'Doublespeak' barb at Duncans Group - Nagaisuree tea garden workers demonstrate

Workers demonstrate in Nagaisuree tea garden on Wednesday. Pic: Biplab Basak

TT, Jan. 13: Workers and residents of Nagaisuree Tea Estate today held a demonstration, alleging that the management was engaging in doublespeak and had not regularised activities in the garden even after revoking the notice of closure which had been issued yesterday.

Yesterday, Proloy Basu, an assistant manager in Nagaisuree owned by the Duncans' Goenka Group, had issued a notice, announcing the estate's closure after a section of workers had allegedly confined him to his office and sought a specific date for clearing their due wages and rations.

However, later in the afternoon, C.P. Kapoor, the superintendent manager, who was away, issued another notice revoking the earlier one. He mentioned in the second notice that the management was trying its best to garner funds to clear the dues and the garden would continue to function from today.

The workers have been insisting on a formal closure so that they can avail themselves of a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500 each from the state government. In fact, labourers on all 14 tea estates of the Duncans want the company to formally shut the plantations as they have not been receiving wages and ration since April last year.

Even though work has virtually stopped in all the 14 tea estates of the Duncans since April last year, the company has not announced formal closure in any of the gardens.

"All of us went to the garden office to join work. However, we could not find any managerial staff members in the office. It was closed," said Rajen Lohar, a leader of Trinamul-backed Terai Dooars Plantation Workers' Union.

"The management is cheating workers. On one hand, they revoked the closure notice and informed the subdivisional administration in Malbazar that the garden was open and functional. On the other hand, situation remained unchanged as the garden office and the factory remained close."

As hundreds of workers assembled in the garden's office, local leaders of all four trade unions - the other three being the Progressive Tea Workers' Union, Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union and National Union of Plantation Workers - delivered speeches, condemning the management's decisions. The protests continued for over an hour.

"Workers are frustrated over the functioning of the management. A section of the managerial staff has resorted to doublespeak. They issue the closure notice and then revoke it. These people have deceived the workers and have not taken any step to regularise activities in the garden," Sudhangshu Mondal, a leader of the Citu-backed Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union, said.

Manik Shil, a leader of the INTUC-backed National Union of Plantation Workers, said: "The state and the central governments must understand that the company has no intention of resuming activities in the gardens. G.P. Goenka (the chairman of the Duncans group) has held meetings with both the chief minister and the Union minister of state for commerce and industry and assured both of them that he would shortly normalise activities in the gardens. Around 10 days have passed since the last meeting (between Union minister of state for commerce and industries Nirmala Sitharaman and Goenka) on January 4. But there are no positive signs from the company."

Kapoor said the garden was not opened today, as assistant manager was feeling insecure. "The assistant manager is feeling insecure and has not yet returned to the garden. We are trying our best to clear the workers' dues. The manner in which a section of workers forced the assistant manager to issue the closure notice has left us worried. We can't simply tell him to go and open the garden office as there is always a security risk," said Kapoor.

The Malbazar subdivisional officer, J. Tanti, said none from the company had mentioned to him about the issue of security. "We were handed over a notice where the management narrated yesterday's incident. However, they have never mentioned that they are feeling insecure to enter the garden and have not sought our help. Otherwise, we could have provided security to them," he said.