Coimbatore, Nov 21: The 30-day long indefinite strike by the workers of National Textile Corporation (NTC) mills here was today called off, following a settlement reached between the management and union leaders at Delhi. The workers would resume duty from tomorrow morning, MLF, the labour wing of MDMK, sources told.

Over 3,000 workers of NTC mills were on indefinite strike from October 19, demanding bonus and not to treat it as recoverable advance from their terminal benefits. In order to find a solution, local MP and Tamil Nadu BJP president C P Radhakrishnan had taken a delegation of major trade unions to Delhi to discuss the issue with ministries concerned and the senior officials of NTC holding company.

A settlement was arrived at during a meeting between representatives of unions, the management and secretaries of textile and finance ministries, they said. According to an agreement, all the workers would be paid Rs 5,000 as bonus, out of which Rs 2,500 would be recovered in eight equal installments from March 2004, the sources said.

It was also decided to constitute a committee, comprising three members each from unions and management and another from productivity council, they said.

The committee would submit a report within two months to the government about the remaining Rs 2,500 and the amount paid as bonus, which had been deducted as recoverable advance since 1996, the sources said. Bureau Report