Among key demands of the general strike are the repeal of four Labour Codes, minimum support price (MSP@C2+50%) for all Crops, minimum wages of Rs.26000 per month, ‘No Privatisation of PSU’s’, the estoppal of ‘casualisation of employment’, ‘freedom from indebtedness’, all issues that are critical to protect Indian agriculture, industry and services.

The General Strike is also against the imposition of free trade agreements on Indian people. US’ dominance on world trade has unleashed all efforts to coerce the Modi Government to impose unfair trade terms and to dump US agricultural products in India.

The four Labour codes legalise contract labour based on hire and fire policy. Once implemented, say trade unions and farmer organisations, these Codes, will shatter not only the rights of the existing workforce but the entire new generations of workers in all sectors of the economy. The youth cannot dream of having access to formal employment with social security and retirement benefits. The right to an eight-hour work day will not sustain and new forms of slavery will be imposed on the working people under the guise of ‘ease of doing business’ to facilitate corporate profiteering.  Workers will lose the right to unionise, right to bargain for remunerative wage and right to strike. The four labour codes are both authoritarian and undemocratic in character, say the unions that will eventually endanger the independence of the working people and sovereignty of the country. Hence it is vital for all the freedom loving citizens to join the fight to bury the labour codes once and for all.

“Current economic policies are resulting in more unemployment, rising price rise of essential commodities, depression in wages, cut in social sector spending in education, health, basic civic amenities, all this leading to more inequalities and miseries for the poor, lower income group and even middle classes. The government has abandoned the welfare state focus of our country and is working in the interest of foreign and Indian corporates and it is so evident from its policies being pursued vigorously,” the trade union leaders said.

In a statement, they said the trade unions had been fighting against the privatisation of public sector enterprises and public services, the policies of outsourcing, contractualisation and casualisation of workforce, against the anti-workers, pro-employer four Labour Codes meant to suppress and cripple the trade union movement, increase in working hours, to snatch their right to collective bargaining, right to strike, decriminalisation of violation of labour laws by employers, while criminalising the activities of trade unions etc. “The government is making false claims on employment and provisions of social security. The existing social security schemes are being weakened and attempts to bring private players into it are pushed,” they said.

They also added that unions in the coal and minerals sectors, steel, banking and insurance sectors, power, petroleum and telecom industries and the transport sector have given notices for the strike. “We are making continued efforts forging unity and solidarity between the two major productive forces of the country, the workers and farmers,” they said.

Amarjeet Kaur, senior trade union leader and All India Trade Union Congress general secretary, has told the media that the strike is very significant to prepare working class and the farming community and agricultural labourers for a long-drawn battle. Questioning the government move to curb trade union rights, she said investors are not coming to India not because of workers, but because of the government policy of promoting one or two companies. She also asserted while speaking to The Hindu that this general strike will be the start of larger movements in India. When there are close to 15 lakh job vacancies in the central public sector units (PSUs) and central government, why has the Modi 3.0 government started recruiting those who are already retired for lesser salaries and without any social security? They have done this in Railways and in the steel sector.  This trend of outsourcing and contractualising many jobs is dangerous as it is causing widespread unemployment, she added.

The notices of the general strike have been served at banks, insurance companies, steel sector, coal sector, minerals and petroleum sector, copper sector and in some airports. Rail workers will also have mobilisations in support of strike, but no strike there. Defence sector is going on strike. The unions have predicted a “bandh-like” of situation in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Punjab, Bihar, Kerala, West Bengal and in many other States. Opposition parties have been approached by the unions, and they have extended their support. Workers in unions affiliated with the BMS (Bharatiya Mazdoor Saangh, an RSS affiliate) have also reportedly pledged support.

Which sectors are affected due to the Bharat Bandh?

1. Banking services
2. Postal services
3. Coal mining and factories
4. State transport services
5. Public sector units and government departments

What’s open on Bharat Bandh?

1. Schools and colleges
2. Private offices

Other complaints of the striking organisations include the fact that the government has not been conducting the annual labour conference for the last decade s and continues to take decisions in contravention to the interest of labour force, attempting to impose four labour codes to weaken collective bargaining, to cripple unions’ activities and to favour employers in the name of ‘ease of doing business’.

The forum also alleged that the economic policies are resulting in acute unemployment, rising prices of essential commodities, depression in wages, cut in social sector spending in education, health, basic civic amenities, and all these are leading to more inequalities and miseries for poor, people of lower income group as well as the middle class.

In a statement put out on the eve of the general strike, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has also appealed to people to make the general strike on July 9, 2025 a grand success. Among key demands as stated above are the repeal of four Labour Codes, MSP@C2+50% for all Crops, Minimum Wage of Rs.26000 / month, ‘No Privatisation of PSU’s’, ‘Stop Casualisation of Employment’, ‘Freedom from Indebtedness’, all of which are critical to protect Agriculture, Industry and Services.

Apart from supporting demands of the workers, SKM urges the peasantry to intensify struggle on independent demands including enact law for MSP@C2+50% with guaranteed procurement for all crops, comprehensive loan waiver to free the peasantry from the debt trap and end rampant peasant suicides across India, withdrawal of National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing, not to sign the Indo-US Bilateral Trade Agreement hurting agriculture, industry and services, no privatisation of electricity, end indiscriminate acquisition of land violating the LARR Act 2013, ensure 200 days’ work and Rs.600 as daily wages in NREGS, provide minimum wage, social security and Rs. 10000 monthly pensions for agricultural workers, peasants and rural labourers, formalisation of Scheme workers, legal protection to the rights of migrant workers and tenant farmers among others.  The SKM has also called upon the entire working people including farmers, workers and agricultural workers to rally massively to hold tehsil level demonstrations and make the General strike successful.

The General Strike is also against the imposition of free trade agreements on Indian people. US’ dominance on world trade has unleashed all efforts to coerce the Modi Government to impose unfair trade terms and to dump US agricultural products in India. The intention of the free trade agreement is ‘unregulated freedom for US food chains, trading giants and agribusiness corporations to operate in India.’ ‘Tariff free import of huge quantity of highly subsidised milk and milk products, soybean, cotton, mice, wheat, rice, pulses, oilseeds, paddy, GM crops, fruits and vegetables including apple and walnuts, processed and canned foods’ into Indian markets will devastate the income and livelihood of Indian farmers.

The Trump Administration has been compelling the Modi Government to wind up PDS food distribution and withdraw all subsidies for farmers on fuel and fertilisers, says the SKM. It wants India to change its patent laws to suit American companies. These changes will erode the independence of Indian farmers and bring disastrous impact on food security.

The SKM statement also asserts that the Indian people will not accept the ‘enslavement of the workforce’ through four Labour Codes and corporatisation of agriculture. The farmers are on a path of struggle for the last two decades and more to achieve the long pending demands of MSP2 C2+50% with guaranteed procurement and comprehensive loan waiver.

Minimum wage to workers and minimum support price to the farmers are crucial to accomplish higher purchasing power, employment generation and agriculture led growth of the domestic economy. Reversing the anti-worker, anti-farmer policies of the RSS-BJP combine is indispensable to protect the interests of the working people and the country.

This is the 22nd General Strike since the advent of neo-liberal policies in India in 1991.  The success of July 9, 2025 strike will ignite more massive, mightier struggles larger than the 2020-21 historic farmers struggle at Delhi borders actively supported by the working class, states the SKM. The massive strike will be intensified until all the genuine demands of the workers and the peasantry are realised. SKM appeals to the entire working people to make the July 9, 2025 General strike as one of the largest ever worker-peasant united action since independence.

Meanwhile, the Central Kisan Committee (CKC) meeting of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) held from June 28-30, 2025 at the E K Nayanar Academy, Kannur, Kerala, decided to hold massive protests on July 9, along with the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) at the tehsil level, and work actively to make the General Strike called by the Central Trade Unions (CTUs) a massive success.

The meeting at Kannur discussed the grim agrarian scenario in the country, and the anti-farmer, pro-corporate policies of the BJP-led NDA government. It also noted that the Congress-led State Governments in Karnataka, Telangana etc are also carrying forward the BJP Government’s policies like Labour Codes, 12-hour work day, land acquisition etc.

The meeting warned against the hurried moves of the Modi regime to sign Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with UK (already signed), USA, EU, etc., which surrender the interests of farmers, workers and MSME entrepreneurs, violate federal principles and put Parliament in the dark. These FTAs will drastically reduce or eliminate import duties on key agricultural products, threatening the livelihoods of millions of Indian farmers, stated the AIKS.

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The post As 30 crore workers, farmers join July 9 strike against govt.’s policies, will there be media coverage of the shut down? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In addition, power sector employees will also take part in the nationwide strike being planned by central trade unions in May against the government’s move to implement the four labour codes.

These two decisions were taken at the National Convention of the Electricity Employees and Engineers held in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on February 23, 2025, according to a press statement released by the Electricity Employees Federation of India (EEFI).

The national convention, which discussed the “multi-pronged attacks on the public electricity sector and the energy security of our country”, also noted the “growing attacks” on the democratic right of electricity employees and consumers, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

“After being elected for the third time, the NDA government has become desperate to privatize all the public electricity utilities. Under the diktat of the Central government, the Chandigarh UT Administration forcefully privatized its highly profitable, efficient and low tariff Power Utility in an irregular manner,” the statement read.

EEFI also noted the “desperate attacks of privatisation” unleashed on Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd. (PVVNL) and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd. (DVVNL) of Uttar Pradesh, which, it said, would put the service of 27,000 employees and engineers and 50,000 contract workers at stake.

“Electricity employees and engineers of UP are fighting for last 87 days defying the instigation and attacks of the UP administration,” it added.

EEFI also flayed the Rajasthan government that has started the  bidding process to privatise “generation and battery storage projects”, as also plans by the Telangana government to hand over electricity distribution service of the South Hyderabad Circle to the Adani group.

“Actually, the Central government is in real haste to privatize the state DISCOMs. A unique regional meeting on Power sector with States and UTs of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh has been held on 20th February, New Delhi,” it said, citing a Power Ministry press release saying, “the States have urged Centre for support in privatization of distribution” and “Listing of Utilities will be taken up by States to bring investment.”

Calling upon electricity employees to unite and fight privatisation moves, EEFI noted that to facilitate its privatisation project, a Group of Ministers had been formed by the Centre with the UP Energy Minister as its convenor, who is “infamous for his privatization drives,” as also the new draft of the Electricity Amendment Bill being prepared by the Centre.

“Certainly, it is the final course of attack on India’s public electricity distribution sector. It will lead to massive de-electrification and food security of our country will be jeopardized. It is an attack on federal structure of India,” it said.

EEFI said its June 25 strike had already received support from central trade unions as well as the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which has for long been opposing the new Electricity Bill.

In preparation for the countrywide sectoral strike, EEFI said it would hold regional meetings, and state-level mass conventions.

“Four massive rallies will be held in UP in the March 2025, against the privatisation attempt of the UP government,” it added.

EEFI called upon all power sector employees as well as consumers to make the strike actions a “great success”.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Power Sector Employees Call Countrywide Strike on June 26 Against Privatisation appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The case originated from an FIR (No. 60/2017) lodged against multiple individuals, including Ajay Malik, for the wrongful confinement and trafficking of a female domestic worker. The complainant, a woman belonging to a Scheduled Tribe from Chhattisgarh, had left her home in search of employment but was allegedly deceived and brought to Delhi under false pretences. She was forced to work without proper wages and subjected to harsh conditions by an unregulated placement agency that controlled her employment. Ajay Malik, a senior scientist at DRDO, employed her as a domestic worker at his official residence, having entered into an agreement with the placement agency. According to the allegations, she was confined within his residence in Dehradun while he was away on official duty, with the house locked from the outside and a spare key given to his neighbour, Ashok Kumar, who was tasked with overseeing the premises.

The complainant, having no means of escape, eventually managed to contact the police, leading to her rescue on 29.03.2017. An FIR was registered against four individuals under Sections 343 (wrongful confinement) and 370 (trafficking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The investigation led to separate legal proceedings against Ajay Malik and Ashok Kumar. While Malik sought to have the case against him quashed on the grounds of insufficient evidence, Kumar challenged his inclusion in the charge sheet, claiming he was falsely implicated. The High Court refused to quash the charges against Malik but discharged Kumar, leading to the present appeals before the Supreme Court.

Issues considered

1. Whether the High Court rightly rejected Ajay Malik’s plea for quashing criminal proceedings under Section 482 CrPC.
2. Whether the High Court was correct in rejecting the compounding of charges.
3. Whether Ashok Kumar’s discharge by the High Court was legally sustainable.
4. Whether India’s legal framework sufficiently protects the rights of domestic workers. 

Observations on domestic workers’ rights

• The Court recognized that despite the growing demand for domestic workers, they remain one of the most vulnerable and exploited workforces, often subjected to low wages, unsafe environments, and lack of legal protection.

“The simple reason for this harassment and rampant abuse, which seems to be prevalent throughout the country, is the legal vacuum which exists vis-à-vis the rights and protection of domestic workers. Indeed, domestic workers in India remain largely unprotected and without any comprehensive legal recognition. As a result, they frequently endure low wages, unsafe environments, and extended hours without effective recourse.” (Para 41 of the judgment)

• It highlighted the absence of comprehensive national legislation regulating domestic work, pointing out that previous legislative attempts, such as the Domestic Workers (Conditions of Employment) Bill, 1959, and subsequent similar bills, never materialized into concrete laws.

“It, thus, seems to us that no effective legislative or executive action in furtherance of enacting a statute, which could prove to be a boon to millions of vulnerable domestic workers across the country, has been undertaken as of now.” (Para 50 of the judgment)

• Domestic workers remain excluded from major labour laws such as the Payment of. Wages Act, 1936, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

“Over and above the absence of any legislation protecting their interests, domestic labourers also find themselves excluded from existing labour laws as well. These, inter alia, include statutes such as the Payment of Wages Act 1936, Equal Remuneration Act 1976, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, etc.” (Para 50 of the judgment)

• The unregulated nature of placement agencies has led to widespread trafficking and forced labour, making domestic workers particularly susceptible to exploitation.

“At this juncture, we must fairly note that there have already been several attempts to bring domestic workers under legal protection. However, for a plethora of reasons that are beyond the scope of the present discussion, these Bills have never materialized into tangible laws or policies…… The Domestic Workers (Regulation of Work and Social Security) Bill, 2017 sought to regulate the work of domestic workers, prescribe duties for employers and placement agencies, establish Boards for their registration, address issues related to the marginalisation caused by migration, and provide for the inclusion of domestic workers in significant labour laws. However, the Bill was never enacted.” (Para 49 of the judgment) 

• The Supreme Court directed the Union Government to constitute an Expert Committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Ministry of Women & Child Development, and Ministry of Law & Justice.

“As regard to the larger issue of the protection of rights of domestic workers, we direct the Ministry of Labour and Employment in tandem with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the Ministry of Law and Justice, to jointly constitute a Committee comprising subject experts to consider the desirability of recommending a legal framework for the benefit, protection and regulation of the rights of domestic workers.” (Para 55 of the judgment)

• The Committee was tasked with examining the feasibility of incorporating domestic workers under existing labour laws, recommending measures for their regularization, ensuring fair wages, providing social security benefits, and establishing a framework to regulate placement agencies.

“It will be appreciated if the Committee submits a Report within a period of 6 months, whereupon the Government of India may consider the necessity of introducing a legal framework which may effectively address the cause and concern of domestic workers.” (Para 55 of the judgment)

• Additionally, the Court underscored the need for India to align with international labor standards, referring to the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), which sets out guidelines for fair labour practices and protections.

“In the international spectrum, over the course of many decades, the ILO has provided various guidelines and conventions for the betterment of labour laws across the world. It is noteworthy that it has also extensively sought to protect the rights of domestic workers, which it recognises as a uniquely disadvantaged and marginalised class.” (Para 43 of the judgment) 

• The Court reiterated the doctrine of parens patriae, affirming the State’s duty to safeguard vulnerable and marginalized workers.

“Amidst this backdrop, which motions the lack of specific protections covering domestic workers in India, it becomes this Court’s solemn duty and responsibility to intervene, exercise the doctrine of parens patriae and forge the path leading to their proper welfare.” (Para 53 of the judgment)

The Supreme Court’s judgment underscores the urgent need for legislative intervention to protect domestic workers’ rights, addressing a longstanding legal vacuum that has left them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The ruling not only calls for legal recognition of domestic workers but also highlights the necessity of including them within the broader framework of labour protections, social security, and wage regulations. Insights from the UN Women report further emphasize the gendered vulnerabilities of domestic workers, particularly women, who face workplace discrimination, harassment, and precarious employment conditions. Programs such as capacity-building initiatives and advocacy efforts led by organizations like the Martha Farrell Foundation demonstrate the potential impact of legal literacy and collective action in securing workplace safety and dignity for domestic workers. The Supreme Court’s directive to constitute an Expert Committee reflects a broader call for systemic reforms, aligning India’s domestic labour policies with international standards such as the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011. By urging Parliament to enact a dedicated Domestic Workers’ Protection Act and recommending awareness campaigns to empower domestic workers, the Court reinforces the need for a holistic approach that combines legislative measures with enforcement mechanisms and grassroots activism. This judgment marks a significant step toward ensuring fairness, security, and legal accountability in a sector that has long been overlooked, setting a precedent for future labour law reforms in India.

The judgment in the case Ajay Malik v. State of Uttarakhand delivered by Surya Kant. J on 29/01/2025 may be read here

(The legal research team of CJP consists of lawyers and interns; this primer has been worked on by Shailendar Karthikeyan)

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The post Supreme Court: Calls for legal protections for domestic workers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Tamil Nadu government, initially unwilling to respond to the growing unrest, eventually intensified efforts to mediate between the workers and the management. This culminated in a tentative settlement, ending the 37-day strike. Samsung committed to engaging with the workers’ demands and promised no punitive action against those who participated in the strike. For the workers, this was a significant step forward, even though full recognition of their union is yet to be achieved.

“We are really happy,” said a 34-year-old Samsung worker while speaking to Frontline, “though we would have been happier if the government had given us the registration number. But we are assured that we will win the case in court.”

The genesis of the strike: Union recognition and better conditions

The root cause of the strike was the workers’ demand for Samsung to recognise their union, Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU). This demand was central to their hopes of securing better wages and working hours. Multinational companies like Samsung often shy away from recognising independent unions, preferring to deal with internal unions that remain under the management’s control. According to labour rights activist Akriti Bhatia, many such companies in India sidestep labour laws, which allow workers the right to association and collective bargaining.

Samsung, like other multinational firms, has been reluctant to recognise unions backed by external political bodies like CPI(M)-affiliated Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), fearing that such associations could disrupt operations. A source within Samsung earlier stated that while the company supports unions, it does not engage with those backed by third-party organisations.

Notably, the protesting workers’ demands extended beyond union recognition. They sought higher wages, better working conditions, medical insurance, and improvements in workplace facilities. The factory, located in the industrial hub of Sriperumbudur near Chennai, employs nearly 2,000 workers and is one of two Samsung plants in India. The facility plays a critical role in Samsung’s operations, contributing around a third of the company’s $12 billion annual revenue in India through the production of home appliances as per a report of The Quint.

 The role of the state and political implications

The strike posed a significant challenge to Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government, which initially took a passive stance on the issue. As the strike entered its second month, concerns grew about the political and economic fallout. The strike’s timing was particularly sensitive, coinciding with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s international tour aimed at attracting foreign investment to the state. The pro-business image of Tamil Nadu was at risk, especially since Samsung is a major foreign investor.

Despite its political alliance with CITU, the DMK government struggled to find the right approach. For much of the strike, key ministers failed to engage directly with the workers, and efforts to resolve the issue were handled through bureaucratic channels rather than direct political intervention. The state’s reliance on these channels, without a clear political strategy, only contributed to the deadlock.

It was only after sustained pressure that the government ramped up its efforts to broker a resolution. Chief Minister Stalin instructed senior ministers to intervene, and negotiations involving multiple ministries—including Labour Welfare, Industries, and Public Works—were held. These efforts eventually led to a breakthrough, though not without setbacks along the way.

Amidst the hard-fought struggle of Samsung workers in Tamil Nadu, one of the most disturbing aspects of the protest was the detention of several workers who participated in the strike. As the workers stood firm in their demands for better wages, union recognition, and improved working conditions, their rights to peacefully protest and voice their grievances were met with state repression. The detention of these workers not only highlights the broader challenges faced by labour movements in India but also underscores the precarious state of workers’ rights in the face of corporate and state interests.

The crackdown: Arrests and disbanding of protest camps

As the strike reached its second month, the tensions between the workers and the management escalated, with the Tamil Nadu government coming under increased pressure to resolve the issue. Instead of supporting the workers’ cause or facilitating meaningful dialogue, the state resorted to heavy-handed measures, including the arrest of workers and the dismantling of their protest camps.

On October 9, after the Tamil Nadu government prematurely announced that the strike had been resolved, a group of Samsung workers who were part of the protest refused to accept the terms of the settlement. These workers argued that the agreement had been signed by employees who were not part of the striking group, thus undermining the legitimacy of the resolution. In response, state authorities moved in to break up the protests, leading to the detention of several workers.

Police arrested more than a dozen workers, including prominent union leaders, as they attempted to stifle the ongoing protest. Law enforcement officials also forcibly removed the tents set up by workers outside the factory in Sriperumbudur. This aggressive approach to silencing the workers’ voices drew widespread condemnation from labour unions, political allies, and human rights organisations, all of whom decried the violation of the workers’ constitutional rights.

The detention of the workers was not merely an administrative action—it was a blatant trampling of their fundamental rights. Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression, while Article 19(1)(c) protects the right to form associations and unions. By arresting workers who were exercising their right to peaceful protest, the state infringed upon these constitutional guarantees, aligning itself with corporate interests rather than protecting the rights of its citizens.

This crackdown on Samsung workers mirrored a troubling pattern in India, where labour rights and peaceful dissent are increasingly being met with state repression. Over the past few years, protests by workers, farmers, and activists have often been quelled through the use of arrests, intimidation, and, in some cases, outright violence. The situation involving Samsung workers in Tamil Nadu is yet another example of how the state can prioritise economic interests and corporate pressure over the rights and welfare of its citizens.

Akriti Bhatia, a labour rights activist, commented on the situation and told Frontline that “This is yet another case where the state machinery is used to suppress the demands of workers. Instead of addressing the genuine concerns of labourers and ensuring compliance with labour laws, the government is using force to dismantle legitimate movements.”

Solidarity in many forms was shown:

AIKS Extends Revolutionary Greetings to the Samsung Workers for their Historic Victory!

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) extends its revolutionary greetings to the struggling workers of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) led Samsung India Workers’ Union (SIWU) on (1/n) pic.twitter.com/g5IR7kY65r

— AIKS (@KisanSabha) October 16, 2024

We condemn the detention of protesting Samsung workers in Tamil Nadu. pic.twitter.com/uUIS0l7l4l

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) September 16, 2024

The #CPIM, CPI and CPI(ML) Liberation held a solidarity protest in #Chennai supporting the workers of #Samsung who have been on strike demanding recognition of their union, wage revision and regulated working hours.@tncpim state secretary Comrade K. Balakrishnan, CPI state… pic.twitter.com/NrOh4lfI0U

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) October 5, 2024

Leaders of AIDWA extended support to the Samsung India Workers Union at the protest site pic.twitter.com/MNO9mtw3y6

— Greeshma Kuthar (@jeegujja) October 5, 2024

One also cannot forget the role of multinational corporations and complicity of the state in choking the voices of the people protesting for dignity and rights. The detention of Samsung workers also highlighted the influence multinational corporations wield over local governments. In their quest to maintain operations without disruptions, companies like Samsung exert immense pressure on state authorities to curb dissent and maintain a “pro-business” environment. This pressure often manifests in the form of government action against workers who dare to challenge these corporations. For Samsung, which plays a key role in Tamil Nadu’s industrial sector, a prolonged strike posed not just a financial threat but also a reputational risk. The state’s pro-business image was on the line, and the DMK government’s initial reluctance to intervene aggressively can be seen as an attempt to maintain its investor-friendly facade. However, as the strike dragged on, the government resorted to coercive measures, leading to the detention of the workers.

The actions of the state during this strike raised critical questions about the role of governments in protecting workers’ rights. In theory, the government should be a mediator between labour and capital, ensuring that workers are treated fairly and that laws are upheld. However, in practice, the government’s actions in Tamil Nadu revealed a deeper complicity with corporate interests, as it attempted to suppress the legitimate demands of the workers instead of addressing their grievances. 

International Labour Standards and the Need for Accountability

The detention of workers during the Samsung strike is not just a domestic issue—it also reflects poorly on India’s adherence to international labour standards. India is a signatory to several International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, including those that protect the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The state’s actions during the Samsung strike violated these international commitments, casting doubt on its commitment to upholding basic labour rights.

In recent years, India has positioned itself as a key player in the global manufacturing supply chain, with companies like Samsung, Apple, and Foxconn establishing major operations in the country. While these companies contribute significantly to India’s economy, they also bear responsibility for ensuring that their workers are treated fairly and that labour laws are followed. The crackdown on Samsung workers during this strike is a stark reminder that corporate social responsibility must extend beyond profit margins and production goals. 

A Call for Justice

The release of detained workers and the cessation of legal action against them was one of the key conditions in the eventual settlement between the workers and Samsung. However, the fact that these detentions occurred in the first place serves as a chilling reminder of the risks workers face when standing up to powerful corporations. For many of the Samsung workers, the fear of reprisal remains, even as they prepare to return to work.

Labour rights activists and political allies have called for greater accountability in the aftermath of the strike. They are demanding that the Tamil Nadu government ensure that no further punitive action is taken against the workers and that steps are taken to address the broader issue of labour rights violations in the state. Additionally, they are calling on multinational corporations like Samsung to adopt more transparent and accountable practices when dealing with labour disputes.

For the workers of Samsung’s Sriperumbudur plant, their struggle has not ended with the resolution of the strike. While they have achieved several key concessions, including improved working conditions and a commitment from the company to engage with their demands, the fight for union recognition continues. More importantly, the fight for dignity and respect in the workplace, free from state repression and corporate exploitation, is far from over.

Frontline shared the words of one worker who was detained during the strike, who had said “We only asked for what is fair. We didn’t expect to be treated like criminals for standing up for our rights.”

Big lesson from Samsung Strike: Present trend of inter state competition to promote casual workforce, low wages,high workload,strenuous overtime targets and non-recognition of unions will be resisted. Everything can be negotiated but right to unionisation is nonnegotiable. pic.twitter.com/BDKaxdCv4G

— Thomas Isaac (@drthomasisaac) October 18, 2024

Resolution and the Road Ahead

By October 16, both sides reached a settlement. Samsung agreed to meet most of the workers’ key demands, except union recognition, which remains under judicial review. In return, the workers agreed to return to work on October 17 and cease all protest activities. Crucially, Samsung assured that no action would be taken against workers who had participated in the strike.

Historic Victory in Samsung Struggle@cituhq has congratulated the workers in a statement :

In the contemporary history of class struggles, the Samsung India Workers Struggle is the greatest direct class action against the Rule of Capital.
The greatest saga of 37-day-long… pic.twitter.com/kEajHleWjg

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) October 16, 2024

KITU salutes the Samsung India Workers Union (CITU) for their inspiring and courageous strike action which led to a historic victory pic.twitter.com/yAt6FNoQsu

— Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (@kitu_hq) October 16, 2024

Samsung, in a statement, welcomed the decision to end the strike, saying, “We will not take action against workers who merely participated in the illegal strike. We are committed to working closely with our workers to make the Chennai factory a great place to work.”

The strike, one of the largest the South Korean technology giant has faced in recent years, also holds broader implications for India’s manufacturing landscape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been positioning India as a viable alternative to China for global manufacturing activities. The Samsung strike, along with other labour movements in the region, including a one-day strike by workers at an Apple supplier in Tamil Nadu, underscores the importance of addressing labour rights and working conditions as India seeks to attract more foreign investment.

Earlier this year, unionised workers in South Korea staged a massive strike over pay and benefits, which added further pressure on Samsung. Meanwhile, in India, workers at a Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu, a major assembler of Apple iPhones, also went on strike, demanding union recognition and better working conditions. These incidents reflect the growing assertiveness of workers in the face of multinational corporations that seek to maximise productivity while minimising costs.

As the dust settles on the Samsung strike, the workers’ struggle stands as a testament to the power of collective action, even in the face of multinational corporations. While the road to full union recognition may still be long, the workers of Samsung’s Sriperumbudur plant have demonstrated their resolve and ability to bring about meaningful change.

In the end, the Samsung workers’ strike in Tamil Nadu marks a significant chapter in the ongoing struggle for labour rights in India’s rapidly expanding industrial landscape. While much work remains to be done, the victory at Samsung offers hope for workers in other sectors and sets a precedent for future labour movements across the country.

Related:

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Assam CM call to expel ‘Miya Muslims,’ leads to violence against Bengali speaking Muslim Labourers

Labour cess utilisation remains low, Kerala only state to fully use its labour cess funds

Journalist cannot cover the labour beat without questioning extreme inequality- P Sainath

Evolution of labour exploitation: from slavery to platform economies

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One cannot cover the farming without challenging the big landlords, just like one cannot cover the labour without challenging the big capital. Without recognizing raising extreme inequality in the country

On Sunday, July 21, dozens of students, young journalists, activists, trade union leaders, and other sympathizers of the working-class movement gathered in Vidyasagar Hall, Kotturpuram, Chennai for a day-long workshop titled “Reclaiming the Space for Labour in Journalism: Beating Capital with Labour Beat”.

The Working Class consists of more than 50 crore of the Indian population, yet the journalistic space given to the stories that reflect the objective interests of the working class is vanishingly small in today’s media landscape.

Historically, there existed a dedicated ecosystem in the media, that covered such stories of interest to the Working Class. In the journalistic lexicon, it is called “Labour Beat”.

Given that this vanishing of labour beat from the media ecosystem is symbiotically related to the weakening of labour movement itself; a group of journalists, activists, and general sympathizers of the labour movement (in itself and its role in the overall democratization of the society) felt the need to have a closer look at the situation and brainstorming the way forward to nurture a newer generation of labour journalist equipped with newer tools available due to progress of technology. Thus arose the idea of this workshop.

In this report, we have documented various sessions of this workshop such as speeches on systematic erosion of labour beat, labour economy of Tamilnadu, ethics of Labour Journalism as well as hands-on interactive sessions on how to storyboard and methodology involved in making a video story. We also look at the various questions related to the demography of participants and accessibility of the venue, praises and criticisms from various sections, and reflect on the future possibilities.

This report emerged from our continuous engagement with the organizers over the weeks leading up to the program on Sunday and with our interactions with the persons from diverse backgrounds who participated in the program.

P Sainath’s Speech on the History of Labour Beat

Sainath in his speech covered how the media landscape (in terms of its class composition and its interest in the kind of stories it deems worthy) changed over the last few decades of economic liberalization and steadily increasing corporate monopoly over the media industry. He established his points with details of various publicly available statistical data.

He emphasized greatly the point that aspiring labour journalists must understand the context of change in the political economy and the rise of extreme inequality in the country in which they will be operating.

He started with his own experience of joining journalism nearly half a century ago and how things have changed since. At that time every established newspaper had a full-time labour correspondent.

In the early liberalization era of mid 90’s not a single newspaper had a full-time labour correspondent. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the idea of dedicated labour beat itself started getting vanished and it essentially got merged into the industrial relation (IR) beat.

By 2005, there were essentially IR correspondents, who were basically communicating with the PR offices of the corporates.

It is ironic that such correspondents don’t have any actual contact with trade unions or the working class in general and they are essentially talking with industries to report about labour.

Sainath also emphasized that a number of other beats also essentially disappeared in the post-liberalization era. Around 15 years ago agricultural correspondents were basically communicating to agricultural ministers, not the people who make their livelihoods through farming.

Such agricultural ministers are so alienated from the actual farming process that they can’t even differentiate between two actual farm produce in practice. Today, such agricultural correspondents essentially talk to agribusinesses, not even govt officers in the agriculture departments.

No agricultural correspondent found it worthy to inform their readers about open official partnerships between certain agribusinesses and the Govt of India.

So, agribusinesses can now promote their products through official govt mechanisms. An aspiring journalist must understand this context and cover the stories through the lens of people.

Sainath also stressed that to cover a story genuinely from the people’s lens one needs to understand the labouring process first and need to challenge the persons holding the power positions. One cannot cover the farming without challenging the big landlords, just like one cannot cover the labour without challenging the big capital.

Sainath stressed about the rapidly rising inequality in India, especially after the liberalization in the nineties. He cited the work of the Inequality lab led by Thomas Piketty  and his team which concluded that the wealth inequality in today’s India is greater than the heyday of British colonialism. Till 1991, India didn’t have any dollar billionaires, while the first dollar billionaire arose in 1996.

Today India has 240 dollar billionaires, which consists of only 0.000015% of the country’s total population, and has an accumulated wealth nearly equal to 29% entire country’s GDP.

Their accumulated wealth is greater than the country’s agricultural budget itself. Even among them, 30% of wealth is controlled by the top 5 richest person of the country. Such a massive accumulation of wealth didn’t come from nowhere, but it came from the exploitation and pauperization of crores of ordinary toiling masses.

He told how the Covid-19 pandemic served as a clear indicator to understand the process of wealth accumulation at the top of the economic pyramid by making crores of labouring people poorer. While crores of Indians were trying to sustain the bare minimum; in the first 12 months of the pandemic, India added 42 dollar billionaires, 24 of which are from the health sector.

Rapid concentration of wealth is reflected in the expenditure of electoral campaigns and as a consequence who gets elected. The number of Crorepati MPs grew from 53% in 2009 to 93% in 2024.

Thus nearly 500 crorepati today represent crores of Indians who are on bare survival. Thus it is not hard to understand why people’s issues like poverty and unemployment are not focussed by them. Sainath gave a rather interesting analogy for visualizing the actual mammoth scale of unemployment in today’s India. He said that, if one makes a queue of unemployed persons in India, with each unemployed person covering half a meter, the resulting queue will be more than 3 times the length of the entire coastline of India (even including the coastline of the islands).

He concluded with an explanation of why all these don’t get represented in the media today. Today’s media is essentially the media and entertainment industry controlled by big monopoly capital.

There is an ownership concentration of the registered media, with most registered media owned by a handful of corporates, each owning many at a time. It is practically impossible to raise any issue that is against the interest of the owners.

Sainath also stressed the fact that how change in class composition in the journalists resulted in the change in class concerns as a result of liberalisation. Historically, in the ’60s and ’70s most journalists used to come from the working class and lower middle-class background.

They were less “educated” in the traditional sense, but had an organic link from the class they were coming from. Gradually, as journalism turned more towards corporate PR & entertainment and a profitable business model around it arose, journalism training schools started popping up like business enterprises.

This created a generation of journalists totally alienated from the labouring people. One needs more journalists from the working-class background to change this situation.

Sainath also stressed that while the emergence of newer forms of digital alternative media has enabled the possibility of bypassing the censorship of anti-establishment news in the print and Television media, one must keep in mind that there is a possibility of even worse censorship coming on these alternate media through the algorithms and modern technologies.

However, there still exists some space for pro-labour reporting in alternate media and one must utilize it.

To watch the recorded version of Sainath’s Lecture the interested reader can go to the YouTube Channel WU Live or Workers’ Unity Tamil.

A highly important question regarding the status of unionization of journalists came up during the Q & A session following the talk. Sainath replied that instead of an increase in unionization, rather there has been steady de-unionisation. It is more likely that this is related to the changing class composition of journalists.

Vidyasagar’s Speech on Labour Economy of Tamilnadu:

In his speech titled “Labour Structure & Conditions in Tamilnadu”, Vidyasagar, with the backing of various govt and non-govt data, explained the overall patterns in India’s labour economy from liberalization onwards, as well as specificities of labour economy of Tamilnadu.

He identified how the trend of growth without employment generation and Capitalism’s increasing aggressiveness to negotiate in favour of capital is worsening the already dire situation of the working class in terms of wages, social security, workplace safety, fighting strength, and organizational capacity.

Post-1991 union govt’s policies too aligned with pro-capital, anti-labour tend.

As a result of the influx of capital, there is a general trend of exodus from agriculture. However, this exodus didn’t happen to manufacture. There is a growing service sector and more rural labour are entering it.

As a general trend, over the last 30 years, both industry and agriculture is loosing the capacity to absorb labour. Construction provided around 36% of jobs between 2000 and 2015.

Even in the high-growth industries employment generation is stagnant. Nearly 50% of the workforce in India still depends on agriculture. To increase employment generation and wages in agriculture more govt intervention is needed, but capital is forcing the other way.

While both in industry and agriculture the output has increased, wages have declined. In fact, export production has seen an inverse relationship with the labour standards.

Vidyasagar emphasized about decreasing of formal/regular employment and increasing contract labour along with decentralization of industries as a general trend in the neoliberal era. In fact, contract labour is employed more in capital-intensive industries like automobiles. The percentage of contract labour in the automobile sector increased from 11.6% in 2000 to 44.7% in 2011-12 and currently, it is nearly 60%. The gap in income levels between contractual and regular workers is increasing drastically.

He also mentioned various categories of informal labour like self-earning initiatives, working in family enterprises, in establishments, etc. Surprisingly, self-earning initiatives like street vendors, hawkers, etc, have increased to cover nearly 60% of the informal labour. At present 93% are informal workers, while formal workers only account for 7%. New labour codes will only increase this trend of contractualization and informalisation, and workers will lose their existing rights.

The fighting strength and collective bargaining capacity of the working class have decreased drastically. Despite the tremendous increase in number of workers from the 1980 level, the number of days of workers’ strikes has decreased significantly. Currently, there exist around a dozen Central Trade Union Federations, with nearly 60k registered unions. However, due to causes like the reserve army of labour, and low-paid contract workers, the organizational strength of the workers has weakened significantly.

Vidyasagar then focussed on the specificities of Tamilnadu (TN). TN, with consistently ranking among the highest in the country in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GDSP), significantly contributes towards India’s overall economic growth. In TN, there are major industrial clusters like automobile, manufacturing, textile, electronics & pharmaceuticals. Chennai, the state capital is a prominent IT & business hub further bolstering economic activity.

TN is among one of the highest-performing states in India in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI) has seen significant improvement over the years in social indicators like education and healthcare. TN also has a legacy of social reform programs & it has been pioneering in social welfare programs. Although compared to other states TN’s performance is better, there are disparities in this success story. Gender roles and expectations continue to shape societal norms, influencing labour force participation patterns. Caste dynamics, prelevant in many aspects of life, also impact economic opportunities.

He pointed out certain important facts about the TN Labour Force patterns based on various public data. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) per thousand individual population, Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) [https://microdata.gov.in/nada43/index.php/catalog/PLFS], and National Sample Survey Organisation(NSSO)[https://mospi.gov.in/NSSOa] data were used to arrive at these facts. The estimated labour force (15-59 years) grew at 1.19% per annum from 44.7% in 2001 to 45.6% in 2011. The ratio at all India level during the corresponding period was lower at 39.1% and 39.8% respectively.

2023 TN estimate is 54.7%. He mentioned that between 2001-2011 the proportion of persons who are not working in the state increased from 30.30% to 31.16%. Rural LFPR for men saw a gradual decline from 897 in 1993-94 to 838 in 2021-22, while rural LFPR for women in the same period declined more sharply from 680 to 530. The general national trend of increasing unemployment holds for TN also with 1.6% in 2011-12 to 3.6% in 2018-19.

He went further about characteristics of labour in TN with an emphasis on the young people (15-35 age group) who consists 35% of the state’s population. 7 out of 8 workers in TN work in the non-farm sector, with most of them being contract workers with a ‘footloose nature’ [https://www.amazon.in/Footloose-Labour-Working-Informal-Contemporary/dp/0521568242] of labour. Many youths were compelled to join as gig workers in Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, Uber, etc. They earn a mere 400-500 Rs per day with an average work time of 12+ hours per day. There is a trend of rural to urban youth migration with migrant workers being absorbed more in certain sectors. He also pointed out that about 30% of the people in 15-18 age are out of school and an increase in adolescent labour.

He ended his talk with certain criticism about the Dravidian model, especially on urban land usage and urban poverty, despite its relative success compared to other northern Indian states in terms of HDI. Dravidian model promoted urbanization through industrialization, increased infrastructure investments, introduction of pump sets for irrigation, creation of co-op societies, and so on to change caste-based occupations & caste discrimination, supported by social justice policies. In the process, urban areas are getting overcrowded, and more & more slums and in some cases, caste-based settlements are arising in urban areas. There is a repeating trend of slum clearance by the govt which has deprived youths of livelihood opportunities. Govt is planning to create a land bank of 45k acres in the next five years to attract investments, but there is nothing for the workers even in MOUs.

Journalistic Ethics and Labour Journalism:

The speech by Vidyasagar was followed by shorter talks by two in-house journalists of Workers’ Unity, namely Vaishnavi and Sandeep. They shared their insights on certain ethical issues while covering labour struggles and also a few minute but technical aspects that need to be kept in mind.

Vaishnavi used a video footage from a mainstream media covering a particular strike of women workers. She emphasized with particular examples how the reporting of that media is actually reporting from an angle of industry that production is being stopped, and not from the perspective of workers.

That’s why they didn’t take any in-depth interviews of workers there. They also didn’t ask the question about wages and working conditions in their report and what objective causes might have created so much anger among the workers. The entire environment was very emotionally charged and Vaishnavi emphasized that covering the story from a working-class lens doesn’t mean getting carried out by the emotions of workers also. A responsible labour-journalist must independently verify the claims made by workers also.

Sandeep said that at a time when rapid changes in the economic organisation is leaving the workers perilous, the journalistic resources, human and infrastructure, is scantily deployed to cover issues of labour relations. In other words, the ‘Labour Beat’ has been missing at a time when it is dearly needed.

Young journalist should come forward and cover the untold stories burried behind factories workshops around the country.

After this, there was a lunch break and a closed session for the pre-registered participants started after lunch.

Aparna’s Speech on Making Video Stories & various ethical issues:

The session after the lunch started with an “ice-breaking session”. In this session the participants were first asked to get familiar with the space by walking through the whole space and pausing periodically. Then they were asked to form pairs with someone they don’t know already and talk in pairs for sometime. After that they were asked to take the identity of other person in the pair and introduce the other person as self. We later came to know from the organizers that such a “ice-breaking session” is common practice in theatre circles.

Following this there was a talk by Aparna Ganesan on methodology involved in making a video story. At this point a brief introduction of Aparna is required for the reader.

Aparna Ganesan is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker from India with five years of experience. She’s worked with DW News, Faultline Videos, Mongabay, and Asiaville. Aparna is a 2022 Earth Journalism Network Grantee and 2024 GRID ArendalGrantee. She’s one among ten journalists selected by the East-West Centre to do an Indian-Pakistan cross-border documentar

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Strongly condemning the decision and demanding immediate withdrawal of the gazette notification, the CITU said such a decision would encourage private sector employers/owners to default on their statutory obligation.

“The recently sworn-in NDA government has wasted no time in exposing its true face. The government has allowed private corporate owners/employers to play with the workers’ contribution and their share of provident fund and pension funds. Through this, employers/owners are being encouraged to default on their statutory obligation, which includes depositing workers’ contribution, EPF, pension and EDLI funds in EPFO ​​on time,” the CITU statement read.

Commenting on the gazette notification issued by the Union Labour Minister, CITU said it was a “very draconian gazette notification dated 14th June 2024, substantially reducing all penal charges on all employers/employers for not depositing the contributions including workers’ contribution to the Employees’ Pension Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Deposit-Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) on time. The extent of reduction in the penal charges has been reduced to less than one-fifth of the prescribed charges.”

It said “if an employer makes any default in payment of contribution to EPF or EDLI or delays or defaults in payment of any charges payable under the provisions of the EPF Act, 1952 or the schemes framed under this Act, the EPFO ​​may recover the same amount from the employer by imposing penalty, damages at different rates for different periods of default.”

According to the statement till now the provision was that penal charges were calculated at 5% per annum for a default period of less than two months, 10% for a default period of two months and above but less than four months, 15% for four months and above but less than six months and 25% for six months and above.

Now, according to a new notification, “all penalty rates have been reduced to 1 per cent per annum – which means that all schemes have been reduced by 12 per cent per annum. This has been done, clearly, in the name of promoting ease of doing business at the cost of making the lives of our working people easier, who are already losing their hard-earned money.

CITU reminded the Centre that “out of about 48 crore 70 lakh 9 thousand working people entitled to EPF/pension, only about 11 crore 80 lakh working people are covered under the EPF, which highlights the pro-employer violation of the EPF Act by the enforcement machinery of the government.”

It said further, “those covered under the EPF scheme are being squeezed even more by way of promoting default by employers and thereby allowing employers to unauthorisedly siphon off the lifelong savings of workers in EPF by drastically reducing the penalties for wilful default. Defaults are increasing even against those who were brought under the Act and coverage.”

The statement further added, “Paragraph 5 of the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 and Paragraph 8A of the EDLI Scheme, 1976 are the only deterrent provisions against such defaults and moreover, were the only means to ensure compliance with the Act passed by the sovereign Parliament. Now it has been almost abolished through these amendments.”

The CITU has, therefore, demanded that the Centre should immediately withdraw this “anti-worker and pro-employer” notification and called upon workers and working people to be ready for “fierce protests” across the country against these changes.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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Over the period of next four years, the labour court ruled twice in favour of the workers, ordering IIT Bombay to disburse the gratuity payments. However, the IIT kept prolonging the legal battle. The prolonged legal battle meant the loss of crucial years of post-retirement life where the gratuity amount is supposed to be helpful to the workers in their old age, to ensure them a decent standard of life on their retirement. The administration’s apathetic behaviour stalled the distribution of gratuity amounts. Their highly paid registrars and lawyers (formed to look after gratuity matters) sat in their AC ivory towers, contemplating moving to the High Court and, if needed, to the Supreme Court against the rulings of the labour court.

Raman Garase had recently learnt that the IIT was again planning to appeal against the labour court ruling. Disheartened by the prolonged struggle and the dimming hope of ever receiving his gratuity of Rs 4,28,805, his death underscores the harsh realities many workers face in securing their rights and dignity not just in IITs, but across the nation. The tragic death of Raman Garase is a significant moment that demands an introspection on the condition of workers in IITs. In this series of articles, we attempt to initiate a discussion on the workers’ conditions, with the hope that it will be followed by more robust discussions and political interventions that change the current state of affairs.

IITs: The Savarna bastions in post-independence India

To begin with, we need to locate workers in the larger political economy of the IITs. The IITs are a set of 23 public institutions of higher education, with the original five founded between 1951-61 through bilateral cooperation of the Indian government and foreign governments. IITs, founded with the idea of constructing a new nation, were declared to be Institutions of National Importance. Located in various corners of the nation, they were gesturing to the postcolonial states’ zeal for both national integration and regional commitments. While placing IITs as institutes of national importance by constituting a particular act called The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 (hereafter IITs Act), they were exempted from applying the reservation policies that began for educational institutions in 1953.

It was this understanding from a top-down approach to science that, in contemporary times, many movements and leaders have criticised. It also suggests what nation it attempted to catered to by establishing special criteria at the foundation of creation. The IITs Act provided a shield away from the strong articulation and significant debates of the constitutional provisions achieved by long-time social and political movements of in contemporary times.

So much so, that with the impending pressure from various organisations based within IITs, like that of Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) IIT Bombay and many other institutions, in 2019, a committee was formed under the chairmanship of IIT Delhi director to oversee the proper implementation of reservation (read affirmative action). Instead of devising a considered plan to implement reservation and evolve a clear plan of action for coming years during which they fill the backlog of seats denied for decades to the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates, the committee went on to demand exemption from reservation policy invoking IITs Act.

In many ways, the marginalisation of Dalits and Adivasis has been inscribed in the very foundation stone of IITs, which continues to bear its fruits even today and will continue to do so until a more robust restructuring does not take place. It is always the case with IITs that the administration has been constituted of what is known as the ‘general category’ (savarnas). Many chairmen of IITs, the Board of Governors, and council members come from the industrial sector and from among capitalist businessmen. The administration of IITs and members of various faculties came largely from among the savarnas as IITs “were exempt” from reservation. Students, too, largely belonged to the general category, with reservation norms still not followed to honour the constitutional mandate. Dalits and Adivasis were present only employed as grade C and grade D workers! Today, the majority of workers who are employed for manual labour on these campuses come from Dalit and Adivasi communities, while a majority of persons in the faculties and students are from among the savarnas.

“Casual” labourers in “Eminent” Institutions

All the IITs have been built on huge pieces of land, and they are well known for their lush green campuses. However, lesser-known facts are how the land was acquired for these campuses and how many persons and who got displaced. Many of the stories and struggles of Adivasis are buried under the rubric of IITs, where they were/are displaced from their land, cut off from their livelihood, and made to be dependent on the employment provided by IITs, mainly catering manual labour. Often, the IITs initially promised permanent employment and rehabilitation for their land. However, these promises were never kept and they often ended up as landless, manual labourers within IITs! This method of displacement has continued through the last decade with  IIT Bombay evicting local Adivasi communities of Peru Baug for constructing a research park. Only sometimes have local communities been successful in pushing away this land grab, as in the case of how the protests led to a change of IIT Goa campus site away from Sanguem.

Around the 1970s-80s, the process of contractualisation of labour work started when IITs introduced interim contractors for various works related to maintenance and smooth functioning of the campus. They proceeded to move away from employing permanent workers and started replacing them with contract workers (at times called casual labourers). The contractors acted as intermediaries only for making the payment of wages. The authority that has the ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment and the said work always remained with the IIT officials and not with the contractors. This enabled the IITs to hold more power over workers and not take any responsibility for providing worker benefits and security.

The casual/contract workers were paid less than half the amount which the permanent workers were paid for the same work. Such a shift in IITs like most other industries and institutions saved loads of money, some of which was shared to the intermediate contractors. This change in the relationship of workers with the establishment also significantly reduced the ability of workers to negotiate as they could be arbitrarily fired, which also held them back from unionizing for fear of individual targeting and retaliation.

Within IITs, as the campus area is large, the work allotted to contractors is broken into smaller geographical areas targeting particular kind(s) of work. For instance, tender for housekeeping work in the academic area is called for separately than with the residential area. Depending on the floor area, the number of workers and the material for the work are estimated, and the quotation is given. However, as noted, IITs continued to allot the work to these contracts, which was much beyond their area of work under the said tender specification of the contractor.

So, for instance, Raman Garase, along with many other workers, was asked to remove the hutments of the Adivasis living in the Peru Baug where today’s building of Research Park stands, calling them ‘illegal’. In this way, the IIT administration comprising of savarna and corporate lobby pitted the workers who themselves belong to marginalized communities against the indigenous people living in the area who were/are being forced to leave their land with their sources of livelihood also destroyed. Also, on a regular basis workers are shifted to different locations within campus to attend to specific works.

There is also a culture of treating workers as suspect criminals. Workers in IIT Kanpur have to open and show their bags when they leave the campus area. Workers in IIT Bombay were made to deposit utensils in a centralised location by the contractors as the latter claimed that they could not trust the workers not to steal them. Such practices which are employed under the guise of security are actually casteist practices of terming certain communities as criminals. Similarly, a practice of housekeeping workers having to obtain signatures from students as proof of work in the respective area every day!

Wage Theft: Violation of Labour laws in IITs

The Criteria for Prohibition under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (CLRA) clearly states that if the work is perennial in nature (i.e., it is not seasonal or temporary but lasts throughout the year), it needs to be performed by regular workers rather than contract labour. Perennial work includes works such as cleaning building floors, and roads, mess work, janitorial work, plumbing, electrical maintenance, gardening, and fumigation, which are essential parts of the campus. CLRA also states that any work requiring significant control and supervision by the principal employer is unsuitable for contract labour. Despite the law being there for over 50 years, these clauses of CLRA are being violated all over India, with premier higher education institutes such as IITs being no exception. Even though regulations stipulate that these jobs should be handled by permanent workers and not by contractual labour, IITs bypass these rules, opting to employ contract workers to avoid the obligations and costs associated with permanent employment.

There are various rights that are guaranteed for contract workers under the various labour laws. All contractual employees are eligible for the Employee Provident Fund (EPF popularly known as PF), a retirement benefit scheme, and the Employee State Insurance (ESI), a social security and health insurance scheme. These worker protection schemes provide an array of benefits, which includes medical treatment, maternity benefits, disability benefits, dependent benefits, and unemployment allowance under certain conditions. Both schemes are crucial in the socio-economic architecture of India, providing financial security and healthcare benefits to a substantial portion of the Indian workforce.

However, in practice, multiple mechanisms are in place to avoid providing the majority of such benefits. Contractors do several tricks to steal the benefits from the workers, whereas IIT officials, even in full knowledge of such practices, pay no heed to those violations. Many contractors deliberately do not create bank accounts for workers, sometimes even deliberately delaying their creation or even creating with mistaken names and paying the workers in cash for the entire time period. These workers are not paid EPF even though the contractor deducts EPF contributions from their wages. When workers demand their EPF, a small amount is given, much lower than the worker’s contribution over the years, and without employer contribution. Workers are forced to accept the lower amount as any legal route for redressal will only further delay the payment for years. Multiple instances of a contractor’s cheque given against PF and bonus bouncing were reported to the IIT Bombay administration but no action has been taken against them.

In 2022, more than 50 mess workers did not receive any PF amount, even though (Rs.1800) was deducted from their wages every month. The same caterer was found to violate the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Sometimes, money is deducted from wages for uniforms, while no new uniforms are provided. Despite complaints raised by student groups, the contractor was not blacklisted by the administration, moreover received few new tenders.

Those working from before the 2000s have also noted that IIT Bombay was not paying EPF and ESI to the majority of its workers. It was after several demands from workers that IIT Bombay finally conceded to provide them with these benefits. However, for many other workers, such as mess workers and canteen workers, even today, even minimum wages are not paid, no proper accommodation facilities are given, and they are always made to work overtime without being paid. Most construction workers lack systematic EPF/ESI accounts and other basic labour entitlements.

The arbitrary firing of workers is another perverse phenomenon employed by the IITs to control and exploit workers. IIT Kanpur fired 72 workers from its Visitor’s Hostel in 2017. On August 1, 2022, 18 workers from the water supply and sewage department of IIT Kanpur were fired without prior notice, owing to a change in the contractor. IIT BHU fired around 200 workers without prior notice claiming a change of contractors in 2019. On January 27, 2024, Jagdish Pal, a Hall 2 mess worker of IIT Kanpur with 13 years of service, was unfairly dismissed without reason after protesting strict attendance policies that led to pay deductions and unpaid work. His suspension and subsequent dismissal underscore the severe exploitation and mistreatment of mess workers at IITs. In one of our next segment, we will also discuss a detailed case of 59 female mess workers who were removed by IIT Bombay.

Even the workers who are employed often face months long delays in receiving their wage payments. Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, specifies the timing for the payment of wages and mandates that wages should be paid before the tenth day after the last wage period. IITs letting contractors violate these laws and withholding the wages of workers has become commonplace now. 4 men were killed when a contractor in IIT Mandi fired on workers protesting the non-payment of their monthly wages and EPF. Protests have been organised by workers in IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, over post-retirement medical schemes, pension, promotions, regularization of dependents of deceased/disabled employees.

Multiple construction workers have died in IIT Bombay due to a lack of proper safety gear and unsafe working environments. Similar deaths have occurred in IIT Kanpur where a gardener in the academic area tragically died within hours of reporting for work on a severely cold winter morning. In 2019, the collapse of the Earth Science building wall in IIT Kanpur resulted in death of three workers and in 2022, a worker at the Type-III apartment construction site behind the director’s residence died from excessive bleeding after a hand-held grinder slipped and severely injured his leg. The living conditions of construction workers at IITs are also deplorable, as they are compelled to reside in cramped, overcrowded cabins that lack basic hygiene and proper sanitation facilities.

Prestige and precarity

These violations of workers’ rights are not just limited to the IITs and happen all over the country. These “eminent” institutions are no different than any other institutions in the country, when it comes to respecting the rights of workers. They are as exploitative as the others. However, the overwhelmingly Savarna nature of these institutions does add a new layer to the exploitation of contract workers. The tag of an “eminent” institution also adds a structural angle to such exploitation. Many contract workers who started working here some decades back, had this hope in their mind that they will be accepted as “permanent” employees, some day or the other. Such acceptance would mean better living conditions. But for most of them, that day never arrived.

Even after multiple complaints about denial of workers’ rights, and even judgements from labour court ordering to comply with labour laws, IITs have been ignoring them just the way they ignore the constitutional mandate of implementing reservation for SC ST OBCs. They continue to give contracts to the same contractors who were violating these laws. This alludes to a collusion between the contractors and the administration of IITs to exploit these workers.

The workers of IITs face issues in getting their minimum wages, EPF, ESI, gratuity, healthcare, lack of safe working environment, arbitrary firing, and lack of strong unions that can claim their demands by negotiating with the administration. It is paralleled with the violation of reservation norms, stiffing voices of descent with imposing stringent code of conduct for students, workers and faculties, and rapidly expanding privatization of education.

The death of Raman Garase highlights significant issues within labour rights and the struggle for justice by contractual workers. It is a sombre reminder of the impact that prolonged legal disputes and denied rights can have on individuals.

Workers like Raman Garase, Dadarao Ingale, and Tanaji Lad, who have served institutions for decades, often face uphill battles for their rightful benefits, reflecting broader systemic issues that need addressing.

The decision of the IIT Bombay administration to appeal the labour court’s order, thereby extending the legal process, underscores the challenges faced by workers in securing what is legally theirs. Such situations also bring to light the need for stronger safeguards and more efficient legal mechanisms to protect workers’ rights and ensure timely justice.

Raman Garase’s tragic death, particularly on Labour Day—a day meant to celebrate workers and their contributions—adds a layer of poignancy to the story and calls for a reflection on how societies and institutions treat their labour forces. It is a call to action for not just ensuring legal compliance but also fostering a culture of respect and dignity for all workers.

(The authors are students at IIT Bombay and members of Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC))

Related:

Gujarat: Three years, 714 workers died in industrial accidents admits Minister

29% increase in daily wage workers suicides in 2 years: Labour Ministry

Over 42,000 workers from informal sector allegedly die by suicide

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DASAM has been working with sewer workers and waste pickers across Delhi since its inception. In this regard, the ToT Workshop of 26th August 2023 was organized which was attended by over 100 sewer workers and waste pickers. The resource person for the training was Thaneshwar Dayal Adigaur, Secretary of the Dilli Asangathit Nirman Mazdoor Union and has been engaged in the campaign for the rights of construction workers in Delhi.

He is also a former member of the Delhi Labour Welfare Board, and was a part of the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (DBOCW) Advisory Committee and member the Regional Advisory Committee (Delhi) in the Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education and Development (DTNBWED), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of india.

With his years of experience in campaigning for the rights of construction workers, he addressed the gathering focusing on the importance of organization building for daily wage workers.

A panel member of the workshop, Ved Prakash Bidlan, president, the Delhi Jal Board Sewer Department Mazdoor Sangathan, elaborated on the importance of demanding the rights and needs of sanitation workers and the role of organized unions in it. Another panel member Aysha. who has been a waste picker in Rithala, Delhi and works for the rights of women in informal labour like waste picking in West Delhi.

The workshop began by highlighting the importance of sanitation workers in sustaining cities, where sewer workers work with the management of liquid waste and waste pickers help in the segregation of solid waste.

Sewer workers’ continuous fight for minimum wage

One of the major demands raised by sewer workers was minimum wage and regular jobs. Most of the sewer workers in Delhi are contractual labourers and one of the biggest challenges faced by contractual sewer workers is their exposure to hazardous working conditions. Another major cause of concern is job security or lack of job security and benefits.

These workers are hired on a contract basis which means that they do not receive benefits such as health insurance, paid leave or retirement benefits. They are not covered under any labor laws and are often exploited by contractors who subject them to unsafe working conditions. Furthermore, contractual sewer workers face social stigma and discrimination due to the nature of their work.It was pointed out that the minimum wage in Delhi, decided by the government, is Rs 646 per day.

However, during the workshop many workers voiced that they receive roughly Rs 430 per day, which is below the decided minimum wage. Furthermore, they are made to give bogus signatures on documents stating they are satisfied with their pay. The workers do not get paid leave and have to often sacrifice on their health due to the incessant hazardous working conditions.

One of the workers from Rohini, Delhi said how he recently secured minimum wages for himself through continuous pressure put on the authorities. However, some workers from Pitampura, Delhi still expressed concerns for not receiving the minimum wage and facing harassment from the authorities upon expressing their demands.

Ashok Kumar Taank from DASAM said that these discrepancies existing in the wages of different workers need to be addressed by bringing the workers under the payroll of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) which would ensure minimum wage and regular pay.

Through these issues highlighted in the workshop the exploitation by contractors and the loopholes in the government sector were exposed. The work of sewer workers and waste pickers, which is daily labour, must be brought under the regular employment scheme of the government, removing the contractual system.

Women waste pickers: Stories of stigma and exploitation

With the increasing trend of privatization, in 2022, all the five zones of the Ghaziabad municipality have been given to private firms in the name of ‘waste management’, the money for which is being received by the Municipal Corporation. Municipality, being an executive body, has the responsibility to do work instead of outsourcing, however, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation is the only executive body in India that is taking money from contractors.

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In this context, it becomes important to understand why states-even countries-are in a hurry to increase the working hours or give more leeway to companies. Since these kinds of laws not only allow exploitation but also exert undue pressure on an already stressed workforce, it is important to understand the logic behind the laws, whichever side of the argument, pro or against that you favour.

Labour, and wage for such labour are essential elements of today’s economic system. The economy grows with more available labour; consumption increases as the wages increase-so on and so forth. This phenomenon is however not that simple, nor is it uniform for all regions across the world. Due to various reasons, some countries have better pay packages for the same working hours, if not lesser. Apart from this dichotomy in terms of pay between different countries, there is another alarming difference. It is a race in which developing and developed countries ensure that their labour laws and regulations are flexible whereas developed nations experiment with shorter work weeks with shorter workdays. In India too, various states have issued notifications or passed laws, increasing the work hours, over the last few years including states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat.[2] Many of these were arbitrarily passed without adequate consultation during the pandemic-caused lockdown.

Why do the governments “liberalise” labour laws?

Land, Labour, Enterprise, and Capital are factors of production. If a person needs to set up a manufacturing unit, she will need land to build her facility on. She would also need money as initial investment for raw material, machinery, salaries etc. And finally, she would need skilled/unskilled labour depending on the type of facility that she wants to run.

The State usually provides incentives to investors so that they can set up their facilities easily and gives various tax incentives for some periods so that the companies can concentrate on production and profitability. Since the government does not engage much in business, it relies on private investors to boost economic activity and growth. For example, in India, a startup may apply for tax exemption under section 80 IAC of the Income Tax Act. Post getting clearance for Tax exemption, the Startup can avail tax holiday for three consecutive financial years out of its first ten years since incorporation.[3] In Telangana, any company applies for a licence and unless rejected within a period, the company automatically gets a licence to operate under the industrial policy of the state.  Reforms in land acquisition, easy availability of credit from Banks and other financial institutions, make it easy for companies to establish their units and contribute to the economic activity. These kinds of measures are taken by governments to increase the “ease of doing business.”

Within this subset of measures to increase the ease of doing business falls the “liberalisation of labour laws.” For example, startups, as recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, are allowed to self-certify themselves for compliance of labour laws. They are also exempted from any inspection visits by the labour inspector, unless a credible and verifiable complaint of violation if filed in writing and approved by at least one level senior to the inspecting officer. The intent behind these kinds of provisions is so that the companies can concentrate on production and not worry about compliance. Additionally, the labour market, especially in India, is a huge one. Labour Market essentially means the pool of labour the companies can choose from. The supply of labour is high, and the demand is not as much, therefore attendant unemployment. Some of the unemployment is also attributable to the lack of skills required. The companies look for cheap labour, as entities for profit do and therefore do not want to be bound with employees they don’t want to employ. For example, if a company gets a huge project it needs to complete this within say, six months, it will need additional labour to meet the deadline and after the deadline, it will not need such additional workforce. In this scenario, if there exists a law saying that no employee shall be fired from a company without giving two months’ pay, the company would be apprehensive of taking up the huge project in the first place since it would incur costs when it must let go of the employees. Or it would use methods like individual contracts with hiring talent to go around (evade) the law and in process, might not give any protection such as insurance etc, to the talent. To make sure the company does not go through this hassle, the newly passed and yet to be implemented Code of Industrial Relations, 2020 regularises fixed-term employment. Fixed term employment may allow employers the flexibility to hire workers for a fixed duration and for work that may not be permanent in nature.

It is important at this point to note that the boosting of economic activity is important for a nation’s growth. For a developing country like India, especially in the current globalised and capitalist paradigm, investment of capital from private entities-both domestic and foreign-becomes an important way of generating economic activity.

Due to all, these reasons, governments tend to “liberalise labour laws”. However, most of the measures discussed above are measures taken by the union government. The states further bring in their changes.

States and Labour Laws

Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the Concurrent List where both the union and state Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the union. India is not a homogenous country; we have united and competing units within the nation i.e., states. The competition is for resources and investments. Within this competition lies the reason for the states to liberalise the labour laws within their territory.

States have two kinds of advantages when it comes to investments. First, is the natural advantage: this could be their geography like being close to the sea and therefore having a logistical advantage, or having land or other such resource to produce raw material for certain kinds of industries etc. For example, costal states tend to attract more investment since the ports could be used to export produced/finished goods; states with ability or the culture of producing agricultural commodities attract companies dealing with such products. For example, sugar cane in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh; tobacco in Telangana.

Another set of advantages is how better positioned they are to make it easy for a business to operate like provision on electricity, intra-state infrastructure like roads, water etc. This includes availability of labour. The availability of labour, the ease to hire and fire at will also decides where a company would set its shop at. Since states are competing for investments, they tend to incentivise investors-better than the rest of the states. One of the ways is to have flexible labour law and allow for more working hours to be norm etc.

This leads to a situation in which states end up “racing to enact” the least possible stringency in labour laws, to accommodate the companies.

India’s story is such that even when the labour laws were relatively strong, there was poor implementation. Labour exploitation was rampant in both organised and unorganised sectors. When such stringency is removed all together, there is no safety net for employees.

So, two points have so far been established. One is that governments, both at the centre and in the states look at private investment-domestic and foreign- as means to generate economic activity. Second, that states in the country are in competition with each other to attract investments, prompting them to engage in a race to bottom regarding different compliances that they deem to be a “burden for companies”.

Now, it is important to discuss the implications of this race to the bottom.

Why is it bad to go on liberalising labour standards?

In the context of long working hours, even for five days of a week, such practice leads to prolonged periods of stress and other health conditions. In India, commuting to work also takes a lot of time since the places of manufacture and places of residence are also at great distance from each other. If we add this together, the time a person spends at work becomes higher than 12 hours which would affect their health and personal lives. Workers with bad mental and physical health, cannot be productive for longer periods. An average Indian employee spends over two hours commuting. Long working hours have been proven to be hazardous to the occupational health of workers.[4] Allowing a low wage labour market to flourish would boost production but decrease the consumption power of the workers, leading to a case of increased economic activity but stagnant or lowered standard of living for workers.

What steps could be taken instead?

By improving education and skills training, developing countries can create a more productive and skilled workforce. This can help attract higher-paying jobs compelling industries to increase the overall quality of life for workers. Developing countries can work to create a stable and predictable business environment that encourages investment. This can involve reducing corruption, simplifying regulations etc.

Moreover, since India is a large market with the highest population in the world, it is in a unique position to negotiate the terms unlike other developing countries. There is a large push (incentive) from the governments towards the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Sector (MSME Sector). Since this sector is largely unorganised and is not as compliant of labour laws as the organised sector probably would be, it is important to provide incentives to the MSME sector to be fair in terms of their employee engagement. This will prompt both MSME sector growth and better conditions for workers.[5]

The race to the bottom in labour standards is a phenomenon that has gained attention –and criticism– in recent years, particularly in the context of globalisation and the increasing importance of global supply chains. While the concept of lowering labour standards to attract foreign investment may seem appealing at first, it can lead to a number of negative consequences for developing countries. Therefore, alternative measures to attract investments should be adopted rather than racing to the bottom.

(The author is a legal researcher with the organisation)

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