The Joint Forum, a common platform of over 20 trade unions of tea garden workers in north Bengal, on Monday announced a movement to press for the long-pending demand to fix minimum wages for the labourers.

The forum has also resolved to oppose the diversion of tea garden land for non-plantation purposes.

At a meeting held here on Monday, representatives of the constituent unions outlined a phased agitation programme that would commence in July and continue till September.

The campaign will include memorandums to the chief secretary and the provident fund commissioner, sit-in demonstrations outside the PF office, and meetings in tea gardens across the region.

“The Centre has announced a one-time allocation of ₹313 crore for the welfare of tea workers. The amount will be spent on health, housing and education. We welcome it. Simultaneously, we would like to point out that the new state government has not yet looked into the workers’ primary demand, that is, minimum wages,” said Saman Pathak, the president of the Citu-backed Darjeeling Zilla Chia Kaman Mazdoor Union.

As of now, a tea plantation worker in Bengal is paid ₹250 a day. In 2015, the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government had formed a committee to recommend the minimum wage. However, the rate has not yet been finalised because of a lack of consensus among committee members.

North Bengal has around 275 tea estates, which employ approximately three lakh workers.

Pathak said the BJP government in the state, like the previous Trinamool administration, had failed to resolve the issue despite repeated demands from trade unions.

"Keeping this in view, we have decided to launch a movement for minimum wages and on other pressing issues, including the reopening of closed tea gardens and the clearance of massive provident fund and gratuity that remain unpaid by several tea companies,” he added.

The forum also announced that it would strongly oppose any attempt to use tea garden land for purposes other than tea cultivation.

“As part of our movement, we will not allow any portion of tea garden land to be diverted for non-plantation activities,” Pathak said.

Members of the forum said that the first phase of the agitation would begin with a sit-in demonstration outside the regional provident fund commissioner’s office on July 22, followed by meetings at tea gardens across north Bengal from July 22 to 24.

“We will also submit memorandums to the chief secretary and to the PF commissioner. We will draw up our further plans to go ahead with the movement till September if our demands are not met,” said the Citu leader.