Tippuk Tea Estate workers halt hunger strike after assurance of tripartite talks

DOOMDOOMA, March 12: The indefinite hunger strike, launched by the employees of the Tippuk Tea Estate demanding settlement of their long-pending dues and other grievances, was temporarily suspended today following an assurance from the district labour authorities that a tripartite meeting would be held to discuss the issues.

The employees of the estate, which is currently under ITAS Prabhat LLP (formerly James Warren Tea Company), had begun a series of protest programmes from March 9 in support of a 14-point charter of demands, including payment of pending pension and gratuity.

After staging a sit-in demonstration on March 9 and 10, the workers launched an indefinite hunger strike this morning to press for their demands.

Addressing the protesters in the presence of the president of the Asom Chah Karmachari Sangha (ACKS), Hitendra Kumar Baruah, the organisation’s central general secretary Rishav Kalita alleged that the problems faced by the employees had been repeatedly brought to the notice of the garden management since 2021. Several rounds of discussions had also been held in the past, but the management had failed to take concrete steps to resolve the issues.

Kalita said that March 9 had been set as a deadline for addressing the grievances, but the management did not respond even by that date, forcing the employees to intensify their agitation.

He further alleged that although the protesting workers had expected the management to come to the protest site and respond to their concerns, the authorities remained indifferent.

However, the situation took a turn later in the day when the Assistant Labour Commissioner of Tinsukia district visited the protest site, assessed the situation and assured the agitating employees that a tripartite meeting involving the workers, the management and the labour department would be held in Tinsukia on March 12 to discuss the demands.

Following the assurance, the employees decided to temporarily suspend the hunger strike. The ACKS welcomed the initiative but warned that if the discussions fail to produce a satisfactory outcome, the organisation would launch a more intensified agitation with the support of employees from over 800 tea estates across Assam.

It may be mentioned that employees of Tippuk Tea Estate have been facing several problems since the ownership of the garden was transferred from James Warren Tea Company to ITAS Prabhat LLP in 2020. The ACKS has also sought the intervention of the State Labour Minister to ensure an early resolution of the issues.

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Correspondent