Sarugaon Tea Estate in Falakata block of Alipurduar district will
reopen tomorrow after workers today apologised for the harassment of the
manager and his wife on August 30.
The decision to reopen the garden was taken at a tripartite meeting
in the office of assistant labour commissioner in Birpara today.
The notice of suspension of work was issued in the garden on August
31. The manager was forced to call Falakata police to the garden when a
section of workers forced him to walk for 1km and gheraoed him on August
30. They also verbally abused the manager and his wife over
implementation of 100-day work scheme in the garden.
On September 1, trade union leaders rushed to the garden and told the
workers that whatever they did was wrong and they should tender an
apology.
The leaders then contacted the labour department and sought a meeting
immediately. This was a rare move by the trade union leaders in the
Dooars tea belt. As a result, there was a tripartite meeting in the
office of the assistant labour commissioner today and after a one-hour
discussion, it was unanimously decided that the garden would reopen
tomorrow. The management will pay due wages and rations of a fortnight.
Amitangshu Chakroborty, the advisor to the Indian Tea Planters'
Association, said the workers had apologised for the August 30 incident
at today's meeting.
Around 100 labourers were preset at the meeting.
"They have assured in writing that this kind of incident will not happen in the garden in future," he said.
Gopal Prodhan the president of the Dooars Cha Bagan Workers Union,
said he was happy that the workers had promised that no untoward
incident would take place again in the garden.(TT)
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