The closed gates of Manaksia Limited in Haldia on Monday. Picture by Jahangir Badsa

Tamluk, Nov. 3: An aluminium products factory in Haldia, where a group of permanent employees had beaten up an assistant manager last week, today suspended work indefinitely and blamed the Trinamul-backed contract workers’ union for the unrest at the unit.

The Manaksia Group, which owns the factory, said it was forced to hand out a steep hike to contract workers in August despite the company’s financial losses. After the hike, the contract workers earned more than the permanent employees.

Although the permanent staff in the factory do not have a union, sources said they were prodded by the INTTUC to demand an immediate increase in salary, leading to the attack on the assistant manager.

Tapan Guha Roy, the MD of the Rs 2,000-crore Manaksia Group, said: “We were asked to give a good hike (to contractual employees) even as the aluminium division was making a loss of Rs 4 crore a quarter. Subhendubabu (Trinamul Tamluk MP and president of the Manaksia Ltd Contractual Workers’ Union Subhendu Adhikari) himself signed the dotted line (on the pay revision).”

The MD added: “We cannot even decide on the security guards to be recruited for the factory. Do you think we can do anything to the casual workers? We have to take those the union backs even if they do not possess the required skill. It is sad that permanent employees have also started creating trouble. They had never done so before.”

Contacted, Adhikari said he would not comment on the matter. District INTTUC leaders described the company’s charges against the union as “baseless”.

According to Guha Roy, the management had proposed to insert two clauses for the contract workers.

First, it planned to introduce the no-work, no-pay scheme. Secondly, the company proposed flexibility to shift the contract hands from one section to another within the division, if required.

The management failed to implement both clauses. “They got what they wanted, but did not let us implement the clauses. They egged on the permanent employees to turn against us,” Guha Roy said.

Following the August hike, the contractual workers were getting Rs 13,000 a month, up from Rs 7,500-8,500, compared to Rs 9,000-10,000 the permanent employees got.

The industry employs contract workers because they come cheaper than permanent hands, sources said. Moreover, they can be benched without pay.

Sibnath Sarkar, the working president of the East Midnapore district INTTUC, said: “The company has suspended operations because of its internal problems. It has nothing to do with any labour unrest. All allegations made by the company are baseless.”

The factory management has served a show-cause notice on 16 permanent employees for allegedly assaulting the assistant manager last week.

The management has also named the 16 in its police complaint.

Manaksia Limited makes aluminium-rolled products at the Haldia unit and exports to several countries. There are 137 casual and 216 permanent workers at the plant.

One of the permanent employees, who requested not to be identified, said: “I have been working here as a junior operator for the past five years. But the wages of contract workers were revised before the Pujas while our salary remains the same. We have no union. But the contractor’s workers have the backing of the INTTUC. As a result, their wage was revised.”

Deputy labour commissioner of Haldia, Mihir Sarkar, said he had received a copy of the work suspension notice in which the management had cited labour unrest and financial loss as reasons.

“I have asked the management to come for a negotiation in my office on November 5,” Sarkar said.

Khaitan unit

Khaitan Electrical today suspended work at its fan unit in Calcutta. A senior company official said the company did not have enough manpower to run the unit after a VRS scheme.

The official said the plant was left with 30 employees without sufficient technical strength