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Journalism of Courage
Calcutta, January 13: For a state mired in industrial sickness and fighting a losing battle to attract capital, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time and in more shocking a manner. Angry workers at the century-old Baranagar Jute Mill — which opened only two months ago after a long strike — lynched their Chief Executive Officer and a senior manager by setting them on fire.
Trouble began early this morning when hundreds of workers ransacked CEO Jagdamba Tiwary’s office protesting against the suspension of two workers last Thursday and demanded their re-instatement. Police said Tiwary fired one round from his revolver killing Das. The mob then dragged Tiwary and General Managaer (Personnel) Gautam Ghosh out of their offices, severely assaulted them before setting them ablaze using what police called “flaming tyre tubes doused in petrol.”
The token tongue-clicking has begun, the Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the “unfortunate incident,” Labour Minister Shanti Ghatak refused to comment. CITU secretary Kali Ghosh “regretted” the incident at a time when the government was trying to project an investment friendly face. “There might have been provocatoin from the management, but it was no way to respond for any responsible trade union,” Ghosh said.
But the incident has once again underscored the anarchy in the jute industry cultivated by the government, labour leaders and a section of the business community.
Once considered one of the most organized industries in the state, jute was second only to the engineering sector in terms of jobs — it had 25% of the total registered factory employment in West Bengal. But since the early ’90s, it slipped into being a symbol of Bengal’s industrial decay.
Ironically, a state government which champions the cause of labour has let trade union leaders exploit thousands of workers in direct collusion with the owners.
In fact, the most recent and comprehensive study of the sector, carried out by a social welfare organization, shows that as many as 80,000 workers employed in jute mills do not even exist in official records.
These faceless workers are known as “badli” workers. While this was the predominant trend among owners who ran mills on lease, it has now become common in the industry.
Reason: These workers get anything between Rs 70 to Rs 120 per day when the minimum daily wage is Rs 214. Unaccounted workforce also does not attract sales tax, excise duty, income tax or turnover tax. It also saves the owner the liability of paying PF, ESI, gratuity and other benefits. As off 1998, the industry, as a whole, has a default of Rs 140 crore on PF payment and Rs 70 crore on ESI. In fact, so entrenched is this system that owners refuse to pay dues to a retiring employee and instead offer him a job as a “badli.”
The labour union leaders get a cut as well. For every badli worker, at least Rs 20 of his daily wage goes into the pockets of the leaders of the union to which he belongs. So if a union leader employs 100 such badli, his monthly income from this is a cool Rs 60,000.
No wonder, therefore, that the Indian Jute Manufacturer’s Association has not attended a single meeting convened by the government in the past couple of years.
The Baranagar jute mill is no exception and at the micro level, it has all the ills the industry faces now: a vast ghost workforce, scores of retired employees who have not been paid their dues, unscrupulous labour leaders and the nature of ownership.
Of the 59 jute mills in Bengal now, five are said to be state run, 29 owner run and another 25 are run on lease or sub-lease basis. Most of these mills are closed and opened at will by the owners depending on market demands, export requirements and profitability. This largely explains why only Rs 9 crore could be utilized by the industry towards modernization out of a total fund of Rs 150 crore created for the purpose.
