New Chumta Tea Estate To Reopen

A month and 24 days after its management declared a lockout, the New Chumta Tea Estate on the outskirts of Siliguri is likely to reopen tomorrow.

The reopening proposal was finalised today following bipartite and tripartite agreements struck in the presence of the state Urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya, senior CITU, INTUC and HMS leaders, the plantation’s management and the deputy labour commissioner.
If New Chumta reopens tomorrow according to the agreement, the state government will have succeeded in reopening both the closed tea estates in the Terai. The other locked out plantation Phargoomiah, reopened last week.

Incidentally, New Chumta closed down on 29 December. Chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was visiting Siliguri the next day had publicly stated that he would arrange for the plantation’s management to hold a meeting in Kolkata and ensure the plantation’s reopening.

Although matters did not progress the way the chief minister had stated, it could be more than coincidental that the reopening agreement came today at a time when the chief minister is once again on a visit to Siliguri.

The New Chumta’s closure and reopening can be singled out as more than a case of settled industrial dispute. The plantation being in the middle of the urban development minister’s home constituency Siliguri, occupies a special spot, which may have prompted the Siliguri mahakuma parishad to implement a relief scheme for the workers during the closure period.

The move had provided the Opposition a handle to wield against the minister and the CPI-M. According to them, it was preferential treatment as the same was not forthcoming at Pahargoomiah, which was locked out prior to New Chumta. Pahargoomiah too is located in the Siliguri sub-division but falls in the jurisdiction of the adjacent Phansidewa Assembly constituency.

As far as today’s agreements are concerned, the functioning workers’ unions are satisfied that they succeeded in avoiding a retrenchment proposal put forth by the New Chumta management.

Source > The Statesman