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Yet another split in Shaw Wallace union

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, April 9

THERE has been a further split in the All-India Shaw Wallace Employees Federation (AISWEF).

A majority of workers at the company's Bhadrakali-based Bengal Distilleries, who were members of the Bengal Distileries Employees' Union (BDEU), affiliated to AISWEF, are understood to have left the federation and formed a parallel union -- Bengal Disti lleries Karmachari Union (BDKU).

With this development, the Bhadrakali union has become the ninth, out of the total 13 unions earlier under the AISWEF umbrella, to disaccociate from the federation.

The BDKU leaders, headed by its President, Mr Priyadarshni Ghosal, have accused BDEU of working against the interests of workers and taking ``unilateral decisions and not consulting workmen on important affairs''.

Interestingly, the information about the split and formation of BDKU has been made public by a spokesperson of SWC in a statement on Monday. The statement note has quoted Mr Ghosal as saying that the activity of BDEU have not only made the employees/wor kmen liable for disciplinary action by the management, but also led to the downfall of production-related activities.

Mr Ghosal said in the circumstances prevailing for the last few years, the workmen/employees were not only suffering from economic hardship but are anxious about the company's and their future.

Mr Ghosal further said that BDEU was taking decisions about workmen at the unit in consultation with the federation on issues such as settlement of disputes/demands. But they kept workmen in the dark.

Therefore, workers had lost confidence in the federation leadership. Hence the decision to form another union, which has majority support at the Bhadrakali factory.

The Excise Department of the West Bengal Government has expressed concern as it has been losing revenue from SWC due to a strike at the company's Kolkata establishments like the Bondel Road office, which handles marketing and sales of the products from B engal Distilleries.