The management of a tea state in Alipurduar district on Friday disbursed the annual bonus among workers at 20 per cent of their yearly earnings although no industry-wide agreement had been reached on the pay and the rate.

Every year, the bonus is paid to tea garden workers in north Bengal ahead of Durga Puja. The rate is decided on during talks between planters and trade unions.

The management of Dalgaon tea estate in the Falakata block on Friday started paying over 1,600 permanent workers the bonus at the rate of 20 per cent. Although the unions are insisting on the bonus at 20 per cent, the planters are unwilling to yield to the demand.

“Yesterday (Thursday), the management issued a notice, saying it would pay the bonus at 20 per cent. We were a bit surprised as no decision had been made on the bonus rate so far at the industry level. From today, the payment of the bonus started in the garden. We are thankful to the management,” said Ratiram Bara, the garden unit secretary of the Trinamul Cha Bagan Sramik Union.

On Saturday, the 800-odd temporary workers of Dalgaon will get their bonus, said sources. Last year, the bonus was paid at the same rate in the tea gardens of the Dooars. While in the Terai and the Dooars, the bonus was paid in one go, it was paid in two installments in the hills.

The move by the Dalgaon estate is rare in the north Bengal tea industry, said veteran planters. Every year, ahead of the festive season, representatives of tea planters’ associations and trade unions sit for talks to finalise the bonus rate.

“Dalgaon is a member of tea planters’ associations. We never expected that the garden’s management would proactively disburse the bonus before an agreement is reached through the talks. It would put other tea gardens under pressure. A number of tea gardens in this region are facing financial constraints and any further pressure on them can be detrimental to their sustenance,” said a senior tea planter based in Siliguri.

Sources in Dalgan said a director had visited the tea estate a couple of months back.

“He was happy with the functioning of the garden. Local trade union leaders had requested him then to pay the bonus at 20 per cent rate. This seems to have worked,” said a worker.

Chinmoy Dhar, the chairman of the Dooars branch of the Tea Association of India, of which Dalgaon is a member, sounded disappointed.

“The management should have waited till the next round of bonus talks that are scheduled for next week in Calcutta. It is unfortunate that they decided on their own. The Dalgaon management's decision would mount pressure on us and affect the bargaining power of the planters during the talks,” said Dhar.