Updated on Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 00:00 IST

Kolkata, Nov 14: Announcing the launch of the first trade union body in West Bengal's IT sector today, CPI(M)'s labour arm CITU yesterday said that unions were necessary to protect the rights of the workers.

"Tomorrow an association of IT employees is going to be launched," CITU state president Shyamal Chakraborty said at an interactive meeting with industrialists here.

The industrialists expressed strong reservations at the move saying that it would 'damage' the image of Indian organisations in the international market.

S K Bangur, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, which organised the interaction opposed the formation of the union.

Chakraborty, however, justified it saying, "there will be resistance and unions wherever workers are organised and whenever their rights are snatched away by managements."

Asked why the CITU thought of spearheading the move to form a union in the IT sector, he said, "it depends on the situation prevailing in a particular industry and whenever the rights of the workers are denied."

Chakraborty, who is also a senior state CPI(M) leader, remained non-committal on exempting the IT sector from the purview of the December 14 All-India strike.

"We will announce our decision on December 12 whether IT would be kept out of the strike," he said.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee has sworn to protect the industry from disruption in his drive for industrialisation of the state.

Bureau Report