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{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox union
| name = Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha
| members = 435,207 (2018)
| image = ACMS logo.png
| image_size = 131px
| founded = 1958
| location_country= [[India]]
| affiliation = [[INTUC]], [[Building and Wood Workers' International|BWI]], [[IUF]]
| headquarters = Jiban Phukan Nagar, [[Dibrugarh]]
| key_people = Paban Singh Ghatowar (President), Rupesh Gowalla (General Secretary)
| website = {{url|http://assamchahmazdoorsangha.org/}}
}}
The '''Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha''' ({{lang-as|অসম চাহ মজদুৰ সংঘ}}, [[translation]]: ''Assam Tea Workers Union'', abbreviated '''ACMS''') is the largest trade union organizing labourers in tea gardens of the Assam Valley in north-eastern [[India]].<ref name="soc">Singh, S. N., Amarendra Narain, and Purnendu Kumar. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=7OsLGZKYP5MC&pg=PA70 Socio-Economic and Political Problems of Tea Garden Workers: A Study of Assam]''. New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2006. p. 70</ref><ref name="tea"/> The union is affiliated with the [[Indian National Trade Union Congress]] (INTUC).<ref name="j1">Sharma, Jayeeta. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=W2dtxgZba6MC&pg=PA235 Empire's Garden: Assam and the Making of India]''. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2011. p. 235</ref> As of the early 2000s, ACMS claimed a membership of 1.1 million (another figure, presented in 2009, put the total membership at 435,207).<ref name="tea"/><ref name="vote"/> The organisational network of ACMS includes 850 company tea gardens.<ref name="tea">Sengupta, Sarthak. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_6p9OG1wltMC&pg=PA104 The Tea Labourers of North East India: An Anthropo-Historical Perspective]''. New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2009. pp. 104-105</ref>

==History==
ACMS was founded in the 1958. After the [[Independence of India]], the [[Indian National Congress]] leaders in Assam sought to strengthen INTUC in order to counter the influence of communist unions affiliated with the [[All India Trade Union Congress]].<ref name="j1"/><ref name="vote"/> ACMS was set up by the [[Dibrugarh]] Congress leader Mohendra Nath Sarmah and a grouping of tea garden trade unionist leaders.<ref name="vote">Rana, Mahendra Singh. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC&pg=PA161 India Votes: Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabha Elections 2001-2005]''. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, 2006. p. 161</ref> An agreement was reached between the Assam Chief Minister [[Gopinath Bordoloi]], INTUC and the [[Indian Tea Association]] (ITA). INTUC promised the plantation owners not to engage in 'disruptive' union activism whilst [[Indian Tea Association]] promised INTUC free access to organising in the tea gardens. Through this agreement with the tea plantation owners, ACMS was able to establish a virtual monopoly over labour organising in the Assam Valley tea gardens.<ref name="j1"/><ref>Behal, Rana Partap, and Marcel van der Linden. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=oy67XQk5cukC&pg=PA155 Coolies, Capital, and Colonialism: Studies in Indian Labour History]''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 155</ref>

==Leadership==
During its initial phase, the leadership of ACMS tended to be dominated by upper-caste Hindus who themselves were not tea labourers. However, over the passage of time an 'insider' cadre of leaders from within the ranks of the tea labourers emerged.<ref name="j1"/> Prominent leaders in the history of ACMS includes Kamakhya Prosad Tripathi, Bijoy Chandra Bhagoboti, Amiyo Kumar Das, Keder Nath Goswami, Robin Kakoti, Mahendra Nath Sharma, Ghanakanta Moran, Jadunath Bhuyan, Dolbir Singh Lohar, Chanu Kharia, Durgeswar Saikia, Jogendra Nath Rajmedhi, Molia Tanti, Radhanath Khemka, Sarbeswar Bordolai, Durgeswar Saikia, Lakhan Chandra Karmakar, Narad Kumar, Probin Goswami, Mohitush Purakayastha, Chatragopal Karmakar, Sunil Kumar Nag, Prafulla Sarkar, Harlal Garh, Dipak Murmoo, Surendra Nath Mishra, Luthru Bhumij, Tarun Chutia, Durga Prosad Khargoria, Patras Ekka, Lokeswar Gogoi, Satya Narayan Ram, Bancha Saikia, Hemanta Dutta, Mahananda Bora, Labanya Deka, Joy Chandra Das, Santosh Kumar Sinha, Munia Bhat and many others which was registered under Indian Trade Union Act 1926 on District wise unit basis.<ref name="tea"/>

Union office bearers are elected for three-year terms.<ref name="tea"/> As of 2018, [[Paban Singh Ghatowar]] (a Congress Party Lok Sabha Ex-member from Dibrugarh) served as the President of ACMS and Rupesh Gowalla as its General Secretary.<ref name="cent"/><ref>[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]. ''[http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110409/jsp/northeast/story_13828817.jsp Poll+violence+bandh = tea loss]''</ref>

==Political role==
ACMS is a politically important pillar for the influence of the Congress Party in Assam. Through ACMS the party is able to wield significant voters' support in five [[Lok Sabha]] constituencies; Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Mangaldoi and Lakhimpur (these areas also correspond to roughly half of the [[Vidhan Sabha]] seats of Assam).<ref name="vote"/>

==Organisation==
ACMS has 22 branch organisations.<ref name="cent"/> The union has its headquarters at Jiban Phukan Nagar in Dibrugarh. In total ACMS and its local branches has a staff of 380 persons (as of 2018).<ref name="tea"/>

As of 2018, the membership fee of ACMS stood at {{Indian Rupee}}60. Moreover, each member is obliged to pay 12% of his/her gross income to the Provident Fund. As of 2009 the Provident Fund stood at {{Indian Rupee}}27 billion, gathered through collections amongst its members.<ref name="tea"/>

ACMS is affiliated with the [[Building and Wood Workers' International]] and the [[International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association]].<ref name="cent">Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha. ''[http://assamchahmazdoorsangha.org/acms_central_office.htmlACMS CENTRAL OFFICE]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}''</ref>

In the [[Cachar]], another tea-producing region of Assam, INTUC has another affiliate, the Cachar Chah Sramik Union.<ref name="soc"/>

== See also ==
* [[Assam Tea]]
* [[Darjeeling Tea]]
* [[Indian Tea Association]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*http://assamchahmazdoorsangha.org/
*http://acms.org.in/
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Assam-Chah-Mazdoor-Sangha/190328287649597?sk=info ACMS Facebook page]

[[Category:Tea industry in Assam]]
[[Category:Indian National Trade Union Congress]]
[[Category:1958 establishments in Assam]]
[[Category:Indian agriculture and forestry trade unions]]
[[Category:Trade unions established in 1958]]

Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha - Revision history

>SporkBot at 21:34, 22 May 2021