Pentafour Sets Aside $100 M For Acquisitions

The Tea Board, in its last three-year periodical board reconstitution,

has dropped the Indian National Trade Union Congress (Intuc) from the

panel of five labour representatives who are appointed every three years

to the board as per the Tea Act of 1953.

The move effectively closes the door to any representation of the labour

in the Assam gardens, which account for 64 per cent of the tea

production in the country.

According to Samar Chakrabarty, president of the Intuc-affiliated Tea

Board Workers' Association, the union had submitted a list of probable

candidates three months before the expiry of the previous board's

tenure.

"It is unfortunate that Intuc has not been represented on the board and

we have written to the government to clarify their position", said

Chakrabarty.

The three candidates proposed were P H Subbiah, M S Khantait and Aloke

Chakravarty, who have been on the board for the last three years. "The

three names were submitted to the government well before the end of

their tenures", said union sources.

Subbiah represents the estates of south India, Chakravarty is the

representative for the Bengal gardens while Khantait represents the

labour in Assam.

According to the Tea Act, 1953, the board can have a strength of up to

40 members and over the years the strength has been maintained at 30.

This year there have been 31 appointments.

The Tea Act prescribes that the board should have at least five labour

representatives from the various employee associations in the tea

estates. Till the last board constitution, there have always been three

Intuc representatives out of the five labour appointments.

With the dropping of Intuc in its last re-constitution, the Assam labour

has been shut out from any representation on the board.