Hatijan tea workers halt operations demanding reinstatement of six dismissed staff

Dibrugarh, Nov 13: Hundreds of plantation workers of Hatijan tea estate near Duliajan Oil town, have stopped all work in the garden in solidarity with six dismissed colleagues, demanding their immediate reinstatement.

The workers' boycott began on November 4, days be-fore the management formally declared a lockout on November 8, following the breakdown of conciliation efforts between the management and the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS).

Two rounds of conciliation meetings were earlier held on August 7 and November 3, at the office of the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Dibrugarh, but both ended without resolution. The management maintained its stance that the six dismissed workers accused of assaulting the estate manager last year could not be reinstated, citing findings from an internal inquiry.

According to a management notice, the six workers had been involved in an incident of assault on the estate manager, which led to a lockout at the garden on December 30, 2024. The garden reopened on January 9, 2025, after an agreement between the management, workers, and the Assistant Labour Commissioner, under which the workers pledged not to obstruct disciplinary proceedings.

Subsequently, the management initiated domestic inquiries against the six accused workers.

Following their dismissal, the six workers, through ACMS, sought intervention from the Assistant Labour Commissioner for reinstatement. During the conciliation meeting on November 3, tensions escalated when one of the dismissed workers allegedly made violent threats toward the estate manager in the presence of labour officials and union representatives. The meeting ended abruptly, leading to a deadlock in the talks.

The ACMS garden unit today reiterated that operations at Hatijan tea estate will remain suspended until the six dismissed workers are forgiven and reinstated.

"Disputes occur in every industry and institution. At times, these may escalate into violence due to provocation or repeated acts of incitement. But this does not mean that those who are provoked into reacting are solely at fault," said Anthony Hemrom, secretary of the ACMS Hatijan garden unit. "Disciplinary actions are often conducted in a way that makes workers the victims in almost every case, while those responsible for provocation go unpunished."

Hemrom added that the tea garden workers have collectively and voluntarily decided to abstain from work in-definitely until the dismissed workers are reinstated.

Supporting the workers' demand, the local units of the All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam (AASAA) and the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATT-SA) joined the ACMS Hatijan garden unit in a demonstration in front of the Co-District Commissioner's office in Duliajan, urging immediate reinstatement of the dismissed workers to ensure the resumption of normal garden operations.