No strike will be in IT on Dec 14: Bhattacharjee

Kolkata, Dec 12: Ruling out any impact of the December 14 strike on the state's IT sector, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said his Government was taking all measures to maintain normal functioning.

"Nobody will go for strike in IT industry. I have talked to the Trade Unions...measures will be taken against picketing by outsiders in front of the IT compancy offices...we have also talked on arrangements so that employees could stay overnight in offices, " he told reporters at the Writers' Buildings.

He said special arrangements would be made for conveyance of the IT employees.

The Chief Minister's assurance came shortly after the CITU in West Bengal announced to observe a 24-hour strike in the state's IT sector along with other areas on December 14 as part of the nationwide prrogramme of the National Platform of Mass Organisations (NPMO).

CIUT state president Shyamal Chakraborty said IT had not been exempted from the purview of the proposed strike since it was not in the list of essential services.

He had said whether strike would be observed in the IT sector would depend on the employees and employers.

However, the Chief Minister's statement made it clear that the Left Front Government managed to make CITU agree on the need for maintaining normal services in the IT sector for the sake of an investor-friendly image that the state had earned in recent times.

The strike had been called by NPMO, a platform of 56 different organisations, including seven Central Trade Unions in protest against a 16-point charter of demands to the UPA Government.

The CITU announcement came at a time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front Government was going whole hog for wooing investment in the state.

The government had made all arrangements for security and transport to keep alive the state's flourishing IT hub in the Salt Lake sector five during the Opposition-sponsored Bangla bandhs on October nine, December one and five.

Considered to be having a very high growth potential in the state, IT, the 24-hour service providing industry, is being treated as a utility service under a policy of the state government, which is reviewed after every six months.

Speculations made rounds whether the Government would take similar measures to ensure normal functioning in the IT sector on December 14, especially after the Left parties propped up West Bengal Information Technology Employees Association (WBTES) on November 14.

The move left tizzy the IT companies, including TCS, Cognizant Technologies, Wipro, Siemens and IBM prompting them to hold a meeting among themselves to decide the course of action if strike was thrust on the sector.

The Chief Minister, however, asserted that the Government would initiate similar measures on December 14, the day when CITU, the powerful frontal wing of the CPI(M), would take to the street to make the proposed strike a success with support from all Left parties.

UNI

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