Planters ring closure bell

TT, 6 March 2019, Siliguri: Tea planters have hinted that more gardens will close down in the Dooars and the Terai if workers' productivity doesn't improve and escalating manufacture cost is not checked "The production cost has increased because of interim hike of around 33 per cent in the daily wages of workers last year. On the other hand, the price of tea remained virtually stagnant in the past few years. A number of gardens are reeling from financial difficulties and we are concerned over the situation," said S. Guhathakurta, secretary, Dooars Branch of Indian Tea Association.

Management suspended work in Simulbarie and Debpara tea gardens in the past 10 days, saying labourers were not putting in eight hours a day.

"To get over the rising production cost, the only way out is to optimise production and increase the revenue. Workers were repeatedly told to be on duty for stipulated eight hours but they do not listen. If such situation doesn't change, financial pressure on tea companies will increase. So, there is an apprehension that the situation might turn critical in some more gardens," said Prabir Bhattacharjee, secretary general, Tea Association of India.

In 2018, daily wage per worker was Rs 132.50. The Bengal government first pro- posed a hike of Rs 17.50, which increased to Rs 150.

Another Rs 9 was added to it following demands from trade unions to pay workers the component that the gardens used to spend on rations in cash. This increased the wages to Rs 159. Again, another hike of Rs 17 was proposed and implemented in September and October. Since October, the daily pay has been Rs 176.

"We had expected that the workers would respond to the call. However, the old practice of working half-a-day till Holi is still there. Even on Tuesday, there were disputes in a number a gardens in the Dooars, where workers, despite requests by the managerial staff, made it clear that they would work for eight hours only after Holi. This means the production will suffer for another fortnight," said the DBITA secretary.

Trade union leaders said they were talking to workers about the issue.

"It is an old practice that workers start working full time after Holi. But if adequate leaves are available in any garden, the management should speak to local trade union leaders to ensure that workers serve for eight hours. There is no point in leaving the garden without taking workers into confidence," said Mannalal Jain, vice-president, Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union.

Workers of Grassmore tea estate, located in Nagrakata block of Jalpaiguri, took out a march for 7km on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum to the BDO. They were demanding immediate payment of their dues, including provident fund and gratuity.

The garden that had closed down a couple of months back reopened on March 1.

Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri correspondent.