The lockout at the Chittivalasa jute mill at Tagarapuvalasa in Visakhapatnam district is continuing for more than nine months and the distraught workers have urged the State Government to take steps to get the mill re-opened.
They have undertaken indefinite hunger strike and have submitted a memorandum to the Visakhapatnam District Collector, Mr Syamala Rao, to take urgent steps to get the lockout lifted.
It is one of the oldest and major composite jute mills in the State, with a capacity of 100 tonnes a day and workforce of nearly 6,000.
The lockout was imposed on April 20, 2009, when the management wanted to operate the mill only for two shifts instead of the usual three, citing power problems, and the unions rejected the proposal. The management gave an assurance to the workers then that their employment would not be affected and the workers would be suitably deployed in the two shifts. The management contended that it would not be economical to run the mill for three shifts and urged the unions to co-operate.
The recognised union, affiliated to the Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and other unions alleged that of the 6,000 workers in the 100-tonne-a-day mill many would be rendered workless, if the management operated only two shifts and therefore it was not acceptable to them. Several rounds of discussions in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad proved futile and subsequently the State Government prohibited the lockout in August and directed the mill management to re-open it. The management moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court and obtained a stay. Since then, talks have been eld several times, yielding no result.
The unions allege that the management had used the power problem as a ruse to shut down the mill and is not really keen on re-opening it. They want the mill to be run for three shifts as in the past.
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