Pankaj Nath, Assam, July 1: The Assam government has intervened to find a permanent solution to the situation of Chekani Tea Estate at Jakhlabandha in Nagaon district of Assam, which has been closed for more than fifteen days. An important meeting was held for five hours on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Minister of Labour Welfare and Tea, Tribal and Tribal Welfare Rameswar Teli in his office room at Dispur Secretariat.
State Labour Commissioner Anant Lal Gyani, District Commissioner Debasish Sarma, Assistant Labour Commissioner Kabita Barman, Tea Garden Owner Pankaj Kankadia, representatives of Tea Institute of India, leaders of trade unions and other stakeholders were present in the meeting. In the meeting, issues related to tea garden workers’ welfare, wages and bonus demands, health services and overall functioning of the plantation were discussed in detail. All the parties expressed their views with the aim of building consensus towards a permanent solution.
As a result of the detailed discussions that lasted for five hours in the presence of the Minister, it was agreed that the work in the tea garden would be resumed from the next day i.e. 2nd July. It was also decided to set up a monitoring committee under the district administration to ensure speedy and effective redressal of appropriate grievances raised by the workers. The committee will monitor the functioning of the plantation, ensure action to address the issues raised by the workers and create a conducive environment for the re-operation and smooth management of the Chekani Tea Garden. It was also decided in the meeting that the workers and other employees who return to work as per the approved arrangement will be given the facility to return to work within a week.
At the same time, if a worker is found absent for four consecutive days, action will be taken against him as per the rules — this was also agreed by all the parties present. It is noteworthy that despite the efforts of District Commissioner Debasish Sharma, the problem of the stalemate of the plantation was not properly resolved earlier, so on Tuesday, the Labour Minister himself raised the matter and discussed.
District Information and Public Relations Officer Bikash Sharma said that after this meeting and talks that lasted for about five hours, there is hope to end the stagnation of the big tea garden. However, according to the news, on Tuesday, the owner’s side has raised some new issues citing the prior contract, which has not completely removed the uncertainty yet. It is reported that about 800 workers are directly associated with this plantation.
