CITU calls off plans for strike in Haldia

Kolkata, April 02 Finally, CITU, the labour arm of the CPM, has called off its plans to stall Haldia Petrochemical project. It has decided to defer the strike scheduled to start from April 8 at the Haldia PetroChemical after the intervention of Nirupam Sen and Shyamal Chakraborty from Coimbatore.

In a letter to the HPL management, CITU-backed Haldia Petro Chemical Employees Union today communicated their decision and expressed their keenness to discuss issues across the table. The CITU union had called the strike demanding permanent employment for 183 casual employees who were working there since 2000. The union had served the strike notice to the management on March 22. The 183 casual employees have been working in laboratory, photocopy and other department for the past seven years.

The management wrote a letter to the union showing their interest to discuss the matter with the union.

Tapan Shit, general secretary of the union, in reply to that letter deferred the strike for an indefinite period and expressed his desire to discuss the issue.

It is learnt that Nirupam Sen, state commerce and industries minister, and Shayamal Chakraborty, CITU leader, had discussed the HPL situation at Coimbatore at the ongoing party congress.