Jute Strike Comes To Successful Conclusion

B Prasant

THE strike action of the jute workers of West Bengal came to a successful conclusion on January 10 when the mill owners came around to joining the tripartite meetings convened by the Bengal Left Front government’s labour minister, Mohd Amin. The strike was led by 15 trade unions, with the CITU-affiliated Bengal Chatkal Mazdoor Union (BCMU) taking the initiative. However, it was not joined by the organisations that hang on to the coat-tails of the BJP and the RSS. The BMS, the SUCI-led trade union and a few of the Naxalites outfits, as usual, tried to mislead the workers about both the strike action and the subsequent victory of the workers. But they remained on the fringe of the workers’ movement in the state, with little impact.

The strike took place as a fall-out of the obdurately anti-worker attitude of mill owners who kept on deferring the payment of dearness allowance (DA) to the workers on one plea or another. The latest ploy of the mill owners was to link the DA payments to production, setting unachievable targets for the workers to struggle for.

In its last state conference, the BCMU had made it clear that a strike action would be on the cards if the mill owners did not come down from the high horse, agreed to release the DA, and give up the variety of means through which they keep the jute workers deprived of their dues. The strike was called when mill owners, even after a period of more than three months, chose to ignore the workers’ legitimate demands.

During the strike, two important developments took place. Large rallies and gate meetings started to gather momentum very quickly. Secondly, more than 40 lakh jute growers of the state came out in strength to join the battle being waged by nearly 2.5 lakh jute workers of Bengal. Leaders of the trade unions and Left led kisan organisations travelled widely across the state, taking the message of the action to the jute workers as well as growers. Gate meetings were strengthened by the sit-in demonstration of the jute workers, day and night, at the closed doors of the factories. As the strike burgeoned across the state, trade unions representing all sections of workers and employees came out actively to campaign on behalf of the striking jute workers.

The strike also brought into focus the struggle the BCMU and other Left trade unions have been organising for remunerative prices for jute and for providing a secure environment for the jute products to survive by preventing wide-scale incursion of synthetic goods, especially for carrying food grains, sugar and fertilisers. The demands also included one against the retrenchment and casualisation of workers of all categories. The Left and other trade unions working in the jute industry served notices to the mill owners formally, and waited. The strike began when nothing transpired after a decent interval.

Initially, the mill owners chose to ignore the strike and threatened to further downsize the workforce. They ignored Mohd Amin’s repeated appeals to join the tripartite discussions. The strike gathered momentum. Other than the trade unions preaching the gospel of privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation, and these are in a microscopic minority in the state, the entire array of trade unions working in the jute sector widened their support base by going to the workers, convincing them of the need to hold out and not to yield in any manner.

Finally, under pressure, the jute mill owners association (IJMA) consented to sit down in a tripartite meeting with the trade unions and the state Left Front government. After intense and heated discussions that lasted for hours on end, the jute workers emerged triumphant with a majority of their demands met, albeit reluctantly, by the mill owners. The BCMU general secretary later briefed the People’s Democracy on the achievements of the strike.

The agreement annulled the norm the IJMA was insisting upon --- about DA being linked to production. About the demand for a 224 point DA, it was decided that the IJMA would release 134 points by February 1, 2004. August 1 would see 60 more points of DA added on. The rest will come later.     

On their part, the trade unions put up a four-month production schedule based on what they called achievable norms. Their leaders stressed that it was only on the basis of achievable norms that production could be suitably increased over time. The IJMA’s one-sided norm was finally put aside in the meeting.

Rs 10 worth of increment was achieved from February 1 as an ad hoc measure for badli and special badli workers. This would total to several times that figure because of linked payments on other heads including ESI. 

The way was thus made clear for pressing the demand for perennial annual increment in the days to come. This represented a step in the right direction for establishment of statutory rights to increment for jute workers of these categories.

The IJMA agreed on gratuity payment for those workers who were forcefully sent into retirement via the various schemes in operation. Fringe benefits worth hundreds of rupees have been ensured for the casualised and casual workers. The Left Front government has set up a committee to go in detail into other demands of the jute workers and to come out with its observations and recommendations.

However, assured bonus at the rate of 8.33 per cent could not be implemented for those drawing a wage of Rs 3,500 or more because the BJP led union government would not change the Bonus Act. The jute workers’ target now is not merely the realisation of other demands regarding higher wages and other benefits. They are also for implementation of the Jute Packaging Materials Act 1987 that calls for the use of bio-degradable and eco-friendly jute bags for packaging purposes, and for remunerative prices for jute. 

The BCMU and other trade unions have agreed to protect the rights of jute worker and to strengthen production while relentlessly struggling against the anti-worker and anti-people policies of the BJP led NDA government. The jute workers have also pledged to make a grand success of the all-India strike called for February 24.