By Kunal ture 7pm Friends Meeting House 173-177 Euston Chattopadhyay, Road London NW1 open ICS, Fourth event - men welcome de- International tails: Palestine Solidarity campaign 071 700 6192 OVER 2,000 West Bengal Friday 18 workers have occupied the Kanoria Jute Mill Free Riaz and Qayyum! Human Rights for Black Prisoners since December 1993. The factory, at Phuleswar picket the Home Office 10am2pm Queens Anne's Gate SW1 near Calcutta, reopened Saturday 19 under workers' control after management suspended work. National demonstration West Bengal's jute industry against racism in East Lonis remarkable for the massive don called by TUC. Assem- profits made by the owners, ble 11am Spitalfields the repeated, systematic and Market off Commercial boldly illegal cheating of the Street E1. Move off at 12 workers' dues, and the decades noon. Rally 2pm London long plea of 'crisis' to increase the exploitation of workers. acterised by some of the most corrupt of unions.
Every year owners cheat when it comes to depositing their share of workers' 'Provident Fund' (PF) social insurance payments and resort to periodic lockouts. Currently nine jute mills are closed, involving 37,000 workers. The total amount not paid into the PF accounts is over 809 million rupees (around €20 million).
The four recognised unions at the Kanoria factory had all agreed a plan for 166 job losses, a higher workload, and the financing of the company by a daily 11 rupee deduction from wages. To the workers this unionism came to mean only an added oppression as the union leaders collected union dues, lectured on the need for long-term struggle, and did nothing in practice. A year ago a majority of workers joined the Sangrami Sramik Union (Militant Workers Union). In November the union called a one-day strike as management had not paid the House Rent Allowance.
Occupied
Workers occupied the factory after management threated to suspend production, in the face of hostility from the stalinist 'Communist Party of India, whose Bengali daily Ganashakti called exemplary solidarity action by people from 87 surrounding villages "picnicking". But over 50 trade unions and many established left activists, including veteran CPI leader Hirendranath Mukerkee, came forward in support of the occupation.
Already the occupation has made a permanent mark in the West Bengal. A High Court ruling stopping workers from producing and selling has shown the class nature of the legal system to many.
While the Kanoria struggle is in full swing, other struggles are preparing. Both moral and material support are needed from trade unions, political organisations and mass organisations world wide. Send contributions and solidarity messages to Secretary, Sangrami Sramik Union, Siberia, Phuleswar, Howrah, West Bengal, India or to Abhijit Roy, 6/9 Bijoygarh, Calcutta -700032, India.
Socialist TUC Saturday 19 March