Texmaco unit to reopen today

Calcutta, Sept. 6: The Texmaco Rail and Engineering Ltd unit at Agarpara that was shut down 10 days ago over wage disputes will reopen tomorrow, labour minister Purnendu Bose has said. “The labourers wanted a revision of their wages because the last such exercise took place in 1997. The owners complained about reduction in the rate of production. The labourers’ agitation intensified and finally the owners declared suspension of work 10 days ago,” Bose said. An agreement was signed by the labour unions, the factory management and the government after a meeting at the deputy labour commissioner’s office in Barrackpore this afternoon. “It is a one-point agreement that the factory will be reopened tomorrow. After that the management and labourers have been asked to sit together and settle their disputes amicably,” the minister said. Ramesh Maheswari, the executive vice-chairman of Texmaco Rail and Engineering, said the suspension of work had affected nearly 1,500 workers at the unit. “There were some untoward incidents on August 27 that led to a law-and-order problem at the unit. The officers complained about a lack of security and inability to function properly,” Maheswari said. It was then that the management decided to declare suspension of work, he said. The Agarpara unit’s nearly 1,500 workers are affiliated to four unions, the Citu-affiliated Texmaco Workers’ Union, the Intuc-led Texmaco Engineering Employees’ Union, the Trinamul Congress-led Texmaco Mazdoor Union and the apolitical Texmaco Sramik Karmachari Union.