People's Democracy

PUNJAB

Private Security Workers Achieve Victory

RECENTLY, the Private Security Workers Union of Punjab (Regd),  affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, submitted its charter of demands to the management of Securiteans India Private Ltd, the biggest Private Security Company operating in virtually whole of Punjab. This company is being run by retired military officers and is nowadays in the process of forging collaboration with a multinational security company, especially with the Blackstone Security Company of the USA. The union served the demands charter at the regional office of the company situated in Mohali, a part of the tri-city consisting of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula.

This regional office caters mainly to district Mohali of Punjab, Panchkula of Haryana, Parwanoo and Baddi of district Solan in Himachal Pradesh and the union territory of Chandigarh.

As usual, the management remained adamant for three months and refused to hold negotiations. However, under the guidance and direct intervention of the state CITU leadership, workers started agitational programmes while defying all intimidation and threats coming from the management and the police. The management launched a false propaganda campaign that the Mohali regional office was running in a financial loss and that the company was planning to close down its business shortly. But CITU leaders exposed this machination of the company and served a warning to the management.

Workers then made preparations for direct action from April 26 onward. The management tried every ploy to prevent the workers from holding a rally on May Day, but workers defied all threats of victimisation and police interference, and held a rally at Mohali to pay homage to the martyrs of Haymarket Square in Chicago. The workers warned the management that the union would launch a statewide agitation if a single worker was victimised.

Subsequently too, braving all kinds of victimisation threats, security workers continued their peaceful agitation and held several rallies which were addressed by state CITU leaders and the union’s officer bearers. Finally, the union’s determination forced the state’s labour commissioner to intervene and the management to initiate negotiations with representatives of the union. An agreement was reached between the representatives of the union and the officers of the management in the ALC office on May 7.

However, instead of implementing the settlement in letter and spirit, the management still resorted to victimizing the leaders of the union, forcing the latter to restart the agitation against this highhandedness of the officers and the higher management. The union continued this agitation till the management agreed to implement the agreement.

In this settlement, the management had to agree to give a monthly increase of Rs 900 per month in the basic wages of loaders, Rs 1,100 in the basic wages of drivers and Rs 1,400 in the wages of gunmen.

The agreement has enthused the workers of the company all over the state of Punjab and they have started approaching the CITU offices at Chandigarh and at some other places. Congratulating the union leaders and security workers, state CITU general secretary Raghunath Singh and vice president Chander Shekhar have CITU urged upon the workers to always remain vigilant against the provocative and unfair activities of the company’s officers and to devote more and more time to strengthening the CITU.