By IANS
Kolkata : The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has withdrawn its call for a 24-hour strike April 8 at Haldia Petrochemicals, West Bengal’s largest petrochemical hub. The CITU is the state labour arm of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
The call for the strike was given Tuesday to press demand for permanent employment for 183 out of 1,500 casual workers. Since its inception in 2001, the $1.2 billion investment jewel of the state has not witnessed a strike.
Ashok Patnaik, CITU member and the secretary of the trade union’s Haldia Zonal Committee, told IANS: “After repeated meetings with the management we have decided to call off the strike. The employers have assured us that our demand will be considered”.
The Naptha-based petrochemical complex at Haldia, 125 km from here, is a joint venture of West Bengal Development Corporation, the Chatterjee Petrochem (Mauritius) Co Ltd and the Tata Group.