Siliguri, June 7: The management of a fertiliser manufacturing factory in Jalpaiguri district announced suspension of work this morning following demonstrations by the INTTUC over the recruitment of a manager at the unit.
Sources said local leaders of the INTTUC, the trade union front of the Trinamul Congress, and a section of workers at Teesta Agro Industries Limited had been demonstrating for the past one week demanding that Swapan Jha, who had been recruited for a managerial post, be removed.
This morning, the management put up a notice at the factory entrance that said the decision to suspend work at the factory had been taken because of consistent demonstrations which were affecting regular work.
“We held several rounds of talks with the workers but they continued the demonstrations. Our production was getting hampered and we could no longer run the factory,” said S.K. Mohanti, a representative of the Teesta Agro Industries Limited posted at the plant.
“Considering the present state of affairs, we cannot say when the factory will reopen,” he added.
Around 10 days ago, Swapan Jha and Sujan Das had been recruited by the company and both have joined their duties.
“We opposed the recruitment as most of us have objected to accepting one of them (Swapan Jha) as a manager. Even a few years ago, he was just a worker like us and he had participated in several movements for the workers. But recently, he switched his stand and started appeasing the management for personal interests. This way, he has acted against the interests of the workers,” said Md Samuddin, an INTTUC leader and a worker at the factory.
“That is why we were demonstrating in a peaceful manner to demand his removal,” he added.
Sources said the factory in Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district, around 25km from here, has 150-odd workers. It was established in the nineties and fertilisers like urea and others are produced in the plant. The company is based in Calcutta, which runs another plant in Rajasthan. According to sources, Jha was once a Citu leader in Rajganj.
But over the past two-three years as most Citu workers switched over to the INTTUC, Jha distanced himself from trade unions.
Later, he became close to the management.
“This is the principal reason for the grudge of the workers at the factory. They could not take the fact that a Citu leader, who was also a worker at the unit, was elevated to the post of a manager,” said a source.
Rajganj block INTTUC president Tapan Dey said there was little logic behind the management’s move to stop work at the unit.
“We were carrying out a peaceful agitation at the unit on a genuine demand. There is hardly any logic behind the management’s decision to declare suspension of work. The decision has left the workers without jobs. We will approach the district administration of Jalpaiguri and the officials of the state labour department asking them to see to it that the management reopens the factory immediately.”
Rajganj block development officer N.T. Sherpa said they did not have any information.
“We need to check with the factory authorities to know what has happened. No official intimation has reached us so far,” he said.
