By IANS
Kolkata : Tata Motors Wednesday inducted 80 people from those families that have lost their lands in West Bengal’s Singur where its upcoming plant would make the Rs.100,000 ($2,500) Nano, the preview of which at Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi is making waves around the world.
The 80 people were taken in as apprentices in keeping with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Tata Motors, West Bengal’s government’s department of technical education and training (DTET) and West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC).
The new employees are from nearby villages and had earlier registered with WBIDC, Tata Motors said in a statement.
They have taken either a 6- or 9-month training course at various industrial training institutes (ITIs) in Howrah and Hooghly districts of the state.
After completing their respective programmes, these youths took a trade test conducted by the West Bengal Government’s DTET. The successful candidates were selected as apprentices, and will now undergo 15 months’ hands-on training at Tata Motors facilities to make them multi-skilled.
On successful completion of this 15-month programme, the trainees will take the trade tests to qualify for trade certificates issued by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and will become eligible for employment at the Singur plant and vendor facilities.
In addition to 60 local youth, 20 youth from various ITIs of West Bengal, selected from the campus by Tata Motors, have also been inducted.
The company said another group of 311 individuals – all from Singur villages – are now undergoing the six and nine month training programmes since May 2007, and the successful candidates would be absorbed.
While a series of protests since middle of 2006, spearheaded by Trinamool Congress as well as civil society groups against land acquisition at Singur in Hooghly district, about 40 km from here, rocked West Bengal, Tata Motors unveiled its people’s car in a blaze of glory and publicity in New Delhi Jan 10.
But that very day an agitation brewed at Singur over retrenchment of temporary workers at the plant from who were from families who have lost their lands.