Author:

Chitrabhanu Biswas
1Assistant Professor
Department of History
Domkal Girls’ College
Murshidabad,West Bengal,India

Email: chitrabhanu1992@gmail.com

Abstract::Abstract::The Calcutta Port and Dock presented a complex configuration of different types of
employees, engaging a workforce that varied in skills, employment patterns, and educational
attainment. It can be said that from the inception of the Port Trust until the 1920s, no such organized,
permanent, and strong union was formed among the workers of Calcutta Port. Dissatisfaction or
strikes that were observed based on mainly economic demands among the workers until this time were
sporadic but mainly developed on the initiative of the workers themselves. No facilitation or initiative
was seen from outside. In 1920, the CPTEA was formed as the first union of Calcutta Port employees.
But it was not until the beginning of the 1930s that any such permanent and strong organization
emerged among the Calcutta port and dock workers. From this time on, labour organizations were
formed mainly on the initiative of leftists. The Calcutta Port and Dock Workers Union was formed in
1934. The labour unions of this period intensified the agitations and strikes to meet the demands of
the workers. This article tries to shed light on the labour composition, conditions, and early stages of
unionization of the working class of Calcutta Port and Dock

Key Words::Calcutta, Dock, Employee, Labour, Organization, Port, Worker etc