Workers of Maruti Manesar are protesting against Lockout and Dictatorial Behavior of Management (since 29th Aug 2011), which is trying to force workers to sign an agreement for good conduct, which indirectly hijack every democratic right of workers to protest, to unite, to demand respected work conditions, and to maintain balance with the dictatorship of management. And it is a well planned step taken by management to detain workers from making Trade Union in Maruti Manesar Plant. [See previous strike detail of Jun 2011]
Management imposed struggle on workers, and now it is saying that it will not start work while bond will not be signed by all workers. According to present market report there is not much demand of automobiles, so company has planned to draw workers for a long struggle. (The Hindu, 8 Sep 2011)
Before going further, we can see a very brief view of the condition of workers explained well in following articles,
1. From Sunday Guardian [The workers have a number of grievances with the working conditions in the plant: they say too much salary is cut for unscheduled leave, that they have to request permission to use the bathroom, that Rs 700 is cut from their wages if they are late for a shift by even a few minutes, and that temporary employees do not have the rights they should be accorded. They see the new union as essential to look into these concerns. They argue that signing the Good Conduct bond will effectively render the union powerless, since it ensures that the employees cannot use the only resource at their disposal: collective protest.]
2. From Kafila ["In an eight hour working day, with a twenty minute lunch break (in a canteen that is a distance from the main plant) and a seven minute tea break, the respite from continuous control and speed (control over movements, speed of operations) that an average worker gets is something like three minutes........."]
While having all information regarding these conditions, still mainstream media is shouting about the "loss of production", about the "fear of people who are booking the cars," etc.; but it has left everything related to the problem of workers. Working conditions of workers are not better than slaves, who are indirectly forced to work within the law and order of the industry. These all workers produce the cars , which all are used by the people who belongs to the civil society, that "civil society", which was protesting against corruption, and who "believes" that this intense crude exploitation of the workers in many industries is not come in the category of corruption. According to these "civil society" people, shucking of the life of many workers, in almost every production industry, is not corruption, and so they don't take interest in it, because it is not a glamor driven struggle, it is not a struggle which conducted in the shadow of video cameras, news bans, international support of "honest" peoples, of film stars etc.!!
As a citizen of "democratic" nation, what should be done in the support of workers? As we all have seen that in the recent days, in Anti Corruption movement of Anna Hazare many of us have participated and supported it. Most of the people supported it because they have some hope to get a better life of people in the whole nation (as many supporters, at least, shared this view, I don’t say what was their real intentions!!); it means that civil society members wanted to help the oppressed masses who are widely exploited due to unemployment and worst working and life conditions in the whole nation. Now, many people who have supported anti-corruption movement with this motive can further go ahead for some better way to support these oppressed masses of the nation. If Lokpal Bill was supported for the betterment of the social conditions of the people, then demanding workers must be sported by all sections of the society, in much better way. And this exploitation with worst working conditions is not happening in only in one or two factories, but it is happening in almost every factory across the "democratic" nation which is developing on the hard work of these masses of workers.
For all people and "civil society" members, mostly who supported anti-corruption movement for Jan Lokpal Bill (and who mostly concern about development in the form of long highways, fuel price rise, road jam, black money etc.), should further go ahead and join the struggle of workers against exploitation, because Lokpal Law (as many supporters think!!) may have some indirect impacts on the society in a long time in the future, but these demands of the workers will have immediate impact on their conditions, it will have positive social impact for a better future of the workers (who are majority of the society), their families, and future of all coming generations, not only in one factory, but in all other factories.
In Gurgaon and Manesar alone there are many industries, which are producing luxury products and all workers of these factories are highly victimized with the fear-building attitude of management, which use hired bouncers, and criminals on the name of security.
Above all, we should ask all people that is not it an open dictatorship of few people on those who have nothing, and who are forced by their social economic conditions to work in these industries which are running to earn profit? Due to this thrust of profit workers mostly forced to do their work for 12 to 16 hours for 7 days in a week, so that they can earn as much, (not more than that!!) which can keep them alive. And all this is done with the violation of constitutional labor laws.
All of us should share the demands of the workers widely among everyone we know.
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