Working Class Resistance in 25 Years of
Neo-Liberal Reforms
A K Padmanabhan
THE working class, is a prime target of attack under the neo-liberal
regime in the country.From the initial days of the policy pronouncements in
1991, ruling class and policy makers have been targeting the working people and
their hard earned rights.
Even
while discussing about more investments, industrialisation, creation of
employment opportunities, those in the authority could only identify rigidity
and multiplicity of labour laws along with the `mushrooming’ of trade unions as
hurdles. Along with this were the slogans of `flexibility’ and `downsizing’
which were presented as the way out of the crisis engulfing the country.
The
experience of the Indian working class, during the last 25 years, confirms the
apprehensions expressed by the trade unions in the country, though at that time
they were not a united voice. Only those of the Left spectrum had an
understanding of the catastrophe that would happen if these policies were
implemented.
The
efforts for implementation of the `reforms’ had begun in 1991 itself. The
labour laws in the country, product of the long drawn battles of the working
people, were targeted. This included the right to form a union of the
workers’ choice. The Trade Union Act in the country was enacted in
1926. It is also a fact that despite this legislation being enacted
during the British regime, the republic of India could not even to-day
guarantee the right to collective bargaining for the workers, by making
it mandatory at the national level for the employers to recognise a
trade union.
The
implementation of the ‘reforms’, as far as the labour laws were concerned had
various components like non-implementation of existing laws; dismantling of the
enforcement machinery of the government and new amendments to the existing laws
against the interests of workers. But, the resistance movements including
the massive strikes and also the overall political situation in the country and
the coalition governments at the centre with the major party not having
majority of its own were hurdles to these efforts.
While
the attacks on the democratic and trade union rights have been continuing for
the last 25 years, major amendments could not be passed. The right to form
unions was denied almost fully in the new Industries in various parts of the
country. Not only the multinational companies, but the Indian corporates
who had to recognise this right in their establishments earlier, started
emulating the MNCs.
In
this situation, the employers could easily get rid of the job security of
workers. Casualisation and contractorisation of regular jobs became the
rule. Extreme cases of not having a single regular worker in factories
which went on production schedules for years came to light when workers came
out to form unions to fight the exploitation.
The
result of this was that more than 60 percent of the work force in the organised
sector is denied even statutory minimum wages and social security benefits like
ESI and EPF. More than 50 percent of workers in the public sector and
around 70 percent in private sector are contract workers. These workers
under different nomenclature are employed in permanent, perennial and
continuous jobs in total violation of Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition)
Act and other labour laws. 12 hours work has become the order of the day
in many establishments.
Another
aspect of this is that the share of wages in industrial sector has been
continuously declining from around 30 percent in 1982-83 to 12.9 percent in
2012-13. This has been falling further while the share of profits
increased from around 20 percent to 50 percent during the above said period.
The
situation from 1991 continued upto 2013 in the same trajectory, though under
different regimes. The situation has changed for the worse with the NDA
government under Narendra Modi coming to power after the general elections in
2014. The Modi government is moving aggressively, creating a devastating impact
on the lives and livelihood of the working people of the country.
With
the employment opportunities receding, the exploitation has increased
manifold. Working people in all the sectors – organised, unorganised,
public, private – are facing a critical situation. Along with them are
those working in the governmental schemes categorised as volunteers who are
paid only an honorarium, and who number more than ten millions.
A
series of amendments have been proposed by the government of India during the
last 26 months. While the government has announced its decision to
convert 44 Labour laws into five labour codes, removing all the rights and
protection clauses for labour, the drafts of Wage Code Bill and Industrial
Relation Code are ready to be introduced in parliament. The Factories
Amendments Bill is already in parliament and the government has rejected all
the recommendations of the standing committee and is going ahead with more
retrograde amendments. Simultaneously a new Bill – Small Factories Bill –
is being readied. The net result of these two Bills related to factories
is that more than 75 percent of the factory workers will go out of coverage of
the Factories Act and also 14 other basic labour laws including Minimum Wages
Act, Maternity Act, ESI and EPF Acts.
In
total, in the name of ending inspection raj the enforcement machinery has been
dismantled, the basic right to form a union of workers choice is being denied
and all the existing labour laws are being amended to deprive workers even the
minimum guarantee, which existed earlier. The net result is that of increasing
the exploitation of workers and converting them literally to bonded labour.
Not
only the central government, but many of the state governments, especially
those under the BJP have gone ahead and amended the labour laws, mainly on the
lines of the central government's proposals. In fact, with the Rajasthan
government taking the lead in enacting the anti-worker amendments, the Prime
Ministers Office had written to all the state governments to follow the
Rajasthan government.
The
working people in the country have been organising resistance against these
policies from 1991 itself. Despite large-scale victimisation, threats of
outright dismissals, physical attacks by police and goondas for making efforts
to form unions, there have been powerful fight backs in almost all the major
industrial centres in the country. These have happened even without
formal unions being formed and some times resulting even in violence at work
places. There have been strikes and struggles mainly related to these basic
policy related issues at unit, sectoral and state levels, in addition to the
country wide general strikes.
It
is to the credit of the organised trade union movement in the country, that the
Central Trade Unions and National Federations have been on a joint platform to
struggle against these neo-liberal policies. The charter of demands
included not only the work related issues, but demands of all sections of
people. Though from 1991 it was the Left unions – Central Trade Unions
and also National Federations – which went on campaigns and struggles, total
unity of Central Trade Unions and National Federations could be achieved from
September 2009. A common charter of demands, which was developed into a
10 point charter and later to a 12 point charter were submitted to the
government of India. None of the governments at the Centre, took up these
demands for serious consideration.
From
1991, there were 16 countrywide general strikes of 17 days in total. In
the sixteenth general strike on September 2, 2015 the BMS withdrew at the last
minute, saying that the government should be given time to implement their
assurances. All others went ahead with the strike in which 15 crores of workers
and employees had participated. It is to be noted that 40 percent of
those who had participated in the strike were not members of any union.
This could be achieved because of the widespread anger among the workers,
especially among sections like road transport workers and workers in the
industrial clusters in many states.
After
the strike on September 2, 2015, the Modi government has speeded up the
`reforms’ in many sectors. The latest was to announce the `fixed term
employment’, which the Vajpayee government had introduced and the Left parties
and TUs had forced the UPA government to drop. Fixed term employment will
result in the end of job security of workers, resulting in a situation of hire
and fire with a legal sanction.
It
is in such a situation that the Central Trade Unions and National Federations
are preparing for the seventeenth country wide strike in the 25th year of
neo-liberalism, on September 2, 2016.
It
is a fact that the trade unions still have a long way to go in reaching out to
all sections of working people. But the local, sectoral and national
level struggles in India against neo-liberal policies are an important
component of the world wide struggle of the working people against the
offensive of the capitalist class.
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