Longview Tea Estate shuts down

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 16 Oct 2024, Darjeeling: The management of Longview Tea Estate declared work suspension on Tuesday citing a ‘series of incidents and gross indiscipline on a regular basis having direct impact on the finances and running of the tea garden’. 

The tea garden located around 25 km from Siliguri has been facing unrest for a prolonged period with workers’ dues being unpaid. 

The bonus issue further aggravated the matter with workers sitting on a relay hunger strike. Amid this, the management declared a work suspension on Tuesday. 

The work suspension notice signed on October 14 by the manager alleged that ‘management notes with serious concern the series of incidents and gross indiscipline indulged by the unions, including frequent gherao, threat, no-work or partial work, gate meetings and also union interference in daily management work’. 

The notice further claimed: “In spite of the tea garden having made payments of Rs. 90.30 lakh after September 6, 2024 with an understanding that no gherao/ agitation/ loss of work days would happen, but mainly the newly formed HPEU started gherao from September 21. 

Under such circumstances management has decided to suspend all garden level activities with an immediate effect till further notice.” 

The notice stated that during the period of closure no wages and salaries would be paid to the workers and staff and sub staff. The garden has 1240 workers and an area of 500 hectares. “The management had first stated that they would pay 10 per cent bonus now and 5 per cent later to which the workers objected. 

The manager then left the garden claiming that he was arranging funds to pay the bonus. Then suddenly they started claiming that a 10 per cent bonus has been paid to the workers (deposited in their accounts.) 

Many did not receive. The workers in protest started a hunger strike. There is Rs 15 crore provident fund due along with Rs 80 lakh gratuity due. Last year’s bonus percentage, wages and salaries are still pending,” alleged Sumendra Tamang of HPEU. 

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha,) Darjeeling, Raju Bista has written letters to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce minister, seeking their intervention to relieve the plight of tea garden workers from Darjeeling hills, who are facing financial distress due to gardens shutting down or the owners abandoning the gardens. 

The letter mentioned the closure of 10 gardens out of 87. Long View is an addition to the list. The 10 closed gardens mentioned in the letter include Panighatta since 2008, Dothria (2015), Rungmook Cedars (2021), Moonda Kothi (2021), Ambootia (2021), Chongthong (2021), Nagari (2021), Pandam (2024), Peshok (2024) and Singtom (2024). 

Courtesy & source - Millennium post

 https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/longview-tea-estate-shuts-down-583294