Ferroalloys, jute industry in dire straits

Owing to innumerable problems that ferroalloys units and jute mills have been facing for long, some 30,000 workers and their families are virtually suffering economically.

While Facor, the major ferroalloys unit at Garividi, was shut down 10 months ago due to unrest in loading and unloading wing and also for want of raw material, three more units -- Andhra Ferroalloys, Swastik Ferroalloys, and Jayalaskhmi Ferroalloys -- were closed for various reasons. Lakkaraju N. Murty, General Manager (personnel) of Facor said that the factory remained closed since February 4 this year due to strike by 247 loading and unloading workers and lack of captive mines.

With regard to jute industry, the standoff between workers and management of Sri Lakshmi Srinivas Jute Mills that owns three major jute mills, one at Bobbili and the other two--East Coast and Aruna-- in Vizianagaram, about 9,000 workers are jobless. While East Coast Jute Mills here remained closed since May 31 this year, the other two were closed from October 12.

“The management’s lopsided policies and violation of agreements at will are the reasons for the present imbroglio. There has been no wage revision in the jute industry for the past 16 years,” says T.V. Ramana, CITU district secretary. Moreover, he said that the jute management had not been depositing insurance premiums and PF that are being deducted every month from salaries of workers with the respective central establishments and also not paying gratuity to retired employees. Further, the management did not release voluntary contributions of workers to ‘death fund’.

Citing losses, Nellimarla Jute Mills asked each worker to contribute Rs. 18 per day from their wages that will be repaid after five years. Now, each employee was to receive about Rs. 30,000 but the management had not repaid it so far, Mr. Ramana asserted. The conciliatory talks between management and workers before Joint Commissioner of Labour held several times in the past failed to settle problems amicably. No political party has ever tried to settle the problems, he lamented.