The Mujnai tea estate in Alipurduar district will reopen on Tuesday after a gap of 21 months.

The decision was taken at a tripartite meeting held in the office of the additional labour commissioner of north Bengal in Siliguri on Monday.

“The talks were fruitful. The management agreed to reopen the garden tomorrow (Tuesday). It is good news for the workers. We are doing everything possible to ensure that all other closed tea gardens are reopened in due course,” said Md. Rizwan, the additional labour commissioner (north Bengal).

Sources said the management had closed down Mujnai on December 25, 2018, leaving 999 permanent workers jobless. Workers had protested against delay in payments and the management shut the plantation citing alleged lawlessness.

At the meeting on Monday, it was decided that none of the permanent workers would be sacked.

“Due wages of December 2018 will be paid in two tranches. The first payment will be made on September 18, while the second instalment will be disbursed within the following seven days. The payment of bonus for 2018 was also discussed and a decision would be taken after the industry-wide bonus negotiations ahead of the Durga Puja this year are held,” said Manna Jain, vice-president, Cha Bagan Trinamul Congress Mazdoor Union.

In November, another meeting would be held to discuss the payment of other dues to the labourers, he added.

The state labour department has served a notice on the management of Longview tea estate located in the foothills of Kurseong subdivision and around 20km from Siliguri.

“We have asked the management to send us a specific proposal regarding clearing of the workers’ dues so that we can convene a meeting to resolve the problems. We want the garden to reopen at the earliest,” said Rizwan.

The management had announced suspension of work in Longview on August 21, citing alleged lawlessness. Workers, other the other hand, accused the management of not clearing dues and started a relay fast in the garden.