Staff, sub-staff and workers of the Bamandanga-Tondu tea estate in Jalpaiguri district held a six-hour demonstration in the garden on Saturday demanding immediate payment of their wages and salaries.
The estate in Nagrakata block has around 1,300 labourers.
“The workers are yet to receive wages of three fortnights while the staff and the sub-staff were not paid salaries in the past two months. We are in an acute financial crisis and so demonstrated in the garden today (on Saturday). The management should understand our situation and disburse the dues as soon as possible,” said Sanjit Lohar,
a worker.
A section of the workers and the employees assembled in front of the garden factory around 8am and launched the demonstration which continued till 2 pm.
Puja Oraon, a woman worker, said the production was regular in the garden. “Even then, we are not getting the wages. These days, we are facing problems even in meeting the basic expenses and the studies of our children are getting affected,”
she said.
Sources said although the garden was open and the production was on, the management was facing financial problems, which was leading to delays in the disbursal of wages and salaries.
A section of the demonstrators said the management should hold talks with the workers to resolve the problems.
“Or else, the state government should find a new investor who will run the garden in a better manner. Recently, the state handed over leases to new entrepreneurs who are running some gardens. We believe the SOP (standard operating procedure) that the state announced to address the problems in gardens like ours should be used to help us,” said Birbal Sau, another worker.
Sujit Ganguly, the manager, said: “We have intimated the higher levels of the management about the protest and are waiting for their instructions.”