The “workers committee” of the 500-hectare Longview Tea Estate on Saturday disbursed wages to around 250-odd workers, indicating that workers are taking control of the garden from the management.

“We disbursed around Rs 1.4 lakhs to 250-odd workers at the rate of Rs 202 per day,” said Mani Raj Dhumjen, coordinator of both the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay camp) trade union and workers’ committee.

Workers at Longview, the largest tea estate in the Darjeeling tea industry, had stopped reporting for duty from December 23 as the management had failed to clear dues.

Last Wednesday, Anit Thapa, general secretary of the Morcha (Binay camp) and also the chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) asked workers to run the garden and said the party was now pursuing the concept of “hamro ghar, afnai bhar (our house, our onus).”

Trade leaders of the Binay camp said workers were now running the garden independently while the management said they had not shut the garden and hence workers were under the management.

Workers’ cooperative unions have been formed in “closed gardens” but this is a first for a garden that the management claims was “not closed.”

Amar Pal Singh Dahiya, garden manager, said workers were paid by the committee and called this a “dangerous precedent”. “We have written to all authorities concerned on this, including unions,” he added.

Planters of Darjeeling tea industry said this was “a double-edged sword.” “While this will act as deterrent against those owners who close gardens during non-plucking period and then open during production, leaders running the show for political gains will do more harm to the industry in the long run,” a planter said. Another planter said that running a garden on this model was not sustainable. “Issues like trademark, licensing, marketing are important for long-term sustainability.”

Rival party GNLF alleged that the development at Longview was an outcome of one-upmanship between the two factions of Morcha led by Bimal Gurung and Anit Thapa camp.

Leaders of the Anit Thapa camp disagreed. “The workers were facing huge economic hardship. The day we decided to run the garden on our own, the management cleared Rs 15 lakhs in workers dues. Why couldn’t the management pay the dues earlier? A number of earlier meetings on clearing workers due had earlier failed,” said Mani Raj.

Asked whether the workers model would now be firmly established in Longview, Mani Raj said that everything would depend on the management’s moves.

PMO on auction hub

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has instructed two officials one each from the central and the state government to take necessary initiatives for reopening the North Bengal Tea Auction Centre in Jalpaiguri. The centre that was opened here back in 2005 is closed since 2015 due to poor inflow of tea.