What Compelled Jute Workers To Strike

 Govind Guha

WORKERS of 59 jute mills in West Bengal, led by 15 trade unions including the Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union (BCMU), went on an indefinite strike on December 29 to press their legitimate demands. They were faced with inhuman practices followed by the jute mill owners and the latter’s refusal to accede to the workers’ agreed demands.

The jute industry is an important industry in West Bengal and for the nation’s economy. There are about two and a half crore people directly or indirectly dependent on this industry, including 50 lakh farmers and six lakh workers. In the 1960s, India was the largest producer and exporter of jute products in the world, with substantial contributions to foreign exchange. But the indifferent central policies since the 1970s onwards, the mill owners’ greed for unreasonable profits, the neglect of machinery and equipment, and their open loot like activities led to an unprecedented crisis at the end of the century. Now the exports stand at only 10 per cent. Even then, this industry earns foreign exchange worth Rs 600 crore every year.

There are 72 chatkals (jute mills) in India, with West Bengal accounting for 59. About 7 or 8 are currently closed. During the last few years, production has increased despite the closure of mills. The industry in Bengal produced about 15.69 lakh tonnes of jute products in 1999; in 2002 this sore to 15.86 lakh tonnes. Out of this, 15 lakh tonnes were utilised for making the bags for sugar and grains packaging. The rest was exported or used for other purposes.

THE CENTRE’S OFFENSIVE

But the BJP led central government has been encouraging synthetic bags at the expense of jute and the central textile ministry has been attempting to amend the Jute Packaging Material Act 1987 that stipulated compulsory use of jute for packaging purposes. And this despite the fact that the use of synthetic bags for packaging fertilisers and food grains is globally banned. The World Health Organisation and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, have stressed that packaging food grains in synthetic materials is not conducive for people’s health. A committee of scientists too has clearly stated that sugar, tea and coffee must be packaged in jute bags only. Cement bags must also be made of jute. Despite this, jute bags are utilised for packaging only 20 to 25 per cent of the food grains and fertilisers.

The central government has tried to scrap the Jute Packaging Material Act 1987 under the pressure of plastic manufacturers. About a year earlier, a ministerial committee had recommended that jute packaging for sugar and food grains be reduced to 75 or 60 per cent. In accordance with this, the Vajpayee government slashed the quota of jute for the packaging of these items from 100 to 80-75 per cent. In 2003-04, this would further be slashed to 50-60 per cent. The central government is clearly making efforts to stop the use of jute in cement and urea packaging.

The Left Front government of West Bengal has made determined interventions in this matter. After the stay given by the High Court, the central government appealed to the Supreme Court to allow it to scrap the Jute Packaging Material Act. The political motives of the central government are clear: it is eager to attack the workers and industry in West Bengal because, if it is successful in this task, it can pave the way for the economic decline in West Bengal.

While attacking the jute workers, the central government’s effort will also take away the livelihood of jute growers. Raw jute is purchased at a support price. About 75 lakh bales of raw jute were produced in West Bengal in 2002-03. But the Jute Corporation of India purchased only 20 lakh bales. The farmers had perforce to sell the rest at lower rates. The government rate was Rs 950 per tonne but, as the JCI did not purchase at this price, growers had to sell it through brokers who purchased it at Rs 600 per tonne.

It seems the central government is not worried about the future of the jute industry. This is evident from the condition of the NJMC jute mills. As stated earlier, there are of 59 jute mills in West Bengal. Five out of these are run by the central government and, among them, the Alexander Jute Mill and Union North Mill have stopped production. Their workers and employees have not been paid salaries for six months. The central offensive on the 20,000 workers and employees of the NJMC continues. The central government owes to the workers and employees of these mills Rs 22.44 crore as ESI, Rs 75.70 crore as PL and Rs 50 crore as gratuity.

MILLS OWNERS’ OFFENSIVE

At the same time, the lockouts and work suspension by mill owners have also caused immense harm to the workers. According to the available official figures, lockouts accounted for 72.90 per cent of the mandays lost in the industry while strikes accounted for only 6.20 per cent. The respective figures were 58.40 and 20.72 per cent in 2000, 79.40 and 4.40 per cent in 2001, and 60.83 and 10.0 per cent in 2002. These figures clearly prove that lockouts claimed more mandays than strikes.

In the 1990s, the mill owners and the central government sharpened their offensive on 2.5 lakh workers. The workers had to determinedly oppose these attacks through agitation. The mill owners announced lockouts, abolished the wage structure in industry that was reached through bilateral agreements, appointed apprentices at will, in some cases they were paid no wages for the first three months, while in others a practice of associate workers has been introduced. There is no guarantee of a minimum of 220 working days in a year; workers are being recruited through contractors. The names of these workers do not appear in the rolls of the mills. They are known in jute mills as zero number; their wages are not proper, there is no PF or ESI for these zero numbers, they are given work only according to convenience, and there is a single rate across jute mills for them. They have to work hard throughout the year but are given only ten paid leaves in a year. They do not have proper houses. Humans, pigs, cows and buffalos all live together.

Mill owners have gobbled up crores of rupees as PL; there is no gratuity. The BJP government has amended the bonus laws; so the workers having wages higher than Rs 3,500 have been deprived of bonus. Most of the jute mills are not run by actual owners; 24 or 25 mills all not in the hands of their main owners. More than half of the mills are sick and have been referred to the BIFR. Despite the BIFR’s rehabilitation programme, and support from financial institutions and workers, mills owners have turned them into sick industries. Their sole aim is to terrorise workers and deter them from the path of struggle with a veiled threat that mills would be closed down if there were agitations.

JUTE WORKERS’ AGITATION

Yet, despite these threats, jute workers launched several rounds of agitation between March 2000 and January 2002. They launched an indefinite strike from January 5, 2002. The central government stepped in to help the mill owners, threatening that the jute order would be replaced to allow the use of synthetic bags and not more than 24-25 per cent of jute would be used. Ignoring these threats, however, workers continued their agitation.

The state government played an important role in defending the rights and livelihood of the jute workers. The contemporary situation in the industry was analysed and a tripartite agreement was reached on January 5, 2002. Major clauses of the agreement were as below.

• The zero number learners and voucher workers would be paid a minimum of Rs 100 as daily wage. Those having DA higher than 2427 points, would be paid DA at the rate of Rs 1.90. All these workers would be given benefits of PF, ESI, HRA and gratuity. Those paid more than Rs 100 as daily wage would be given freeze benefits.

• The workers are fully aware of their responsibility regarding production. They have accepted 33 per cent production of basic wages. As the targets fixed by the workers and owners could not be achieved, they had to be fixed anew.

• Workers were given the facility of permanent and special badli at the rate of 250 parts.

• Mill owners had stopped the payment of DA from November 2000. Workers would be given Rs 500 more along with 212 points of freeze.

• The state government would consider fixing the proportion of permanent and badli workers at 90 and 20 per cent, respectively, and would come back to the owners and workers in a year with a solution.

• The bhagwala practice would be abolished.

• The remaining demands of the workers would also be considered.

• Mill owners would have to pay the remaining gratuity.

DIVISIVE FORCES DEFEATED

As this agreement was in the interest of workers, they withdrew their strike on January 5, 2002. However, at this juncture, the irresponsible attitude of divisive forces came to the fore and they came forward to help the mill owners. The BMS, UTUC(LS), Naxalites and AICTU saw the draft of the agreement and stayed till the owners signed the agreement. While 15 organisations including the BCMU, INTUC, AITUC, HMS, TUCC, and UTUC signed the agreement, those who came out without signing unleashed a campaign against the agreement. They alleged that the wages of workers had been cut by one third and tried to confuse the workers. Leaders of 15 trade unions including the CITU’s Mohd Amin addressed a large number of meetings. The strike was withdrawn and workers joined work.

But the role of these divisive forces emboldened the mill owners. The DA rose and fell after February 2002, and soon the entire increase was withdrawn --- a loss of 134 point increase. The DA arrear is still higher than Rs 5500 per worker. The bhagwala practice continues and workers are still being recruited at less than Rs 100 as daily wage. The Bajoria declared lackouts in one after another jute mill and enforced an agreement linking 100 per cent of wages to productivity. But the mills did not start production. No DA is being paid to new workers who were recruited at a daily wage of Rs 100, in violation of the agreement. In two Birla mills, no DA is being paid despite the agreement on 33 per cent production. Gratuity paid in accordance with the January 5, 2002 agreement was stopped after two or three months. In order to divide the jute workers, the BMS, UTUC(LS) and AICCTU called for an indefinite agitation from August 18. The 15 trade unions, which had signed the January 5, 2002 agreement, opposed this. As this was time for jute harvest, and growers get some relief when the JCI purchases a part of the raw jute, a strike at this juncture could only harm the growers.

One will note that the High Court’s stay the central government’s decision on jute packaging angered the BMS and that is why it went on a strike, so as to bring the pressure of the synthetic bags on the jute industry. This strike was successful in only a handful of jute mills and even there the strikers resumed work in a short while.

The BCMU and other trade unions organised a massive rally on April 4, 2003 against the anti-agreement attitude of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA). A workers convention was organised on July 14, 2003. A mass deputation went to the IJMA on September 26, 2003. A memorandum of demands was then sent to the West Bengal chief minister, labour minister and governor, and to the union labour minister and textile minister. Meanwhile, the BCMU and other trade unions continued their preparations for an agitation. The state’s labour minister formed a negotiating committee with the representatives of owners and workers. It also held separate meetings with mill owners and workers, and held a discussion with 15 trade unions. Despite these intense efforts, the mill owners are dithering on implementing the agreement’s provisions regarding DA and other benefits. It was this indifference on part of mill owners regarding implementation of the January 5, 2002 agreement that the 15 trade unions decided to launch an indefinite strike from December 29, 2003 onward.         

The jute workers’ unity, the determined attitude of the BCMU and the state government’s pro-worker stance has finally led to yet another victory of the workers. See the box for the main points of the latest agreement.