Darjeeling, March 28 -- A meeting between the management and the workers union at the Shramik Bhawan in Siliguri in the presence of officials of the labour department on Friday resolved to reopen the Sungma and Turzum Tea Estate in Darjeeling and resume its normal normal functioning including plucking from March 29.
The Management of the Sungma and Turzum tea estate had declared suspension of work in the garden on March 21, 2025 alleging that the workmen had refused to pluck leaves from February 25 causing huge financial loss to the company. The operating trade unions had then approached the conciliation machinery to resolve the issue. Accordingly a joint conference was convened on Friday in which the two sides arrived at an amicable settlement. The Sungma & Turzam Tea Estate under Jay Shree Tea and Industries Ltd.
In another development the labour department is all set to convene a meeting on April 3 to address issues related to the tea gardens. Trouble has started brewing in the tea estates of Darjeeling Hills with uncertainty over plucking of premium first flush tea. While some tea garden unions have called for abstaining from plucking till the annual bonus is negotiated and finalised along with other issues like minimum wages, other unions have stated that negotiations can continue side by side with plucking. The issue has snowballed into unrest and flashpoints with the Management calling for work suspension in many gardens. The unions are demanding a 20 per cent annual bonus.
Along with this the state government's decision to allow unplanted tea garden land upto 30 per cent for tourism and allied purposes has also met with protests. The meeting called by the Labour department on April 3 at the state guest house in Siliguri will be discussing these issues. Labour minister Moloy Ghatak will also be attending the meeting.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.