Production of a fertiliser company in Haldia was stopped on Monday following agitation by a group of contract workers with flags of Trinamul Congress, after 12 of them accused of hampering production were suspended by their contractor.

However, INTTUC (Trinamul’s labour arm) leaders claimed the protesters were affiliated to the BJP and had planned the agitation with Trinamul flags to tarnish the image of the state government.

The BJP, in turn, denied it. On Thursday, officials of the company, Indorama India Private Limited, which mostly supplies di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), had complained against the alleged misconduct of labourers and the trade unions and how it hampers production, at a meeting with the district administration, in the presence of ministers Soumen Mahapatra and Akhil Giri.

Partha Sarathi Banerjee, vice-president of the company that produces the Paras brand of fertiliser, on Monday said he had told the government in the Thursday meeting about labour troubles.

“Our production came down to half our capacity because of the attitude and lack of discipline of labourers. I was apprehensive of having to close down production…The government officials assured us of steps (to prevent such an eventuality). (However) as soon as 12 workers were suspended, production stopped,” Banerjee said on Monday.
A group of around 200 workers of the unit’s stacking and loading section closed the main gates of the factory in Haldia, which resulted in no production for all of Monday, after labour contractor Prasanta Das suspended 12 workers for their alleged role in hampering production. Das is a Trinamul councillor of the Haldia municipality.
Tapas Maity, the INTTUC chief in Tamluk, said they had no hand in it.

“I heard about the issue in the fertiliser factory. I found out those behind the closure of the unit are of the BJP. The BJP leaders instigated those labourers to tarnish the image of our government. I have spoken to the police to take action,” Maity, who was present at the Thursday meeting and was asked by ministers Mahapatra and Giri to take action against those hampering production at the fertiliser company which supplies 80 per cent of its produce to Bengal.

The labour-contractor of the factory had then been asked to identify such “troublemakers” and remove them from work. BJP leaders, however, said Maity had made a “baseless” allegation.

“It is the usual claim by Trinamul, whenever they fail to control their own workers. There is no connection of the BJP with the protest or suspension,” said Nabarun Nayek, BJP chief in the Tamluk organisational district.

Panchanan Hazra, one of the suspended labourers of the factory, identified himself as a member of Trinamul’s labour arm and accused the company’s management of framing him and others to escape their charter of demands.

“There are 200 labourers in our unit, and 12, including me, were suspended… We are proud members of the INTTUC, and we protested with the flag of our union,” said Hazra.