The meeting convened by labour minister Moloy Ghatak to resolve the bonus issue for tea workers in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area ended inconclusively. Today’s meeting was a continuation of discussions held here on 16 November last year on the same issue. Mr Ghatak interacted with trade union leaders, particularly those representing tea plantations in the Hills, on various matters. However, the bonus issue remained unresolved due to the absence of tea planters.
Since no planters were present, no discussion on the bonus could take place. The state government had earlier issued an advisory recommending a 16 per cent bonus pay-out, while workers and trade unions have been demanding an additional 4 per cent.
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Sachin Khati, a trade union leader who attended the meeting, expressed frustration over the situation. He said: “On 16 November, the planters who attended the meeting assured us that they would soon communicate their stance on the bonus. However, the labour department did not summon them for today’s meeting. We questioned why the department failed to ensure their presence. In protest, we informed the minister that we will not participate in the next bonus meeting for 2024-25 unless the bonus issue for 2023-24 is resolved first.”