Jute mill staff,management lock horns again,work halted

On January 13,the employees had manhandled three senior mill officials and later held them captive for several hours.

Despite several rounds of meeting between the management and the unions on Thursday,no solution was in sight.

G Boradia,general manager of J K Jute Mill,said: “Sitaram has often been found guilty of misconduct and was instrumental in provoking other employees against the management.” According to him,Sitaram had been given several warnings in the past. Taking in account his past record,the management terminated his service on Wednesday.

The management’s decision met with a strong response from the eight employee unions of the mill.

Daulat Ram,president of JK Jute Mill Mazdoor Panchayat,said: “Be it the payment of arrears,recruiting more employees or providing better facilities to the employees,the mill management has proved to be a failure on all fronts.” According to him,Sitaram’s termination was prompted by the ongoing differences between the unions and the management.

“By terminating Sitaram from service,the management wants to create a fear phycosis among the employees and force us to work under their dictatorship,” he added.

Another employee union leader,Hari Om claimed that the employees would return to work only after their demands are accepted by the management. “In the last 15 months,the management has failed to provide any relief to the retired employees,” he said. “The management has made several fake commitments. But this time we will not return till the time our demands are accepted.”

Refuting the charges levelled by the unions,a senior

J K Jute Mill official said: “Despite the financial losses,we have recruited more employees than the required strength.”

According to him,though the production has gone down in the last few months,the management has not retrenched any employee.

“Action against Sitaram was taken because of his misconduct,but the union leaders are using this issue to mislead other employees,” said the official. “Due to the repeated protests by the employees,the jute production has gone down from 70 tonne per day to 40 tonne per day,” he added.

According to the official,under the present scenario it is not possible for the management to accept the demands of the unions.

On June 21,2003,JK group,the then owners of JK Jute Mill,had closed the unit due to heavy financial losses. In 2007,the ownership of the mill went in the hands of Kolkata-based Sarda and Mall group. With the efforts of Sarda and Mall group,the mill re-opened on October 20,2008.