OUR CORRESPONDENT
TINSUKIA: Unilateral policy of tea companies with regard to curtailment of benefits evoked despair among the employees and staff. The curbing became more pronounced during the COVID pandemic as most of the local registered offices have drastically reduced their staff. While the company offices in Kolkata take all the decisions pertaining to welfare of employees, the local managerial officials are inapt to handle any employees' grievances, alleged Assam Chah Karmachai Sangha (ACKS).
The central secretary of ACKS, Hiten Barua regretted that the tea companies often allegedly defied the Labour Commissioner's directives and the local managements were made absolutely powerless, rendered to act according to the whims of HQ executives. As a result, employees' grievances were hardly heard locally which amounted to violation of the Plantation Act, Barua observed. Barua also contended that the ACKS was always in favour of negotiation and never confronted the management but continuous deprivation might sometimes compel the ACKS to undertake agitation.
Meanwhile, all unit members of ACKS of Apeejay Tea Limited held an extraordinary general meeting at Circle Office Doomdooma on April 25 where a number of grievances, including unfair labour practices, were raised and eight resolutions were adopted which the ACKS desired to be fulfilled within a timeframe of 15 days else all units of ACKS would resort to agitation.
The letter was addressed to all Apeejay TE managers with copies being sent to Deputy Commissioners and assistant labour commissioners of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. They demanded that the works such as payroll, taxation, sales, shifted to HO Kolkata should be reverted back to Talap RO, medical facilities to staff members as per prevailing PLA Act, recruitment of children of staff members on compassionate ground, review of DM (drier mouth) commission as well as electricity agreement.