Hundreds of workers of the Bagrakote tea estate located in the Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri reached NH17 on Wednesday and staged a blockade for three hours for their bonus and wages.

Traffic along the highway came to a halt between Odlabari and Sevoke from noon to around 3pm. People going to Siliguri from the western Dooars and vice-versa had to take detours.

Workers alleged that the management was not ready to pay bonus at 20 per cent rate of the annual wages as advised by the state labour department. The management offered to pay bonus at 10 per cent, they claimed.

Representatives of the management brushed aside the charge and said they had offered to pay 20 per cent but in three installments.

Workers assembled to protest on the highway at noon.

“We agreed to accept the bonus at 10 per cent rate but asked that our due wages of four fortnights be paid along with it. Representatives of the management, however, told us they would pay bonus in two installments of 5 per cent each before and after Puja and they couldn’t clear the due wages now. That is why we resorted to this blockade and demonstration,” said Purnima Tamang, a worker who joined the protest.

There are 1,460 workers at the tea estate.

During the blockade, protesting workers shouted slogans demanding either 20 per cent bonus at one go or due wages with 10 per cent bonus. They also wanted elected representatives to intervene in the matter.

“The MLA of Malbazar (Bulu Chik Baraik, also the state tribal development minister) should come here and tell us how they will ensure implementation of the state’s advisory on bonus. They talk big and stay away when we need their help,” said Gagan Moktan, a worker.

Staff members also joined the protest. “We are yet to get the wages of the past two months. The management should immediately disburse it,” said staff member and protester Pawan Pradhan.

A police team reached the spot from the Malbazar police station and asked them to clear the road. The workers, however, did not budge.

Eventually, around 3pm, the workers voluntarily dispersed and traffic resumed.

Surajit Bakshi, the director of Merico Agro Industries Limited, which runs the garden, told The Telegraph over the phone from Calcutta that they had offered bonus at the rate of 20 per cent in all 12 tea estates that the company owned in north Bengal, but in three installments.

The first installment of 10 per cent would be paid ahead of Durga Puja, while two others of 5 per cent each would be paid during Christmas Eve and next year’s Holi, he said.

“We issued a notice in this regard at Bagrakote tea estate on September 20. It was surprising that some workers resorted to protests, saying we are offering bonus at a lower rate,” Bakshi said. “They eventually withdrew the protest and seemed to understand our point.”

Protests over bonus also erupted in Dharanipur, a tea estate in the Banarhat block of Jalpaiguri on Wednesday. There are 360 workers in the garden.

“The management has announced bonus at 18 per cent rate, payable in three installments. The workers find it unacceptable,” said a source.

Additional reporting by our Alipurduar correspondent