Dooars tea garden shut after bonus row

TT, Alipurduar, Oct. 16: The management of Makrapara Tea Estate left the garden last night and issued a suspension-of-work notice today citing indiscipline, lawlessness and aggressive behaviour by workers.

The garden in Madarihat-Birpara block is 80km from the district headquarters and has 441 permanent workers.

Garden sources said, at a meeting in Calcutta earlier this month, it had been decided that 13 per cent bonus would be given to the workers of Makrapara before October 15. But for the past one week, the garden manager has been trying to convey to the workers about the payment in two phases.

Around 4.30pm yesterday, 80-odd female workers went to manager, T.R. Peck, and asked him about the bonus. Peck told them that the unions had been informed that the bonus would be paid in two phases (9 per cent now and the remaining 4 per cent during Christmas).

"We tried our best to convince the workers that because of funds crunch we would not be able to pay the 13 per cent bonus now. We will pay 9 per cent now and the rest will be paid later. But the workers were annoyed," said Peck.

The workers then confined Peck and assistant manager A.K. Das for around four hours from 4.30pm. More workers assembled and allegedly used filthy language and asked the officials to leave the estate if the full bonus couldn't be paid.

"Around 10pm, when we tried to leave the estate, the workers stopped my vehicle and did not allow us to go. We could leave the garden after SSB jawans from the nearby camp spoke to the labourers. We had no other option but to issue the notice," Peck said.

This morning when workers went to join duties, they found the garden shut.

Gopal Prodhan, president of the Utuc-affiliated Dooars Cha Bagan Worker's Union, said: "The management was bound to follow the decision taken at the bonus meeting. They should have called the union leaders to resolve the issue. It is unfair to leave the garden. Why will the workers accept 9 per cent bonus when 13 per cent had been finalised? We have sought the labour department's intervention."

On October 8, work was suspended in Dima garden over bonus. The garden was re-opened on October 12 and the management said bonus at 12 per cent would be paid tomorrow.