Strike caution... Left unions breathe fire on strike

TT, Siliguri, Aug. 30: The Trinamul tea workers' union has said it will not tell labourers affiliated to it to shun the September 2 nation-wide strike called by 11 trade bodies, although its opposed to the shutdown.

Alok Chakraborty, the working president of the Trinamul Tea Plantation Workers' Union, today said: "We are fully supporting the demands raised by the trade unions before the Centre. But here in Bengal, the Citu is trying to politicise the strike and is even shouting slogans against the state government. This is why, we are not supporting it."

But the Trinamul-backed INTTUC outfit needs the support of tea workers in the Terai for the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad elections in October.

A source in the union said: "We have left the decision to the tea workers on whether they will work on September 2. The Mahakuma polls are round the corner. We don't want to antagonise workers by asking them to defy the strike.

TT, Calcutta, Aug. 30: Left trade union leaders today said they would make all-out efforts to ensure the success of Wednesday's general strike.

"The people of Bengal have the right to participate in Wednesday's general strike called by 10 central trade unions across the country. So, if the Bengal chief minister tries to foil it, we will see to it that it becomes a success," said Shyamal Chakraborty, the state Citu president, at a news conference this afternoon.

"If she (Mamata Banerjee) plays with fire, she will get burnt. If she wages a war against people, we are ready for it," Chakraborty, also a CPM central committee member, said.

He announced that labour wing activists would be on the streets across the state on Wednesday.

Asked about the Left's plans of enforcing the strike, panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said tonight: "We shall see to it that everything remains normal on Wednesday."