The protest and roadblock movement of industrial workers in Noida, UP, turned violent three days ago.
The Union Labour Ministry has expressed its concern over the ongoing labour agitations in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and several other parts of the country. The ministry has also sought reports from the Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Haryana governments on the recent violent incidents and details of measures and other steps taken to address the grievances of the workers.
The protest and roadblock movement of industrial workers in Noida in UP turned violent three days ago. The police had to open fire to stop stones being pelted at the police and civil servants, vehicles being set on fire and other violent acts. A similar incident similar to Noida took place in Gurugram district on Monday. Although the UP and Haryana governments have considered it appropriate to take steps like increasing the wages of the workers instead of taking a very strict stance, the possibility of the movement spreading to other parts of the country cannot be ruled out.
Already, reports of protests in Kanpur, Lucknow and Jaunpur are a sign of the widespread discontent among the working class, especially industrial workers. Before the Noida incident, violent protests had taken place in Barauni in Bihar in February and in Surat (Gujarat) and Manesar (Haryana) in March. In fact, those protests were a warning to the central and state governments to take necessary measures to improve the socio-economic condition of the working classes, especially non-government employees. These signals were ignored by the governments of both the states.
The consequences of this neglect were violent. When the matter seemed to be getting out of hand, the two state governments, instead of listening to the workers and taking reasonable steps to resolve their grievances, opted for a harsh approach. The results of harshness are not always pleasant. While on the one hand it increases public support for the agitating workers, on the other hand it also becomes a reason for the loss of human lives. This phenomenon happened in both the states.
Now, there are attempts to combine strictness and leniency. Both governments have arrested more than 200 people involved in violent incidents, in addition to placing labor leaders under house arrest. But at the same time, they have promised to make the working conditions of industrial workers comfortable instead of uncomfortable. However, until such measures are implemented uniformly, it is natural for anger to continue to burn in the hearts of workers.
One thing is clear that the demands of the workers are by no means unreasonable. Apart from wage reform, they have been demanding reduction in working hours, weekly leave and job security etc. The truth is that it is not possible for a single person to arrange accommodation and food in the National Capital Region with a monthly salary of Rs 11,000; workers are even expected to raise a family with such a salary. The above-mentioned malpractices like 12-hour shifts instead of eight and the absence of overtime are direct violations of the national labour laws. Apart from this, there is the constant threat of retrenchment.
Before the concept of a global market was implemented, economic inequality in our country was low. Now, while the number of billionaires is increasing and signs of prosperity in the middle-class society are continuously rising, the wages of workers are continuously shrinking instead of increasing in the same proportion. It is not an unnatural phenomenon that frustration, discontent and anger are spreading among this class due to this trend. It is the main responsibility of governments to keep an eye on this phenomenon and prevent it from taking a violent form. They have been lax in fulfilling it.
The Haryana government has started implementing the announcement of increasing the minimum wage for workers from April 1 in view of the violent incidents in Manesar and Faridabad. The monthly wage of an unskilled worker has been fixed at Rs 15220 and that of a skilled worker at Rs 18500. The UP Chief Minister, after describing the violent workers of Noida as urban Naxalites, has improved his language and promised to implement the Haryana wage formula in his state as well. An all-powerful committee has also been formed to improve the working conditions and conditions.
These actions will help to reduce the anger within the workers. Despite these, the real need is to bring humane sensibilities into government operations. The interests of investors and employers must be protected, but the interests of workers should not be sacrificed to do so. Only governments can make such a balance possible.
