Goenka to meet Duncans unions

Nirmala Sitharaman and Partha Chatterjee in Siliguri on Monday. Pic:Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, Jan. 4: Union minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman today said G.P. Goenka, the chairman of the Duncans Goenka Group, would meet trade union leaders on January 6 to discuss the plight of workers in 14 tea gardens owned by the company.

Sitharaman, who held a number of meetings with stakeholders of tea industry at the state guest house here, said new owners would be found for closed and ailing tea gardens without transferring liabilities to them.

Payment of wages and rations has been stopped in the 14 gardens run by the Duncans in north Bengal since April last year.

Asked about her meeting with Goenka, Sitharaman said: "He will meet workers and trade union leaders of his gardens on January 6. We have asked him to send us a report on the talks. On the basis of the report, we will make further moves."

Asked when activities in the gardens of his company would be regularised, Goenka said: "Shortly... very shortly."

The minister said different proposals had been mooted at her meetings with the stakeholders of the tea industry.

"We have decided that a new mechanism can be evolved to reopen the closed and ailing tea estates. In total, there are 41 such distressed tea estates in north Bengal. The problem in bringing new investors is that they don't want to take the liabilities of the old owners. So, if we can bring in a new management on interim basis, it can reopen the garden and provide jobs to workers. It would be assured that no liabilities would fall on its shoulders. The existing owners will have to clear dues, whether it is wages or provident fund or bank loan," Sitharaman said.

She said there was another proposal that workers could be paid in cash entirely. "During my visit, trade union leaders said the managements should stop giving certain benefits to workers and instead pay them in cash. As of now, workers are given a daily wage of Rs 122.50, while the total cost of benefits provided by the management to them is around Rs 109 a day. We are proposing that tea companies pay the entire Rs 231 in cash. The state and central governments will see that all panchayat schemes are provided to the tea workers and their families," said the minister.

Another decision taken at today's meeting, she said, was formation of district-level committees to monitor disbursal of relief in closed and ailing tea gardens.

State education minister Partha Chatterjee was present at the meetings.