Progressive Tea Workers' Union threatens fresh strike

Two days after calling off their indefinite strike in north Bengal, the Adivasi Vikas Parishad led Progressive Tea Workers' Union today called for a fresh two-day strike from August 17 to press for wage hike demands as talks with the management failed.

"We have given a letter to the management that if the demands are not settled, we will go on a 48-hour strike from August 17. If the situation doesn't improve, we will observe another 72-hour general strike from August 22 in the tea garden areas," union president Sukra Munda said.

A total of 2.5 lakh labourers are employed in 191 tea gardens in the Terrai and Dooars region stretching between Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling district.

Twenty other organisations, including CITU and INTUC, are already on a three-day strike from yesterday.

In the meanwhile, the Co-ordination Committee of Tea Plantation Workers (CCTPW) and the Defence Committee of Plantations Workers (DCPW) have called for a 12-hour general strike in the north Bengal area tomorrow.

Members of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Association, however, said they would not resume wage negotiations if the strike was not withdrawn.

The management was offering cash wage of 75 against Rs67 as per last agreement beside statutory benefits. But the unions were demanding much higher wages.