Tea losses keep mounting

The tea strike is now almost a week old and losses in the industry mounting.

C K Dhanuka, chairman, India Tea Association (ITA) said, the stalemate was continuing.

Meanwhile, Citu has come out in support of the 12-hour north Bengal bandh call on July 19.

Citu West Bengal general secretary Kali Ghosh said, the bandh call in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar and Uttar Dinajpur, called by tea workers whose strike entered the sixth day demanding revision of daily wages to Rs 88, was to express solidarity with them.

Citu essentially blamed employers for the failure in tripartite talks to settle demand for revision of daily wages.

However sources in the industry said, both the sides stood firmly on their respective grounds.

The workers refused to accept the proposal mooted by the industry to link wages with productivity.

The industry claimed that with prices moving downwards they were not in position to revise wages, unless it were linked to productivity.

Ghosh said, efforts of the Left Front government to settle the strike by three lakh tea garden workers had failed due to 'adamant and irresponsible attitude' of the employers.

''We call upon the working class to observe July 19 as solidarity day in support of the striking tea garden workers,'' he added.