Tea garden workers protest over pending wages, PF and gratuity dues

Silchar, Dec 17: Hundreds of labourers from Pallorband Tea Estate and its four division gardens in Cachar district staged a protest demonstration on Friday to press for their demand for payment of pending wages, gratuity, and provident fund (PF) dues.

Former Lakhipur MLA and general secretary of Barak Cha Shramik Union (BCSU) Rajdeep Goala has also expressed his concern over the plight of the tea garden labourers.

"The PF amount of the labourers of the Pallorband Tea Estate, including its four divisions of Alipur, Narainpur, Dologugram and Scotpur gardens, is pending for a long time now which would amount to over Rs 5 crore. Similarly, the garden management has failed to provide the gratuity amount of over Rs 2 crore to the labourers.

Further, the wages and other arrear amounts of the labourers are also kept pending with lack of response from the garden management on the delay in disbursing the pending money. The labourers have come to know that the management will be getting a good amount of money by way of compensation from the government against the Bharat Mala project. They had come to the BCSU to seek our intervention regarding their demand and they want that the statutory dues must be cleared before release of the compensation to the tea garden management," Rajdeep Goala said.

He informed that he will soon place the labourers' demand before the State's Labour Welfare Minister, Rupesh Gowala.

The labourers also submitted a memorandum to Cachar district commissioner Mridul Yadav on Friday, high- lighting their demands.

"In spite of our repeated approaches, the garden management is regularly irregular in making payment of weekly wages, ration, etc., and in complying with the agreement signed in a conciliation meeting at the office of the assistant labour commissioner, Cachar, between the management, BCSU, and the labour department. The management has violated all norms and has turned a blind eye to all the provisions. All the efforts of our popular Union have also met a disastrous end," the labourers alleged in the memorandum.

Meanwhile, DC Mridul Yadav informed the Assam Tribune on Sunday that a tripartite meeting was held in which the manager of Pallorband Tea Estate confirmed that they will submit their commitment regarding clearing of the pending wages of the labourers on December 16. However, the management has sought some more time for payment of the PF and gratuity arrears. The administration has made it clear to the tea gar- den management to respond to the demand for payment of arrear dues raised by the labourers, the DC said.