GUWAHATI, Sept 7: The Assam government and employees/officers associations of the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills under Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd (HPCL) had an emergent meeting to discuss ways to resolve the “crisis” in the wake of the HPCL liquidator’s notice served to the employees/workers of the two mills to vacate their residential quarters.
HPCL liquidator Kuldeep Varma had, through a notification last Friday, asked the employees of the Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad and Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram to “vacate their accommodation/quarters within 15 days or face legal action.”
The move, termed “illegal, inhuman and autocratic” has drawn flak from the employees unions while the Opposition Congress sought an immediate relief package and fulfillment of all demands of the mill employees to bail them out of the “crisis”.
Speaking to reporters here, state industry minister Chandra Mohan Patowary informed that a meeting between the chief minister and the paper mill employees/officers’ associations would soon be held to discuss all pending issues threadbare.
“The chief minister has taken initiatives in this regard and already, two meetings have been held. Taking the matter forward, another round of discussions with the employees and officers associations were held today. The final modalities would be disclosed after the chief minister’s meeting with the mill employee and officers’ unions in a day or two,” Patowary said.
A delegation from the Opposition Congress had met the representatives of the Nagaon Paper Mill employees at Jagiroad on Sunday and took note of the various longstanding problems of the employees.
“We are optimistic that an amicable solution will be arrived at during the meeting with the chief minister and that all pending issues of the HPCL mill workers/officers will be addressed. Certain matters in regard to the compensation (apart from statutory dues such as PF and gratuity) have to sorted and finalised,” said a representative of the employees’ union.
The Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram in Hailakandi district and Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad in Morigaon have been non-functional since October 2015 and March 2017 respectively “owing to shortage of working capital.”
As many as 93 employees of the mills have died since the mills stopped functioning, as several of them could not afford medical treatment because of nonpayment of salary and other dues for the past 58 months.