ANDHRA PRADESH

 Chittivalasa Jute Workers Fight And Win

M V S Sarma

WORKERS of Chittivalasa Jute Mills in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, numbering around 5000, ended their 118 days old struggle on a victorious note on September 27. They had to take to the path of struggle when the management tried to foist wage-cut, DA freeze and an unbearable increase in workload unilaterally. Even though the matter was under conciliation, the management went ahead to illegally impose these adverse charges in service conditions from June 2. On the same day, the workers unanimously rejected the changes and went on strike, demanding that the state government issue a GO scrapping the illegal notice. But the Chandrababu Naidu government, only too eager to please the private managements, did not respond to the workers’ demand.

SERIES OF ACTIONS

Hence, under the leadership of the Chittivalasa Jute Mill Mechanical & General Workers Union (CITU), which is the recognised union, all the unions got united and undertook a powerful campaign, winning over to their side various sections in the city and the surrounding rural areas. Solidarity actions took place at state level when a meeting of all central trade unions gave a call for rasta roko on September 25. Most of the unions in the entire jute industry in the state (29 mills employing nearly 55,000 workers) went on a one day token strike on September 23. All the unions and associations in Visakhapatnam district organised protest demonstrations, issued press statements, and took out a massive rally on September 21 at Thagarapuvalasa. The AIDWA, SFI, AIAWU and AIKS units too undertook a massive campaign in the villages surrounding the mill. The entire municipal town of Bheemunipatnam observed a total bandh on two days. Businessmen too gave wholehearted support to the bandh and took part in the relay fast.

An indefinite fast began on September 5 in which C N Reddy (CITU) and Dharma Reddy (INTUC) took part. On September 8 midnight, the police disrupted the fast by forcibly removing the leaders and arresting the cadres. Then, on September 9, S Ramesh (CITU) and C Narasimhulu (INTUC) sat on an indefinite fast. They too were arrested on September 14 midnight and removed to a hospital. After mobilising public support through a week long campaign, Ch Narasingharao (CITU, and president of recognised union in the mill), A Baburao (AITUC) and D Appalareddy (independent) began an indefinite fast on September 21. A massive rally of thousands of workers also took place. Public sector workers and LIC, BSNL and NGOs employees took out a scooter rally from Visakhapatnam to join the rally at Thagarapuvalasa. CPI(M) state secretary B V Raghavulu warned the TDP government of intensified statewide agitation in case it failed to accept the workers’ demands.

REPRESSION AGAIN

After a high drama, the state government ultimately issued three GOs on September 24. These directed that the management’s proposals mentioned in the notice be referred to a tribunal and the status quo ante as on April 12 be restored pending the tribunal’s award. The management raised some frivolous objections and tried to dodge the implementation of the GOs.

Meanwhile, on September 24 midnight, police resorted to another round of brutal suppression. They brutally beat the agitators, severely injuring several, attacked the press photographers and tried to destroy their films, and forcibly removed the fasting leaders to the hospital. But on the next day, Narasingharao broke away from the custody, walked out of the hospital and resumed his indefinite fast in front of the district collectorate.

The agitation got further intensified with the trade unions threatening a district bandh call. CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), MCPI and Congress leaders condemned this brutality. The state government’s attitude of suppressing the agitation while letting the management go scot-free despite its open refusal to honour the Gos, was also sharply condemned.

Ultimately on September 26 evening, the management agreed in writing to honour the GOs. A general body meeting of the workers next day decided to end the struggle. Narasingharao then broke his indefinite fast on the seventh day after this meeting.

SIGNIFICANCE OF VICTORY

This significant victory in the backdrop of Supreme Court judgement against strikes, the government’s open support to private sector, increased repression of working class struggle and the chief minister’s open support to the ban on strikes came mainly due to the remarkable show of unity and determination by all the workers of the CJ Mills. There are four unions in the mill. The leaders of other unions were adopting a self-defeating, cynical approach from the inception and were trying to avoid any united struggle. But the CITU took the campaign to all the workers and won them. This created enormous pressure on other unions who then fell in line.

In many jute mills in the state, the managements have begun to arbitrarily increase workload, and implement two wage systems, employing new workers on abysmally low wages. In certain places like Eluru, unions have either meekly surrendered before the managements or put up a feeble resistance. The CJ Mills management wanted to take advantage of this situation. If its proposals were implemented, workers would have faced a monthly wage reduction of Rs 256, a 30 to 50 per cent increase in workload, DA freeze, besides the two wage systems ten other conditions.

The act of CJ Mills management also posed a new challenge; it threatened the very right to collective bargaining. The current wage agreement was sought to be nullified, though it is to be in operation till December 31, 2004. The management tried to impose adverse conditions unilaterally --- one and half years before the expiry of that agreement.

The state government’s support emboldened the management. But the CITU union in CJ Mills alerted the workers from time to time, educated them of the impending threat and stressed the need for united resistance. The workers responded tremendously, cutting across union loyalties.

The state government was playing a hide and seek game. While ostensibly supporting the workers, the labour department actually did nothing. Its real bosses stood by the management. The CITU successfully exposed this game through a political campaign. It asked the people to pull up their MLAs and other elected representatives and compel them to resolve the strike. The people threatened the MLAs that if they fail to stand by the workers, they could never even dream to re-enter the assembly. This campaign helped raise the political understanding of the workers, and also created a lot of pressure on the MLAs.

The CJ Mills management made a scandalous campaign against the West Bengal government. It released a pamphlet full of untruths and half-truths about the wage agreements in the jute industry in Bengal. Nimoy Samanta, leader of the Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union, visited Chittivalasa and rebuffed the management’s arguments. He also toured through some of the surrounding villages. This visit boosted the workers’ morale and defeated the management’s smearing campaign.

The all-round show of solidarity by all trade unions and other mass organisations, the continuous campaign among the workers and above all their rock-like unity helped in defeating the designs of the management, which was counting on the state government’s support.

The struggle of the CJ Mills workers proved that it is very much possible to protect the workers’ hard-won rights even under a draconian, neo-liberal regime of the World Bank’s touts like Chandrababu Naidu. This requires militant unity and resistance of the working class, democratic functioning, winning over of support from the masses other than the working class, and effective political exposure of the ruling classes.