Leaders of the Joint Forum, the apex body of 24 trade unions of tea plantation workers, have said they will campaign for the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad polls with a plea to voters to keep Trinamul Congress at bay.
If Trinamul could be defeated in the three-tier rural polls, they said, the experiment will be replicated in the Assembly elections also.
Similar to the "Siliguri model", the initiative is the result of the success the forum could script earlier this year by getting tea planters to offer a good hike in the wages for the workers.
The forum's constituents are tea garden wings of the trade unions affiliated to the Congress, Left parties and other organisations.
Trinamul has three trade unions in the tea belt and none of them are members of the forum.
"We succeeded in getting a decent hike in wages, compared to previous pay rise. Besides, the state was forced to form an advisory committee to recommend minimum wages for tea garden workers. All these would not have been possible but for the initiative of the Joint Forum. The role of Trinamul's trade unions was not up to the mark during the wage talks," said Ziaur Alam, the Jalpaiguri district secretary of the Citu.
"In our campaign for the SMP polls, we are insisting that the workers join hands to achieve their rights and simultaneously ensure the development of their villages and their socio-economic uplift. It is necessary to maintain the unity so that the state government, which is not taking any step against tea planters accused of violating workers' rights and privileges, is forced to act," he added.
A senior Citu leader based in Darjeeling district said the forum's message was in consonance with the one passed on by the Left Front to voters in the SMP area and other parts of north Bengal.
"The Left Front has appealed to people to vote for any competent candidate other than the nominees fielded by Trinamul. The message was sent to stop Trinamul from coming to power at the SMP. In a similar manner, we are making it clear that the Trinamul trade unions have failed to meet the aspirations of the workers and could not fulfil their demands, though their party is in power in the state," said the Citu leader who didn't want to be named.
Elections to the SMP and by-polls to several other rural bodies in north Bengal will be held on October 3.
The trade unions said they intended to carry out a similar campaign in the 2016 Assembly elections.
"Trinamul has many trade unions for tea plantation labourers and it has created confusion among the workers. We will highlight this aspect during the campaign for the Assembly elections to keep Trinamul at bay. We are also expecting support from the trade union of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which has taken a vehement anti-Trinamul stance," said an INTUC leader in Jalpaiguri.
If the tea plantation workforce is united under the banner of the Joint Forum, Trinamul will be in a tight position in at least 11 Assembly segments in north Bengal.
Four constituencies in Darjeeling district, one constituency in North Dinajpur district, three constituencies each in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts have a substantial population of tea garden workers.
In 2011, despite having an alliance with the Congress, Trinamul was defeated in the constituencies where it had fielded candidates. The Congress won the seats where it contested.
Alok Chakraborty, the working president of Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers' Union, said the forum's efforts wouldn't succeed.
"It was our government that forced a substantial hike in wages. The Left never thought of implementing the minimum wages but our government took an initiative in that direction. Attempts by some unions to deter Trinamul from making inroads into the tea belt will not work," he said.
Source Telegraph
If Trinamul could be defeated in the three-tier rural polls, they said, the experiment will be replicated in the Assembly elections also.
Similar to the "Siliguri model", the initiative is the result of the success the forum could script earlier this year by getting tea planters to offer a good hike in the wages for the workers.
The forum's constituents are tea garden wings of the trade unions affiliated to the Congress, Left parties and other organisations.
Trinamul has three trade unions in the tea belt and none of them are members of the forum.
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| Darjeeling and Dooars Tea Workers Relief Organization - DAWN's photo |
"In our campaign for the SMP polls, we are insisting that the workers join hands to achieve their rights and simultaneously ensure the development of their villages and their socio-economic uplift. It is necessary to maintain the unity so that the state government, which is not taking any step against tea planters accused of violating workers' rights and privileges, is forced to act," he added.
A senior Citu leader based in Darjeeling district said the forum's message was in consonance with the one passed on by the Left Front to voters in the SMP area and other parts of north Bengal.
"The Left Front has appealed to people to vote for any competent candidate other than the nominees fielded by Trinamul. The message was sent to stop Trinamul from coming to power at the SMP. In a similar manner, we are making it clear that the Trinamul trade unions have failed to meet the aspirations of the workers and could not fulfil their demands, though their party is in power in the state," said the Citu leader who didn't want to be named.
Elections to the SMP and by-polls to several other rural bodies in north Bengal will be held on October 3.
The trade unions said they intended to carry out a similar campaign in the 2016 Assembly elections.
"Trinamul has many trade unions for tea plantation labourers and it has created confusion among the workers. We will highlight this aspect during the campaign for the Assembly elections to keep Trinamul at bay. We are also expecting support from the trade union of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which has taken a vehement anti-Trinamul stance," said an INTUC leader in Jalpaiguri.
If the tea plantation workforce is united under the banner of the Joint Forum, Trinamul will be in a tight position in at least 11 Assembly segments in north Bengal.
Four constituencies in Darjeeling district, one constituency in North Dinajpur district, three constituencies each in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts have a substantial population of tea garden workers.
In 2011, despite having an alliance with the Congress, Trinamul was defeated in the constituencies where it had fielded candidates. The Congress won the seats where it contested.
Alok Chakraborty, the working president of Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers' Union, said the forum's efforts wouldn't succeed.
"It was our government that forced a substantial hike in wages. The Left never thought of implementing the minimum wages but our government took an initiative in that direction. Attempts by some unions to deter Trinamul from making inroads into the tea belt will not work," he said.
Source Telegraph
