CALCUTTA, India (AP) -- Workers burned down a house and killed 21 people from a rival trade union in a battle over jobs at an Indian tea farm on Thursday, police said.
Authorities arrested 110 people after the violence, which began when one of the unions was prevented from appointing three of its supporters to clerical jobs at the farm in West Bengal state.
The rival labor groups clashed on Wednesday and set houses on fire in Jalpaiguri, 385 miles north of Calcutta. On Thursday, members of the Center of Indian Trade Unions opened fire on protesters from the Indian National Trade Union Congress, injuring one person, said Bhupinder Singh, inspector-general of police.
INTUC members then burned down the house of Tarakeshwar Lohar, the leader of the Center of Indian Trade Unions, Singh said. Lohar's supporters were gathered in the house.
``At least 21 bodies have been pulled out of the house,'' said police official Chayan Mukherjee. ``The bodies are badly charred and have not been identified.''
Tea farms are popular tourist attractions and provide employment to thousands of people in West Bengal and neighboring Bihar state.
However, dozens of small and medium-sized tea estates have closed down in the past six months because of disputes over higher wages and job security.
Trade unions are especially powerful in West Bengal state, which has been ruled by a communist government for nearly 30 years.
The Center of Indian Trade Unions is backed by the state's governing Communist Party of India (Marxist). The INTUC owes allegiance to the main national opposition Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi.
