Andhra Pradesh: Nellimarla Jute Mill shut down, employees in trouble

“The mill was shut down on June 12 but no intimation was given to the labour department till date,’’ said assistant labour commissioner for Vizianagaram district, Srinivasa Rao.

Rao said the commissioner of labour deputed him to ascertain the reasons fpor the closure. After verifying the facts, he would send a report to the commissioner.

The mill employed 300 workers on muster roll and another 900 on contract basis.

“This is neither a lockout nor a strike by the workers,” stressed trade union leader Namala Tirupathi Rao.

The mill produced 110 tonnes of jute by employing more than 6,000 workers till 1994. In the same year, the company declared a lockout and when workers agitated for the reopening, it resulted in violence. Police opened fire, which resulted in the death of four workers. In 1974, five workers were killed in police firing after some workers killed a labour office in the mill premises during a strike.

“The company is in an uncertain situation with no sight of orders or sourcing of raw material (mesta). The jute mills were procuring raw material from West Bengal and Odisha with little add on from the local farmers,’’ Tirupathi Rao noted.

Rao said the local farmers stopped growing mesta as the dry lands have been converted for real estate business. Some farmers have started growing maize as it proved more profitable than mesta.

He said the uncertainty has pushed the workers into financial difficulties. The company did not pay gratuity to 1500 employees since 2015 and failed to contribute to the provident fund.

The workers are hopeful the new government would reopen the unit.