Ilam, September 23 :

Stating that the agreement between the tea workers’ unions and tea producers’ associations made on August 27 has not been implemented, tea workers locked in eight officials, including the manager of the Kanyam Tea Estate, Punya Dhakal, in the office today. The workers also did not join their duty.

As wages from August 1 were not provided to the workers and the management was going to provide the Dashain allowance in violation of the agreement, the workers shut in the eight officials. Though the Dashain allowance has to be provided equivalent to the wages of 26 days as per the agreement, the management said it would provide allowance equivalent to 15 days’ wages, said a worker Saran Kumar Basnet, adding he was not getting wages since August 1.

The Nepal Tea Development Corporation (NTDC) has said it would provide Dashain allowance equivalent to 20 days of wages to its workers in Jhapa and the allowance would be provided equivalent to 15 days of wages to workers in Ilam.

There are four tea estates in Ilam and three estates in Jhapa under the NTDC. Some 500 workers are working in the tea estates in Ilam.