The state labour department took the initiative to resolve the impasse prevailing in five tea estates of Alipurduar district and held a meeting with representatives of Merico, the company that runs these gardens, on Tuesday.

At the meeting, managers and other representatives of the company working in these gardens, namely, Huntapara, Dhumchipara, Garganda, Tulshipara and Birpara, assured that they would disburse a fortnight’s wage as well as a month’s salary for the workers and the staff, respectively.

In these five tea estates, most workers have stopped work for the past few weeks as wages between three and five fortnights are due. On December 29, the workers from these gardens had planned a demonstration in front of the Dooars Kanya, the district collectorate, demanding immediate payment of the wages.

Altogether, there are around 6,000 workers in these gardens. In such a situation, the labour department took the task of speaking with the managerial representatives.

“We called the management representatives of these five tea estates, and they attended Tuesday’s meeting. They have assured us that in January, they will give a fortnight’s wage to workers and a month’s salary to employees,” said Gopal Biswas, the deputy labour commissioner of Alipurduar.

However, Nakul Sonar, the chairman of the Trinamul Cha Bagan Sramik Union, remained sceptical whether the workers would rejoin their duties.

“The workers want the management to pay the entire dues, not just one fortnight’s wage,” said Sonar. “That’s why we have doubts.”

Manoj Tigga, the BJP MP of Alipurduar, said the state government should exert pressure on the management for full payment of wages.

“Why would workers rejoin their duties if they do not get paid regularly? The state labour department should take effective steps to resolve the situation,” said Tigga.