Bengal president of the INTTUC, the trade union of the Trinamul Congress, said on Sunday that all unions of tea garden workers which are affiliated to the INTTUC would be merged within six months.
In Alipurduar, the INTTUC convened a meeting on Sunday to felicitate Ritabrata Banerjee who was elevated to the post of the state president of the trade union.

“There is confusion among tea plantation workers because of the existence of multiple trade unions of Trinamul. I clearly mentioned today that in any industry, there would be only one union affiliated to the INTTUC. All these unions would be merged in the next six months and a single union will be floated in the tea sector. Necessary instructions have been passed on to trade union leaders in north Bengal in this regard,” Banerjee said after the meeting.

After Trinamul had come to power in Bengal in 2011, party leaders who are based in tea gardens or were associated with trade union movements earlier started forming tea trade unions on their own, both in the Terai and the Dooars.

‘Even today, there are three or four unions, like the Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union, Terai Dooars Plantation Workers Union and the Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers’ Union.

“Presence of trade unions is the key reason for our inability to consolidate support in tea gardens. Even our party supremo had mentioned this issue time and again but still, the leaders who head these unions are not ready to work together,” said a senior Trinamul leader.

At Sunday’s meeting, Banerjee also made it clear that once the common union was floated, any Trinamul leader found working under the banner of other unions in the tea sector would face action.

The decision, political observers said, has been made in view of the rural polls due to be held in less than two years. Also, elections to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad are likely to be held next year.

Tea garden population’s support determines the fate of rural bodies in four districts of north Bengal.

Asked about the INTTUC’s plan to revive the support base in Alipurduar district where the BJP won all five Assembly seats, Banerjee said: “It is true that we could not win any seat. However, if we compare the results, it would be found that in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Trinamul had secured lead only in one of the 67 tea estates in the district. Our party could gain the lead in 30 gardens in the Assembly elections held earlier this year.”