Thursday, December 8 2005 17:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: 'Labour' is not a good word and should be best replaced by the term 'workers', the Chief Minister of Marxist-ruled West Bengal Buddhadev Bhattacharjee told 'Infocomm 2005', an ICT exposition co-organised by Nasscom here.

"I do not like the word labour. The word smacks of slavery. Workers is the real term," he said at an interactive session.

"I will take up the issue with the Centre," Bhattacharjee said.

Re-assuring the IT and ITeS industry in the state, Bhattacharjee said his Government would not allow dislocation and disruption in this sector which had been already declared as a public utility service.

Since the IT and BPO industry were required to work on 24X7 basis, one must seriously think whether agitation should be allowed to take place in the industry. "It is unfortunate that central trade unions called a strike and some outsiders had created disturbances in the IT industry," he said.

The all-India strike called by Left trade unions on September 29 had disrupted normal working in the IT and IteS industry in Salt Lake.

"This would not be allowed any longer," the Chief Minister re-iterated.