Jorhat, Oct. 8: Work in at least two tea estates belonging to the Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (APPL) here has been disrupted over the past few days with workers demanding 20 per cent bonus at a go and not in two instalments as agreed upon a few days back.

The two-instalment bonus was agreed upon by the APPL and the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) after the management informed the workers' union that it was not in a position to pay more than the minimum rate of 8.33 per cent prescribed under the law because of losses incurred in the last financial year. However, in a meeting held between the APPL authorities and the ACMS later, it was agreed that the company would pay 20 per cent bonus but in two instalments - 15 per cent before Durga Puja and five per cent in December.

The workers of at least two tea estates of the company, Kakajan and Teok, located on the outskirts of Jorhat, however, demanded 20 per cent bonus to be paid at one time before the Pujas and disrupted work. There were also reports of labourers damaging garden property, forcing the executives to flee.

The district administration had to intervene following the stalemate and prevailed upon the workers to agree to accept the 15 per cent pre-Puja bonus as agreed upon by the ACMS, the apex body of tea garden workers, and APPL authorities.

The All Tea Tribes Students Association (ATTSA), an influential organisation of the tea tribe, also tried to convince the workers not to disrupt work.

Mahandra Tanti, central publicity secretary of ATTSA, told The Telegraph today that the workers of Teok tea estate had yesterday agreed to accept the first instalment of 15 per cent bonus before the Pujas but the stalemate still continued at Kakajan.

"We are trying our best to convince the workers. A few vested interests have provoked the labourers," Tanti said, adding that ATTSA activists were discussing the matter with Kakajan tea estate labourers.

APPL, earlier known as Tata Tea, was set up in 2007 after the Tata company disinvested large amount of shares and formed the new entity with several stakeholders, including the employees as shareholders.

The company has its operations spread across 25 tea estates in Assam and Bengal (Dooars), covering 23,092 hectares, and employs approximately 31,000 workers. That the firm was making losses was announced in the annual general meeting of the company in Calcutta on August 7 this year.

The payment of bonus to industrial employees is mandatory under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. It says employees who earn up to Rs 10,000 per month have to be paid bonus at a minimum rate of 8.33 per cent and a maximum of 20 per cent, on the basis of the employers' earnings in the previous fiscal.

Tanti said there could be problems in a few more gardens as the managements of these gardens have expressed their inability to pay 20 per cent bonus this year.

"The tea industry has been doing good business in the last few years. We fail to understand why these gardens are not being able to pay 20 per cent bonus," he said.

Regarding the government-owned Assam Tea Corporation Limited (ATCL) announcing 20 per cent bonus this year, Tanti said it was an eyewash as the government had failed to give other minimum benefits to the company's workers. "With the elections around, it's a move to make the labourers happy," he added.