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Bengal urged to reopen 5 jute mills

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, May 27

THE Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union (BCMU) has urged the State Government to take necessary steps to reopen the five jute mills in West Bengal in which millowners have declared suspension of work this month.

Mr Niren Ghosh, President of BCMU, told newspersons here that the State Government should take appropriate steps under the Industrial Disputes Act for `unconditional' reopening of mills. The workers should also be compensated for loss of wage during the period of suspension of work.

According to him, the five mills employ around 18,000 workers. Out of the 59 mills in the State, 15 mills (employing around 50,000 people) are closed at present. ``Non-availability of raw jute and its high price are ploys for closing down the mills. The ultimate aim is to create pressure on the workers to accept lesser wages,'' he said.

An industry-wide wage revision following a tri-partite agreement is due for over two years now. ``The management of the mills is forcing workers to accept illegal and anti-labour bi-partite agreement at the unit level. We would resist that tooth and nail ''.

Mr Md. Amin, State's new Labour Minister, met the representatives of the management of the five closed mills and also the trade union leaders separately this week. The West Bengal Government wants the mill management and the TU leaders to come to the neg otiating table. However, the Minister has reportedly asked the mill owners to resume operations first.

Mr Ghosh said that the millowners generally had been indulging in ``various illegal methods of employment and had been avoiding paying statutory dues''. He claimed that while productivity doubled in the last few years, exploitation of the jute mill worke rs increased.

Both the BCMU _ a CITU-affiliate _ and the State Government are for a holistic approach in solving the problems of the jute mill industry, which employs around 2.5 lakh people.