People's Democracy

Public Sector Steel Workers Stage Unprecedented Strike

                                                                             Ardhendu Dakshi

ON October 30 and 31, the country saw an unprecedented strike by steel workers and contractors� workers in the steel industry. The strike call came from the CITU and Steel Workers Federation of India (SWFI). Though all other central trade unions opposed the call, their members at the unit level responded magnificently, defying the directives from their central leaders.

UNIQUE AND

MOMENTOUS

The strike was momentous in many senses. Its spread was all over the country. Such a successful strike from Durgapur in the east to Salem and Bhadravati in the south never took place before. The marketing establishments dotting every corner of the country saw complete stoppage of activity. Along with the workers in the plants, workers in a large number of mines, offices and townships joined the strike. Work at all the places literally collapsed as the workers walked out of the work sites and offices.

Another aspect of this strike, which made it unique, was the fact that regular workers and those under contractors in the steel industry organised the strike jointly, making a common cause and mutually supporting each other for justice, better pay and better service conditions. As the CITU and SWFI have near total influence among the contract workers, the strike was near total everywhere except one or two places. In the public sector steel plants, mines and offices, there has been a good record of struggles by contract workers, particularly in Burnpur, Durgapur, Rourkela, Bokaro, Bhilai, Vizag and in the mines and offices. Yet this was the first time that synchronised strike took place in all the plants, mines, townships and offices as regular workers are convinced that the ruthless exploitation of contract workers must come to an end.

THE STRIKE�S

BACKGROUND

The demand for the strike was an early and satisfactory wage agreement for the steel workers and a simultaneous wage rise and implementation of statutory benefits for contact workers. The strike�s demands were in reaction to the recent changes brought about in the employment and wage patterns in the industrial sector in India, in the era of free market economy since the mid-1990s. After the introduction of New Economic Policy in 1991, the corporate sector demanded and a free hand in employing workers and paying them as low as possible without any interference from the government, and the government agreed to it. Even though the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 is heavily loaded against the contract workers, the employers demanded absolute freedom to hire and fire them, and pay them at their will. They, moreover, craftily assured the government that such freedom would ensure faster growth of the economy. On its part, the government too put a ban on recruitment not only in public sector enterprises but also in government departments, including hospitals and other services. The employers became free to engage only contract workers with notified minimum wage or even below, without any statutory benefits. In SAIL, there were 230,000 employees in 1991 whereas now it has nearly 125,000; more than one lakh regular jobs have vanished, gone to contactors or are being outsourced. As in all public sector industries and government departments, the employment pattern has dramatically changed in steel industry also.

In wage pattern also, there has been a drastic change in this period. The American system of huge salaries to corporate bosses and high level salaries to other officers is being adopted in India now. In the course of the last 12 years, public sector salaries have increased 200 to 400 per cent for executives, along with enormous increases in �perks� and other benefits. On the contrary, the wage cost has declined because of downsizing, contractisation or outsourcing.

The recent recommendations by Justice Rao committee have gone a step further. The committee suggested that in future, there should no more be recommended salaries for executives and that these should be determined by the �market forces� and their performance. This �performance� inevitably means the ability of a chairman or a director to enhance the profit by reducing the labour cost and other benefits. The CITU and Steel Workers Federation of India have drawn up a programme and are leading a campaign to fight this design. This is the basis of common cause between the regular and contract workers, with the urge to synchronies their movements.

THE

ISSUES

The steel workers� new wage agreement was scheduled to come into effect from  January 1, 2007, and  it is thus 34 months overdue. As per the terms of the last agreement, the CITU and SWFI submitted their new demands six months in advance and urged the management to start negotiation in the National Joint Committee for Steel Industry (NJCS) where SAIL and RINL (Vizag steel plant) are the two parties along with the unions, namely CITU, INTUC, AITUC, HMS and the unaffiliated union of Viseswarayya Iron and Steel Plant, Bhadravati.

The management refused to negotiate. After almost two years, the Justice Rao committee awarded a huge benefit to corporate bosses and also to the public sector executives. The workers demanded quick negotiation and a satisfactory level of pay rise, though their demand was much below than what was granted to officers. But the management continued to delay the negotiation. The CITU and SWFI, meanwhile, demanded that simultaneously the wage of contract workers must be increased in view of their greater contribution to production and the profitability of both the companies which are making huge profits now. In fact, SAIL stands first among all the steel companies in the world, making highest profit in 2008-09.

But the company took no action in this regard, though verbally appreciated the need for it. It was only a lip service. In 2008, Ramvilas Paswan, the then steel minister, unreservedly accepted the point that the contract workers� wages were too low in all establishments under his ministry, and announced a flat increase in their wages by Rs 1000 per month from September 2008.  But the SAIL has not implemented it so far. In Vizag plant, contract workers wrested it by going on a continuous strike earlier this year. Even after that, their wage is less than one third of the regular workers� wages.

For regular workers, in the meantime, there was a major development. Under pressure from the officers in public sector units, the government agreed to merge a part of the DA equivalent to 50 per cent of the basic pay with the basic pay itself, with all the attendant benefits accruable to the enhanced basic pay. It was termed as dearness pay (DP). This came into effect from January 1, 2007. Workers also got this benefit as it was through a government directive from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). This amounted to about 9.4 per cent benefit at the lowest level.

Over and above this benefit, the Rao committee recommendations gave the officers an additional 30-40 per cent benefit or even more in the basic pay, with 46 per cent of the basic pay as perquisites. It is a huge increase by any standard. In a company like SAIL, a chairman�s salary can now go up to Rs 2.5 lakh per month with pay, personal performance pay and perquisites which is about 400 per cent increase. This was unthinkable to anybody who knows the pay structure followed in the public sector since independence.

WAGE

NEGOTIATION

In this background the wage negotiation started in August-September and the management offered only 20 per cent wage rise but wanted to withdraw the 9.4 per cent pay benefit from January 1, 2007, which means that the effective offer was 10.6 per cent only. The company also wanted to reduce the rate of increment for the workers from 3 and 3.5 per cent to only 2.65 per cent.

There was not a word about contract workers whose wages varied from Rs 2500 to 6500 per month in different centres. The CITU rejected the entire offer outright, but surprisingly the INTUC leadership agreed to the withdrawal or deduction of 9.4 per cent of benefit due to DA merger with basic pay. Other unions like AITUC and HMS were willing to reconcile with minor changes. This resulted in a stalemate.

Meanwhile a sub-committee was formed to discuss the contract workers� wages and problems, and the first ever meeting was called on August 24, 2009 in Bhilai. But the management cancelled the meeting at the last minute without assigning any reason. This meant total deadlock in negotiation.

The situation became extremely difficult because the company in effect wanted to withdraw the existing benefits and offered a meagre rise, while ignoring the case of contract workers. With three major unions accepting the company�s line, there was no chance to arrive at a settlement.

In such a situation the management took a strange decision. They stopped NJCS meetings, obviously to force the workers and the CITU and SWFI to accept their offer which they thought had the majority support of 3:1 if we go by the number of unions in the NJCS. But the CITU and SWFI knew that a majority of regular and contact workers would reject it outright.

BALLOT

& STRIKE

In this situation, the CITU and SWFI took the unprecedented decision to go to the workers and take a strike ballot on five issues. These were: 1) retention of existing benefits arising out of DA merger, 2) retention of existing rates of annual increments, 3) a five years agreement, 4) simultaneous wage rise for contract workers and 5) a minimum guaranteed benefit of just 28 per cent which is less than half of what has been granted to officers. The CITU and SWFI were ready to sign an MOU on these issues and to discuss other issues and fringe benefit questions after the MOU was signed.

The strike ballot took place in the second week of October. After getting an overwhelming support of nearly 92 per cent of the workers, notice was served on October 15 for a strike on October 30 and 31. Some units like Bhilai and Rajhara mines and the Central Marketing Organisation (CMO) decided to go for one-day strike on the 30th. Burnpur contract worker were exempted because they were on a strike only recently and had got a pay rise. The notice was given only by CITU unions in most of the units, and by independent unions affiliated to the SWFI in CMO and Bhadravati.

A different development took place in Vizag steel plant where the local INTUC, HMS, AITUC unions and other smaller unions wanted to join the strike. To accommodate them, the date of strike was postponed to November 4.

The response to the strike was magnificent, to say the least, in spite of organisational weaknesses and vehement opposition by other unions. In Rourkela, for the first time in history, it was 90 per cent strike on first day and 100 per cent next day. In Bokaro it was more than 90 per cent, in Bhadravati 98 per cent. Other centres too witnessed up to 70 per cent strike. Contract workers joined in full strength in all the plants, mines, offices excepting Rajhara mines (50 per cent), Kiriburn mines (40 per cent) and Bhilai (70 per cent). It was 95 per cent in central marketing all over India, and almost 100 per cent in Kolkata and other offices like the MSTC.

In Vizag steel plant the strike was total as all the unions joined hands.

In Bolani iron ore mines in Orissa, the strike was 100 per cent successful while in Gua it was for one day on October 31. In Durgapur steel township, contract workers in construction, maintenance and other similar jobs completely stopped work on both days. It shows that the spread of the strike was far beyond the membership of CITU or of non-CITU unions affiliated to SWFI. Members of the latter unions overcame their inhibition and wholeheartedly joined the strike. In areas and states where the democratic movement is weak, the large-scale participation of workers proved that the workers had organised themselves and helped to develop a consensus among themselves. Moreover, their actions showed their deep anger against the system and the management universally across the country.

Public sector steel industry had never before witnessed such a massive strike all over the country.

THE

ANGER

The strike was an expression of anger. Though working in all sort of jobs including sophisticated production processes, the contract workers are nameless and faceless beings. They are the main contributor to a company�s prosperity but their services are never recognised.  They are dalits of the modern day industrial society. Their anger is justified as they see the fruits of their labour being looted by the higher-ups who �manage� them and take advantage of their poverty and desperate situation while the government supports this ruthless exploitation.

The anger of regular workers emanates from the new American culture of pampering the executives. The managements have two standards --- they are liberal and indulging for the executives, while they refuse to accept even a modest demand of the workers on the plea of financial constraints. This is a policy the workers refuse to accept. Other central trade unions do not want even to take note of this phenomenon.

The CITU and SWFI developed contact with the workers and employees at the shop floor or in offices to explain the issues and get their views irrespective of their affiliations. They explained to both sections, regular and contract workers, the importance of united action to fight the system and end the policy of discrimination. The workers responded magnificently first to the signature campaign, then in the strike ballot and finally in the strike. As the things rolled on, their participation and determination increased to a level beyond the employers� imagination.

The time has come when the management to read the message on the wall and create an atmosphere of amity by signing a satisfactory wage agreement. After all, a labour intensive and difficult industry like steel cannot run peacefully and smoothly if the workers are dissatisfied and feel cheated by the management.

The CITU has congratulated the striking workers, while urging them to continue their struggle for justice and better conditions of life.