Corrugated box manufacturing units call strike from June 29

Kolkata, Jun 25 (UNI) Corrugated box manufacturers today gave a call for a three-day nation-wide strike from June 29 to July 1 protesting against price increase of paper and other inputs.

Addressing media persons here, Eastern India Corrugated Box Manufacturers' Association (EICMA) president Hemant Sarogi said the corrugated box industry was constrained to go on strike as it was passing through a very difficult phase and survival of the industry was at stake.

Mr Sarogi said paper mills, primary raw material suppliers to the industry, had increased their prices arbitrarily in the past four months by about 25-30 per cent and the cost of other inputs had also increased affecting the conversion cost by more than 60-70 per cent.

Moreover, Mr Sarogi said corrugated box continued to attract 14 per cent excise duty whereas its primary input kraft paper was on eight per cent excise slab.

'' Under these circumstances we have been forced to call a three-day strike to draw Government's attention which is urgently solicited to rectify this anomaly, '' he observed.

Mr Sarogi informed that a memorandum had already been submitted to Union Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam seeking intervention of the ministry to solve the crisis in the industry.

'' The strike call is given to create awareness among consumers of corrugated box on the situation and better understanding the ground realities and get paper mills to the negotiating table in framing a medium to long term pricing policy, '' he maintained.

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