More meets as closed tea garden problems persist

SNS, Siliguri, 29 December 2014: The several attempts the labour department has been making in reopening five closed tea estates in north Bengal over the past few months have all come to naught.

Joint labour commissioner Md Rizwan today called another round of tripartite meeting on 5 January after talks to end the deadlock at the Patkapara Tea Estate in Alipurduar district ended inconclusively.

The joint labour commissioner has also called another tripartite meeting on 5 January to resolve problems at the Madhu Tea Estate in the Dooars, which is closed for the past many days.

The labour department has decided to call yet another tripartite meeting soon at the deputy labour commissioner level to resolve dispute at the Rahimabad Tea Estate. In this case too, a tripartite meeting in the assistant commissioner level ended inconclusively.

Though the ongoing problem at the Bagdogra Tea Estate in the Terai region was apparently resolved through a bipartite meeting, after a tripartite meeting ended inconclusively on 24 December, the joint labour commissioner will hold a tripartite meeting tomorrow on the problems there.

However, the labour department is in no position to call a tripartite meeting for the Sonali TE near Bagrakote, where the TE owner was beaten to death a few weeks ago. Family members of the deceased expressed their inability to attend a tripartite meeting when the labour department had called one a few days ago. “We are trying hard to resolve disputes in all the closed tea gardens. We hope that a few of them may reopen in the New Year,” Mr Rizwan said.

Asked to comment on the next tripartite meeting to settle tea workers’ wage issue, he said: “A conglomeration of 24 trade unions has sent its observations, which is negative regarding the draft wage agreement, which was circulated among the trade unions seeking their suggestions.” “No decision has yet been taken to call a tripartite meeting on the wage settlement,” he added.