Kolkata, Nov 14: Announcing the launch of the first
trade union body in West Bengal's IT sector today, CPI(M)'s
labour arm CITU yesterday said that unions were necessary to
protect the rights of the workers.
"Tomorrow an association of IT employees is going to be
launched," CITU state president Shyamal Chakraborty said at an
interactive meeting with industrialists here.
The industrialists expressed strong reservations at the
move saying that it would 'damage' the image of Indian
organisations in the international market.
S K Bangur, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce,
which organised the interaction opposed the formation of the
union.
Chakraborty, however, justified it saying, "there will be
resistance and unions wherever workers are organised and
whenever their rights are snatched away by managements."
Asked why the CITU thought of spearheading the move to
form a union in the IT sector, he said, "it depends on the
situation prevailing in a particular industry and whenever the
rights of the workers are denied."
Chakraborty, who is also a senior state CPI(M) leader,
remained non-committal on exempting the IT sector from the
purview of the December 14 All-India strike.
"We will announce our decision on December 12 whether IT
would be kept out of the strike," he said.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee has sworn to
protect the industry from disruption in his drive for
industrialisation of the state.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 00:00