Barrackpore, Jul 19 (UNI) More than a hundred employees of Titagarh Steel Ltd under Titagurh police station in North 24 Parganas today went on strike following retrenchment of about 70 workers without any notice.

This was the first time in 20 years that the employees went on strike against the company's anti-labour act when one of the union led by local CPI(M) MP Tarit Baran Topdar virtually prevented the employees from any worker's movement in the interest of the factory.

The workers have not only helped the steel plant run without labour unrest for decades, but also facilitated the company's expansion projects.

''Yet the company deprived of its workers from legitimate wages and other benefits,''Workmen and Staff Union general secretary Masidul Islam said.

The factory had nearly 400 workers through a private contractor under its own supervision while only 150 people were permanent employees, he said.

The union had demanded the company for an equal wage structure and other fringe benefits which the latter denied, the workers alleged adding that they would go for a greater agitation if the retrenched workers were not reinstated within a week.

UNI