Darjeeling tea workers to get 20 pc bonus in two instalments

The first instalment of 15 per cent will be paid by October 10 while the balance will be disbursed before Diwali, the Darjeeling Tea Association official said. Representatives of all operative trade unions of the Darjeeling tea industry and officials of the planters' body held a meeting on Saturday over bonus settlement but it was indecisive, he said.

Workers of around 87 Darjeeling tea gardens will get a bonus of 20 per cent for 2019-20 fiscal in two instalments, an official said on Sunday. The first instalment of 15 per cent will be paid by October 10 while the balance will be disbursed before Diwali, the Darjeeling Tea Association official said.

Representatives of all operative trade unions of the Darjeeling tea industry and officials of the planters' body held a meeting on Saturday over bonus settlement but it was indecisive, he said. "Today, trade unions and industry officials met again and finalised it. The decision to pay a 20 per cent bonus will benefit nearly one lakh workers in the hills," DTA principal advisor Sandip Mukherjee said. Meanwhile, workers of tea gardens in other north Bengal areas will also get a bonus of 20 per cent for the last fiscal which will be paid in full by October 7.

Last year, the north Bengal tea workers settled for a bonus of 18.5 per cent.