The Bengal government’s silence on the Centre’s suggestion to exempt the jute industry from the lockdown has deepened the worries of lakhs of labourers who work on a no-work-no-pay basis.
The 59 jute mills in Bengal, the largest producer of jute in the country, employ around 3 lakh people directly and 40 lakh indirectly. A jute mill worker is paid a wage of Rs 528, plus some fringe benefits, for serving eight hours a day.
“The problem is, the majority of the workers in the jute industry are budli workers, who a re not paid if they don’t work. If the lockdown continues, what would happen to them?” asked a member of the Jute Workers’ Federation, a union of mill labours.
Budli workers are unique to the jute industry, the mill managements hiring such replacements of permanent workers to tackle absenteeism. Over the years, the volume of budli workers kept increasing as it allowed the management the freedom to tailor labour costs according to production targets.
Several jute mill owners told this correspondent that all payments for the March 1 to March 22, when India observed the Janata Curfew, had been cleared. “However, since then, there has been no work. We are not in a position to make payments to temporary workers,” said a mill owner.
The trade unions have appealed to the Centre and the state government to ensure that wages are paid to all workers, irrespective of the nature of employment, for the 21-day lockdown period.
“The governments have also asked the industries to ensure the payment of wages. But the jute mill owners are in denial,” said Anadi Sahu, the Citu state secretary.
Raghavendra Gupta, the chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association, said: “The issue of paying wages for the lockdown period has to be discussed with the state government first.”
The problems, sources said, will only get compounded as the shortfall in jute bags has prompted the Centre to allow the use of 6.46 lakh plastic bales for packing food grains.
“It is mandatory to pack all food grains in jute bags. If food suppliers don’t buy jute bags once the lockdown ends, mills will have to depend on foreign clients. However, mills that don’t have such clientele might need to scale down production, which will further impact the workers,” said a source in the industry.
Many believe that jute mills can function by adhering to social-distancing norms.
“With newer technology such as the Chinese looms, one worker can now operate six to eight looms at a time, unlike four years back when each worker was responsible for one loom,” said a source in the jute commissioner’s office.
Wage loss for jute workers — like in any other sector — will have an impact on the state’s economy. “No money in hand leads to lower buying capacity, which is always ominous for the economy,” said economist and professor Abhirup Sarkar.