Meeting to discuss four tea estates’ reopening..following minister’s instruction, joint labour commissioner convenes meet

SNS, Siliguri, 14 November 2013: The joint labour commissioner, Mr Muhammad Rizwan, has convened a tripartite meeting on 20 November and 21 November to reopen the four closed tea estates in the Dooars region following the state labour minister’s instruction.

Notably, the state labour minister expressed unhappiness over the closure of three tea estates, which are under the control of the same proprietor.

Labour minister Mr Purnendu Bose, food and supplies minister Mr Jyoti Priya Mallick and north Bengal development department minister Mr Gautam Deb recently visited Red Bank Tea Plantation on 11 November.

They interacted with the workers and arranged supply of food and other basic requirements.

According to the labour department, the management of three tea plantations ~ Red Bank, Surendranagar and Dharanipur in Jalpaiguri district ~ had issued suspension of work notices one by one and thousands of workers were rendered jobless.

The workers of three plantations had been agitating demanding their legitimate wages and other basic facilities. These plantations were also identified as sick.

However, the management of the Dalsingpara tea plantation suspended plantation work seven weeks ago.

The joint labour commissioner, Mr Rizwan, said: “We have requested the management of three tea plantations ~ Red Bank, Surendranagar and Dharanipur ~ to attend the tripartite meeting to be held in Siliguri on 20 November. Three plantations are controlled by same proprietor.”

“I have called another tripartite meeting on 21 November to reopen the Dalsingpara tea estate,” he added.

“We would request and try to put pressure on the management to reopen the tea estates. But we cannot force the proprietors to reopen the tea garden forcibly. There is no such provision in labour laws,” the joint labour commissioner said.

“We would request the trade unions and their leaders to extend cooperation to the management,” he added.