Lock out at Ganges Jute Mills
The Left Front police greeted the striking workers of Ganges Jute Mills, Bansberia, Hooghly with ruthless lathi chare of the morning of Bengali New Year’s day, it 15 April. Birendra Das a fighting worker of Ganges Jute Mills and Krishna Pal, a worker of Dunlop Factory, owing allegiance to M-L politics were severely injured and admitted to the hospital.
Next day, on investigation team of AICCTU Hooghly District Committee, led by Com. Prabir Haldar, Batakrishna Das and Sudarshan Prasad Singh visited the spot, and met the workers.
Ganges Jute Mill is glaring example where all the laws stipulated in the Labour Act are violated to the hilt, again exposing the mockery of LF industrialization policy. Nearly 4000 workers are strike working in Ganges Jute Mills as ‘apprentice’ for years together, getting a stipend of Rs. 73 per head per day, sans all statutory benefit and are employed in perennial nature of work allotted to the permanent workers. It is worth mentioning that an agreement was signed by the management and three trade unions, viz CITU, INTUC and BMS, that after completion of their trainee period, all such workers name shall be enrolled in the muster roll and shall get Rs. 100 daily. But the management has thrown that bipartite agreement into the waste-paper basket after colluding with the signatory above mentioned trade unions.
The aggrieved workers started strike, and continued for 5 months. They are demanding, permanency to all apprentice workers Rs. 100 daily and DA as per tripartite agreement, withdraw of all the false charges framed by police and charge sheet, termination of the agitating workers.
The police and CITU hoodlums, unable to break the strike, resorted to indiscriminate lathi-charge on 15th April. In protest against such dastardly act in support of the just cause, Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Federation observed ‘Black-day’ on 17 April. Jute workers of BCMF wore black badges, hold protest meeting on that day, and a 12 hr. Banshberia bandh has been called on 13rd April by the CPI(ML) Liberation and AICCTU Hooghly District Committee.