Lock-out in NETCO Amingaon plant

GUWAHATI, March 1: Hundreds of workers, both regular and casual, at the Northeast Tobacco Company Ltd (NETCO) cigarette making plant at Amingaon here, were in for a shock today when, reporting for duty in the morning, they found the factory gates shut and their entry into the premises barred. The management had locked out the factory without taking the workers into confidence. Hundreds of workers, fearing loss of employment, laid siege to the office of the company's consultant at Silpukhuri demanding an explanation. Speaking to The Assam Tribune there, the workers, most of them hailing from Amingaon and its periphery, said that the closure of the factory meant the end of the road for them. What has irked them further is the fact that they were caught unawares. According to Arup Bharali, a clerk in the company, when the 400-odd workers reported for duty this morning, they found their entry barred. Few, if any, had known about the impending lockout, he said. According to Bharali, the company employed 120 regular and 280 casual workers at the plant. According to another worker, though most employees were kept in the dark, a handful of them had been called over by the management a few days ago and told to hand in their resignations in lieu of a compensation package for 15 days. He said that there was no reason to believe that the factory would close down since the duty chart till March 10 was in place. Angry with the management, the workers gave vent to their feelings by narrating their complaints. Diganta Sarma, alleged that workers like him had to put in 12 to 15 hours of work without any leave. They were not even allowed to avail of the ESI facilities, he alleged. Supporting his colleague, Krishna Das said that most workers were being paid as little as Rs 1,500 a month without overtime allowance or medical facilities. The workers also alleged that some of them were literally forced to put in 42 hours of labour at a stretch. The complaints of the workers were met with threats, they alleged. Repeated attempts by The Assam Tribune to get the management's point of view regarding the controversy met with failure. The NETCO factory was reopened on December 1999 as a unit of Golden Tobacco Company (GTC). It had been producing nearly 300 million cigarette sticks a month, the workers stated. Left high and dry, the workers, including executives, have now come up with a charter of demands. Urging a suitable compensation package today, they have sought at least a year's salary as compensation, LTA for a year, a month's notice salary and a month's salary against leave. Late in the evening, the workers informed that the management of NETCO has agreed to discuss the matter. The workers have been asked to report for duty from tomorrow though production would remain suspended, they said.