Once Bitten

KOLKATA: Tata Group company Telcon’s pullout threat worked like magic on Thursday, with Writers’ Buildings and Alimuddin Street swinging into action and compelling Left unions to make peace with the company management.

On Wednesday Telcon MD Ranveer Sinha had threatened to shift the earth-moving factory project from Kharagpur in the wake of militant trade unionism.

Aituc and Citu had stopped work at the plant on Monday, insisting the training programme for job-seekers be extended to local people, including the landlosers, with equal eligibility criteria.

This became the major stumbling block, with the management sticking to its decision to offer training facilities primarily to landlosers. Following pressures from their party bosses, the unions agre-ed to the management’s offer to impart training to landlos-ers and members of backward castes with the age limit of 35 years and a minimum qualification of Class VIII certificate. But the other candidates have to be Madhyamik passouts and not more than 25 years old.

The unions had sought such relaxation for all candidates. Aituc district president J Banerjee and district Citu leader Mihir Pahari attended Thursday’s tripartite meeting with Telcon officials and SDO Sabuj Baran Sarkar.

Telcon officials were happy with the outcome of the meeting. “At a meeting with government officials on July 16, the matter on the eligibility of candidates for Telcon’s training course to impart skills to individuals for becoming operators and mechanics has been resolved. A new notification will be issued soon,” a Telcon spokesperson said.

Bengal is still feeling the Nano efect.
Our comrades have now realized that the Tatas do not joke when they say they will withdraw a project from a state.
We have a saying that those who are scalded when drinking hot milk blow even over curd while drinking it.
The agitators in Kharagpur have withdrawn their agitation and prevented another project from going to Gujarat.
Sorry, Mr. Modi.
We have learnt our lesson.