The management of Jay Birpara tea garden in Alipurduar district reportedly abandoned the garden on Saturday evening, plunging around 630 workers into uncertainty ahead of Durga Puja.
The closure of the garden in Madarihat block followed a dispute over unpaid wages and the management’s proposal to pay this year’s bonus in instalments.
Workers alleged that wages for two fortnights and a portion of last year’s bonus remained unpaid. They demanded that their arrears be cleared and this year’s 20 per cent bonus, as instructed by the government, be paid at one go.
According to the workers, 5 per cent of last year’s bonus was still outstanding. That's why workers were unwilling to accept another instalment arrangement.
The management, however, alleged that an attack on the senior manager had precipitated the crisis.
“Three female workers tried to set the senior manager on fire which compelled the senior manager to leave the garden,” alleged Raja Bhattacharjee, one of the owners of the tea estate.
Sources said that the management just left the garden on Saturday evening and no closure notice had yet been issued by the management to the workers.
The management said it was willing to clear the outstanding wages and the oustanding bonus of last year, along with a portion of this year’s bonus, but alleged that the workers were unwilling to cooperate. It, however, maintained that this year’s bonus — 20 per cent — could not be paid at one go.
Sabin Thapa, the general secretary of the Bharatiya Tea Workers Union, which is affiliated to the BJP, disagreed with the management’s stand.
Thapa alleged that the management was trying to avoid paying the outstanding wages and bonus and had hence left the garden.
On Saturday morning, workers had demonstrated outside the office of the assistant labour commissioner (ALC) at Birpara. Workers from Tasati, Dimdema and Dalmore tea estates had also gathered there to oppose proposals by their respective managements to pay bonuses in instalments.
A tripartite meeting convened by the ALC on Saturday failed to resolve the Jai Birpara dispute as the management did not attend, a labour department official said.
At an earlier meeting at the Dooars Kanya, the administrative headquarters of Alipurduar district, the management had agreed to clear the wages pending for two fortnights on October 14. However, no agreement had been reached on bonus payments.
A labour department official said the department could not object to payment in instalments if both the management and workers agreed to the arrangement.
The workers have announced a gate meeting outside the garden office on Monday to decide their next course of action. They repeated that they would not accept the bonus in instalments.
The labour department has called another meeting on Tuesday, where the representatives of the management, trade unions and the department are expected to attend to try to resolve the dispute.