Karimganj tea garden workers on indefinite strike

SILCHAR: Work at the Baithakhal Tea Estate in Assam'sKarimganj district is suspended for the last two days due to an indefinite strike called by workers.
Work in the plantation, factory and office came to a standstill after nearly 2000 workers of the garden went on ceasework seeking immediate release of their weekly wages and address other grievances. A functionary of the Intuc-affiliated Barak Valley Cha Shramik Union said the workers of Baithakahal TE get their weekly wage every Saturday.However, for the last two weeks, authorities failed to disburse the wages. This has triggered a sense of panic among workers. They started expressing doubts about the motive of the garden authorities, which is owned by M K Basu, a Kolkata-based planter.
A union functionary on Monday said manager Deepak Roy is not seen in the tea estate and his bungalow is locked. The assistant manager has also left the garden under the protection of police.
"We are worried about the future of workers and the tea estate as well. Many workers are facing a starvation-like situation because of non-disbursement of their wages", he said.
A meeting of the workers, which was convened by the garden panchayat on Sunday, appealed to the authorities to discuss the situation with them. They said a meeting between the union and garden authorities sometime back agreed to pay the workers a sum of Rs 73 as daily wage. Moreover, workers are deprived of basic facilities. Their houses are in a dilapidated state, they said.
They alleged that authorities failed to provide basic facilities like electricity and water to the workers. The workers threatened that the casework will continue until the wages are released.