Rishra (Hooghly), April 20: Less than a month before Bengal elects its representatives in the Lok Sabha, the doors of a jute mill on the banks of the Hooghly were shut.
The management of Hastings Jute Mill, about 40 km from Calcutta, today announced suspension of work, rendering about 5,000 workers jobless.
The Hastings authorities said they were “forced” to issue the suspension-of-work notice following labour unrest, which hit production.
Leaders of several trade unions denied the charge and came together to voice their protest against the decision.
Only a week ago, Palver Ash, a government undertaking at Kuntighat in the district, was closed down. The unit, which had a workforce of about 150, used to manufacture bricks using fly ash from the thermal power station in Bandel.
Hastings is the fifth jute mill to be locked out in the state in the past few months.
The closure notice was hung on its gates at 11 am, immediately after the morning shift ended. Those who trooped in for the next shift were caught unawares. About 1,000 workers gathered in front of the mill gate and shouted slogans.
“We were shocked. When we tried to enter the mill, the management staff forced us out of the gate with the help of police,” said Dinesh Sau, who has been working for over 20 years.
L.R. Lodha, the mill’s chief executive, alleged that workers in two sections did not turn up this morning. They also refused to work last night, leading to a setback in production. “We were forced to issue the notice as the situation was spinning out of our control.”
Citu’s Hooghly secretary Dilip Chatterjee denied the charge. “The management was trying to close down the unit for a long time,” he said. Ironically, the leader of the trade union wing of the BJP echoed Chatterjee, the leader of the CPM’s labour arm.
Adhir Singh, a leader of the Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union, resented the management’s decision to introduce productivity- linked salary.
“Despite our protests, the management introduced the system and deducted salaries of some workers on Thursday. We took up the matter with the district labour commissioner and a tripartite meeting was held in his Serampore office last evening. Another sitting was scheduled for today,” said Singh.