700 Temporary Workers in Jalpaiguri Join Trinamool Congress Labor Union
Mostly Women Workers Seek Raise in Pay, Regular Status
On Wednesday, 700 temporary employees—mostly women—who work in the Jalpaiguri district's tiny tea farms and MSME businesses joined the Trinamul Congress labor union.
They had previously been connected to trade unions supported by the BJP and the CPM.
On Wednesday, the employees staged a march and arrived to the district Trinamul office. In the presence of Krishna Roy, a bartender and the sabhadhipati of the Jalpaiguri zilla parishad, as well as Subhankar Mishra, the trade union's Jalpaiguri Sadar block president, they joined the INTTUC there.
"Women made up the majority of the new hires. A Trinamul functionary said that some 500 of them, together with a few male laborers who work in tiny tea plantations, building sites, and small and medium companies, joined the INTTUC.
Zaheda Khatun, a female worker from the hamlet of Garalbari, which is on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri, claimed to be a day laborer for the building of roads.
Our daily pay should be between Rs. 350 and Rs. 500, but we only earn between Rs. 200 and Rs. 250 every day. Medical facilities are also available. She said, "We want the INTTUC leaders to take up these problems for us.
Anita Roy, a worker at a tiny tea plantation on the India-Bangladesh border in the Berubari region of the Sadar block, said the workers feel uneasy since the plantation is beyond the perimeter walls.
"Criminals might assault us from the Bangladeshi side at any moment. We want the employees of the tea plantations to provide us insurance and other perks, she stated.
The Trinamul leaders promised to compile the requests and present them to the appropriate authorities as soon as possible.
"We want a raise in their pay. They should also be given regular status and given access to additional perks like insurance and health care. We will soon contact their employers and the appropriate authorities, said Inttuc head Mishra.
On the other side, Roy Barman, the head of the Zilla Parishad, said that the employees joined Inttuc because they trusted the chief minister.
