People's Democracy

DURING the last few months a sustained struggle has been taking place in the Viskhapatnam Export Processing Zone, touching almost all the industries and establishments in the zone, on the demand of minimum wages, better working conditions and recoginition of trade union rights.

All the Export Processing Zones in the country are administered by Development Commissioners appointed by the Ministry of Commerce, government of India. The Development Commissioners are more concerned with attracting investment than with protecting the rights of the workers in the zone, or ensuring implementation of the laws of the land. While trade unions are not banned, the authorities do not allow trade unions to function. All units in the EPZs have been declared Public Utility Services under the Industrial Disputes Act, and strikes prohibited as long as the conciliation process is pending. In fact, the administrations of the zones boast of "cheap labour and hassle free industrial environment" as one of the incentives to set up units in the EPZs. This is nothing but an open invitation to the employers to exploit the workers, and the assurance that they can evade implementation of the laws with impunity. The VEPZ is no exception to this.

In fact, the Development Commissioner of VEPZ openly dissuades the workers from joining any union, particularly the CITU. Instead of taking the initiative to prevail upon the management to implement the legal provisions and respect local social practices, she has threatened workers with loss of their employment if they question the harassment of the management.

Last October, 2001, the workers of Synergies Dooray Automotive Industries, went on strike on these three basic demands of minimum wages, better working conditions and recognition of trade union rights. The management with the connivance of the state government tried its best to disrupt the strike, but ultimately, unable to disrupt the unity of the workers, was forced to concede their demands. The union was recognised by the management.

Encouraged by the success of the workers of the Synergies Dooray Automotive Industries, workers in Madras Knitwear formed a union and went on strike. These struggles created enthusiasm and confidence among the workers of the Israeli Unit of World Wide Diamonds Manufacturing Limited, who had been having to bear humiliating exploitation and oppression by its management, and on January 9, 350 workers of the company also came out on indefinite strike against the inhuman working conditions, demanding minimum wages and other legal benefits. They were followed on January 17, by 850 workers of the second unit of the same company, managed by a Belgium company.

As Atul Sinha, Additional Secretary of Commerce of the government of India visited Visakhapatnam, the workers tried to present a memorandum to him on their demands, as the local authorities refused to listen to their grievances. As the workers stopped his car, the police alleging, disturbance of law and order in the city unleashed an indiscriminate lathi-charge on the young women workers, and the CITU leaders. They dragged the women on to the streets and arrested them. When the CITU leaders came for talks they too were arrested, along with some of the workers, who were kept in the lock-up in chains. K M Srinivas, a local CITU leader and the divisional secretary of the CPI (M), was savagely beaten in the police lock-up and threatened with dire consequences if he continued with his trade union activities in the EPZ. They were released only after the workers en masse went on dharna in front of the police station.

A delegation which subsequently went to meet Ayyanna Patrudu, the minister belonging to the district, to demand a stop to the police atrocities, was also arrested. With a police force of around 500 mobilised to deal with the 350 striking workers, when a call was given to observe a bandh in protest against the illegal arrests, the police threatened the shopkeepers with arrest if they closed their shops.

Section 144 was clamped on the entire area, covering not only the EPZ and its surroundings, but in an area of up to 20 km. from the EPZ. Meetings were not allowed, even inside the premises of the local CITU office. Around 400 workers were arrested and cases booked against them; 35 of them were kept in lock-up for several days, and on January 24, the management declared a lock-out in both units.

Emboldened by the tacit support from the state government and the zone administration, the World Wide Diamond Manufacturing LTD. flouted all laws. The management unilaterally prolonged the training period from six months to one and a half years, and introduced a probation period ranging from 1-2 years before the services of the workers were confirmed. A meagre monthly stipend of Rs 800 only is paid during this period. Even after being confirmed, the minimum wage is not paid. Diamond cutting and polishing are skilled jobs, but the confirmed workers, putting in 9-10 hours a day, get only around Rs. 1,900 to Rs. 3,000 a month. No overtime is paid; casual or medical leave is not available, and the workers live in constant fear of losing their jobs. One worker told that me she could not afford the feeling of satisfaction of having a job because she never knew when she would lose it.’

Similarly, heavy fines are imposed on very flimsy grounds:

• if the stool on which a worker sits is tilted, a fine of Rs 250 is imposed.
• if a worker refuses the tea served by the management she/he is fined Rs 500;
• if one takes an extra cup of tea, Rs 500;
• if a diamond falls on the ground and workers help a colleague to look for it, all are fined Rs 250 each;
• for talking with another worker, Rs 200. Several workers who did not attend the picnic organized by the management were all suspended.

Besides the economic exploitation, the disregard shown by the management towards the local social customs and practices has hurt the sentiments of the workers. Not allowed to observe social and religious festivals, the only time they get leave is when the Israeli management closes the unit for two weeks at the time of an Israeli festival, but never for festivals like Diwali, Sankranti, etc. Eleven Christian workers were removed from service for taking leave on Christmas Day. Two other workers were sent home for questioning the action of the management. The services of several Hindu workers, who observed ‘Ayyappa Diksha’, were also terminated. One worker, Pydi Raju, was suspended from service for 10 days and fined Rs. 250 for casting his vote in the Panchayat elections, and another worker absent for one more day after his marriage, was dismissed from service.

The workers have been enraged by the Israeli managing director, Daniel Satchel, abusing them as "bloody Indians" when they declined to call off their strike and join duty unconditionally. Chandra Babu Naidu, who omitted translating to Tony Blair a portion of a song hailing the anti-British independence struggle, lest he offend the British prime minister, cannot be expected to be outraged by such invectives.

The strike has been continuing for the last 25 days, with all the 1200 workers in the two units united and determined to fight till they achieve their demands. The Chandra Babu Naidu government, on the contrary and true to its nature, is intent on suppressing the strike at any cost, in order to showcase the VEPZ as providing a ‘hassle-free industrial environment’ for multi national corporations. To this end, TDP functionaries were asked to approach the workers individually, in their houses, and coerce them into joining duty. But this has completely failed to evoke any response and not a single worker has joined duty to date.

The working class of Visakhapatnam has extended solidarity to the EPZ workers’ struggle. At the initiative of the CITU, a big joint convention of trade unions and other mass organisations was organised at Visakhapatnam, followed by a massive rally on January 27. Batches of EPZ workers have been observing a relay hunger strike in front of the Collector’s Office since the 29th. On January 31, the trade unions in the district observed a Protest Day through wearing of badges, demonstrations at factory gates and dharnas.

The central trade unions including AITUC, CITU and HMS, have condemned the repression on VEPZ workers and demanded that the commerce minister, Murasoli Maran, immediately intervene to restore the democratic and human rights of the workers, and resolve the demands of the workers.

The conditions of the workers prevailing in the export processing zones, even before the proposed amendments to the labour laws are introduced, must serve as a warning to the working class on the nature of things to come, if the NDA government is allowed to carry through these amendments. The working class cannot let this to happen.