BY TC News Desk
Agartala, December 31: The workers of Tripura Jute Mill have announced a strike from January 1, 2024, to protest against the non-payment of their salaries and allowances as per the court’s order. The Tripura Jutemill Joint Movement Committee, a collective of various workers’ associations, held a press conference at the Agartala Press Club on Sunday and declared their plan of action.
According to the convener of the committee, Dhanmani Sinha, the Jute Mill authorities have been violating the rights of the workers for a long time. He said that the workers had approached the Supreme Court and the High Court to seek justice, and the court had directed the authorities to pay the workers according to the Fourth Pay Council’s recommendations from January 1, 1996.
However, the authorities did not comply with the court’s order and instead issued a notice on December 28, stating that only the two committees that had filed the case would be compensated. Sinha said that this was unfair and unacceptable, and demanded that all the workers should receive their dues, including gratuity, leave salary, and other benefits.
He also accused the authorities of misleading the Labour Department by providing the number of workers in 1983 instead of 2017, which would result in many workers being left out of the compensation. He said that the lawyers had advised them to challenge this move and to file an application to the authorities to follow the court’s order properly.
He said that the committee would organize a public appeal campaign in front of the gate of Jute Mill on January 1, and submit a deputation to the managing director of the jute mill. He warned that if the authorities did not remove the deprivation of all the workers by January 3, the committee would intensify their agitation and take legal action against them for contempt of court.
