Children of labourers at Howrah’s Kanoria Jute Mills stand in front of a machine after the factory reopened on Monday. Picture by Gopal Senapati

Aug. 22: Howrah’s Kanoria Jute Mills, which had remained closed for five years because of labour and wage problems, reopened today following an agreement signed by the government, the owner and the major unions.

“If a factory closes down, the workers are affected the most. The new government believes in negotiations to keep factory gates open. Kanoria Jute Mills will run on mutual co-operation among the owner, government and the workers. Strikes called on trivial issues will be dealt with strictly,” said labour minister Purnendu Bose, who was present at the reopening. The factory siren blew at 11am.

Bose, who was once the leader of Sangrami Shramik Union that is one of the unions at the mill, had brokered peace between the management and the workers.

The tripartite agreement was signed on July 22 by the state government, mill owner S.S. Pasari and representatives of the Sangrami Shramik Union and Trinamul’s INTTUC. The CPM’s Citu, Forward Bloc’s TUCC and the Congress’s Intuc did not sign the agreement but have promised co-operation in the smooth running of the mill.

The 81-year-old jute mill that is spread over 35 acres was closed down on March 20, 2006. INTTUC sources said the mill had closed and reopened 17 times in the past 24 years. Last time, it was closed because of labour unrest and “inadequate” wages, the sources said.

Purnendu Bose

“The mill will be reopened with full support from the government. From tomorrow, we are going to start maintenance work. By September 10, we will start operations,” Pasari said.

He said that although the mill had the capacity to produce 90 tonnes of jute yarn daily, the initial output would be less than a fourth of that. “We will start with 20 tonnes per day for now. We hope to produce 90 tonnes per day within a year and later consider expanding the capacity,” he said.

“We have a worker strength of 2,500. Of them, 1,500 are on the rolls while the rest are casual workers. The issue of hiring more workers will arise only when we consider expansion,” Pasari added.

He said an initial investment of Rs 12 crore would be made to revive the mill. Pasari blamed the Left Front government for the mill remaining closed for such a long time. “They wanted to take over the company. Left-backed unions incited the workers to agitate on trivial issues and stop production. When they organised a mass strike in 2006, we had no option but to close down the factory,” Pasari said.

Minister Bose said the mill used to be run on generators every time it reopened. “One of the major allegations of the workers against the mill owner was that he never wanted to run it. But this is the first time Pasari has invested Rs 50 lakh to get a power connection. This has raised hopes among workers,” Bose said.

The minister assured the workers that he would ensure their dues were cleared in three months and the provident fund and gratuity problems solved.

The workers expressed their happiness at the mill’s reopening. “My three children had to drop out of school as we had no money. My eldest son was forced to become a zari worker as he could not study beyong Class IV,” said Latika Boyad, whose husband Kalipada is a labourer in the mill. Kalipada became a chronic depression patient after the mill closed down in 2006.

Citu, however, doubted if the mill would run smoothly for a long time. “The factory was reopened without resolving pending issues like PF, gratuity and pension of retired workers,” said Kanak Das, the district Citu secretary.

Manufacturers said there was a moderate demand for jute in Bengal. “I won’t say it’s great, but it’s not miserable either,” said Manish Poddar, the chairman of the Indian Jute Manufacturers’ Association.