Kalchini tea estate locked out

TT, Alipurduar, July 10: The management of the Kalchini Tea Estate here has announced suspension of work alleging non-cooperation by workers.

According to a garden source, on July 7, a section of workers had demonstrated in front of the factory gate demanding payment of dues and earned leave disbursement. The management then promised the payment on July 22.

On July 8, another section of workers confined the general manager for over four hours raising the same demand.

This is for the third time that the management had announced lockout in the garden in the past 7 months. Earlier also they had alleged labour unrest.

The workers found a lock-out notice as they reached Kalchini this morning.

According to the notice issued by the management, there has been labour unrest in the estate since 2000 and because the lower production payment of dues and earned leave could not be done.

The notice reads: "....the workers preferred to disrupt the working of the garden from the chronological disruptions of work in calculative manner.... So the management cannot be a silent witness of such deliberate and calculated disruptions of garden workings...." In view of the above deliberately engineered disruptive condition no management can run the garden under heavily stressed financial condition.... It may be noted that the Lock-out period will be treated as "no work", "no pay".

Mohon Sharma, the Sabhadhipati of Alipurduar zilla parishad as well as the chairman of Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union said he would speak to the joint labour commissioner to arrange for a tripartite meeting on July 14."

Kalchini, owned by Buxa Dooars Tea Company Limited, has 1,500 permanent workers.