Burdwan, Oct. 25: A rice bran oil factory in Burdwan declared a lockout yesterday, allegedly after a 14-day agitation by Trinamul trade union INTTUC demanding reinstatement of four sacked contract workers.

The authorities of the Sethia Oil Industries Ltd factory in Pemra, on the outskirts of Burdwan town, said the four workers were laid off last month because they “did not do their job and used to encourage others to follow them”.

“The INTTUC workers stopped those willing to work from entering the factory. Our production of 300 tonnes per day has been seriously hampered,” said Ashok Sarogi, the factory manager.

Labour department officials said a meeting called by the deputy labour commissioner on Wednesday could not be held because the INTTUC leaders of the factory did not attend it. The working president of the INTTUC-affiliated Sethia Oil Mills Shramik-Karmachari Union, Golam Jarjis, said: “We were not informed about the meeting.”