to pay from the money collected recently. Processed tea could not reach destinations on time because of the floods and companies are yet to receive money from the buyers. It will definitely affect bonus payment."

Ram Avtar Sharma, the secretary of the Tea Association of India, said tea estates in the plains were badly affected and the gardens had faced huge loss because of the floods. "On the other hand, gardens in the hills have been lying close since June 8 and the made tea kept in the factory has lost its quality."

Ziaur Alam, the convener of the Joint Forum, an umbrella organisation of 24 tea trade unions, said: "The bonus to be paid is of last fiscal and there was record profit in the tea sector last year. We will not accept the flood theory. The bonus for tea workers in the hills will be fixed at a separate meeting."