The management of Debpara Tea Estate in the Dooars on Thursday announced suspension of work in the middle of the harvesting season for the first flush, which commands the highest price, stunning the garden’s 1,175 permanent workers.

According to the timetable fixed by the Tea Board of India, a practice started last year, the plucking and processing of first-flush leaves in the Terai and the Dooars began on February 17.

When the workers of the garden at Banarhat in the western Dooars reached the garden office on Thursday morning to report for work, they saw that the managerial staff had left the estate and a “suspension of work” notice had been put up.

The labourers, particularly the women, began to protest and demanded the immediate intervention of the state labour department so that the garden reopened at the earliest.

“We fail to understand what made the management take such a decision at the commencement of the season. There was no problem in the garden and work had started only a few days ago after the lean season,” said Madhumita Chhetri, a worker.

Prasun Chakraborty, the garden manager, however, said that for the past few days there had been altercations between the management representatives and the workers. The workers had also organised a demonstration without any reason, he alleged.

“Now that the new season has commenced, we want production in full swing and the workers should work in all (three) shifts through the day. However, the workers are reluctant and are working for half a day (one shift). They had also launched protests, so we were forced to announce suspension of work,” Chakraborty said.

The workers differed.

“We had said we would work in all the shifts after Holi. But the management went on insisting that we do so immediately. It is true that we had demonstrated at the garden but the protests were not held during working hours,” a worker said.

Partha Biswas, the deputy labour commissioner of Jalpaiguri, said: “We want to resolve the impasse at the earliest. A tripartite meeting has been called on Friday.”