Sanjay Kajaria, chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA), has resigned today. According to industry circles, a section of the jute millers' reluctance to implement the agreement recently signed in a tripartite settlement has much to do with his resignation. The IJMA was a signatory to the agreement on behalf of the jute millers. The agreement was arrived at and signed on February 12 after a 61-day long strike in the jute industry.
According to the settlement, the jute mill workers would have to be paid their DA at the rate of Rs 1,198 in six installments for the next three years. Also, the total outstanding on gratuity account will have to be cleared in the next three years, which now stands at Rs 300 crore for the entire industry. Besides, the industry will have to raise the minimum wage at the entry level from the present Rs 100 to Rs 157 per day. In all, the average jute worker is now entitled to get an increase of Rs 2,000 per month. According to the estimate made by the jute industry, collectively they will have to shell out Rs 500 crore in the next three years.
But a significant number of the jute millers are reluctant to comply with the agreement. They are harping on old arguments like the Centre will have to come forward with a better price and quota of gunny bags to make them enable to pay the extra amount. Incidentally, the Union food ministry recently postponed its scheduled meeting for fixing the quota causing a lot of heartburn of the jute industry. But a recent letter written by the IJMA chairman to the Jute Commissioner of India gave the jute millers' away. The letter written by the IJMA chairman two days ago mentioned that of the 100 lakh bales of raw jute produced in Bengal last season, only 40% reached the market.