Ops to resume in 10 Hill tea gardens today
Darjeeling: Operations will resume in the 10 tea estates under the DOTEPL from Friday. This decision was taken by the agitating workers' union after the management handed over a written assurance to pay two fortnights of due wages and one month of due salary to the workers on September 9. The ongoing agitation, including the relay hunger strike, was lifted on Thursday following this decision.
Workers of 10 tea estates in the Darjeeling Hills under DOTEPL, formerly the Bansal Group, were on an agitation path for non-payment of wages and salary for the past two months. They have been holding rallies in front of the District Collectorate in Darjeeling since August 13 and had also launched a relay hunger strike on September 5. Operations had been suspended in the 10 tea gardens since August 13.
"On Wednesday evening, a virtual meeting was held between the management and the trade union representatives; Darjeeling District Magistrate; additional Labour Commissioner in the presence of GTA chief Anit Thapa at the Pintail village near Siliguri. In this meeting it was decided to reopen the gardens from Friday," stated JB Tamang, president, Himalayan Terai Dooars Plantation Workers' Union (HTDPWU) affiliated to the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha.
It was also decided that after normalcy returns, the management including Rembert Biemond, Acting Chairman and Director will hold a meeting before Durga Puja with the district administration to discuss remaining dues, including provident fund and gratuity. He will also visit the gardens to see the ground reality for himself, added Tamang. "In the virtual meeting it was decided that the management will pay two fortnights of due wages and one month of due salary on September 9. The workers' union then agreed to commence operations from that day," stated Mohammad Rizwan, additional Labour Commissioner.
The gardens under the DOTEPL include Happy Valley, Ambootia, Monteviot, Magarjung, Moonda-Bansghari, Rongmook Cedar, Chongtong, Alubari, Rangaroon and Pandam Tea Estates. The number of workers in these 10 gardens is around 8,000. The due amount (wages and salary) is to the tune of Rs 3.53 crore.
