The state labour department's advisory last month to north Bengal tea estates to pay the annual bonus at the rate of 20 per cent of the workers' annual earnings has led to problems in three gardens in two days.

On Friday, two tea estates, one each in Kalimpong and Alipurduar, closed down as workers did not accept the bonus offered to them at a lower rate by the management than 20 per cent advised by the state.

Workers of another tea estate in Jalpaiguri on Saturday abstained from duty over the same issue.

A senior tea planter said they feared such situations as as many gardens were facing financial problems.

"For many gardens, it is not possible to pay workers the bonus at 20 per cent rate. Usually, the bonus rates of these gardens are decided through bipartite talks, but this time, no such option was left,” said the planter based in Siliguri.

On Friday, management of the Lower Fagu tea estate, which is in the Gorubathan block of Kalimpong, announced suspension of work in the garden. For the past few days, the workers had resorted to protests over the lower bonus rate.

On Saturday, workers staged a blockade at Pandara More in Gorubathan, demanding 20 per cent bonus. The garden has 650 workers.

Also, the management of Kohinoor, a tea estate in the Kumargram block of Alipurduar district abandoned the garden on Friday.

As a result, 888 workers in the garden have become jobless.

“Due to fund crunch, the management had offered 8.33 per cent bonus, but workers demonstrated for 20 per cent. From Saturday, the manager has gone on leave,” said a source.

In Malbazar, Jalpaiguri, the workers of Sylee tea estate didn't go to work as the management "paid bonus at 15 per cent rate" on Friday.

“We want them to pay the remaining 5 per cent immediately according to the state’s advisory, or else, we won't work,” said one of the 550 workers of Sylee who joined the protest.

“The state labour department should intervene and resolve the issue. There is a chance that more gardens might close down as workers are adamant on bonus at 20 per cent advised by the state department,” said the senior manager of a tea estate in the Dooars.

Additional reporting by our Alipurduar correspondent