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Farmers’ protest: Police welcome them with batons and tear gas before letting them into Delhi
Farmers from UP, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, marched to the national capital to highlight the woes of the farmers and to force the government to implement policies that relieve agrarian distress. The farmers who began their march on tractors and trolleys from Haridwar on September 23, planned to reach Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti. Their demands were that the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee, appointed to improve farm incomes, be fully implemented, the increase in diesel prices be halted, the dues owed to them by sugar factories be paid in full, their loans are waived and the ban against old tractors within Delhi NCR be removed. A few months ago, the central government had announced ‘a historic’ increase in Minimum Support Prices of essential crops, but this had fallen short of the Swaminathan commission recommendation that had suggested a different approach to calculating input costs. This has been a bone of contention between farmers and the government. The increasing costs due to skyrocketing fuel price is only adding to their woes.
Illustration by Aliza Bakht
Unwilling to let the thousands of farmers enter Delhi, the Delhi Police barricaded the UP – Delhi border and imposed restrictions on assembly. This led to a stand-off between the farmers and the police, turning violent when the police used water cannons and tear gas. The farmers attempted to break the barricades with their tractors.
Late into the night of October 2, the farmers were allowed to enter Delhi, where they completed their yatra at the memorial of Chowdary Charan Singh. The leader of the movement said that they have made the government hear their demands. The union home minister met representatives and assured them that 7 of their 15 demands, including lifting the restriction on old tractors in NCR, will be immediately addressed. The farmers dispersed from Kisan Ghat on October 3.
Safai Karamchari protest in Delhi
Delhi was witness to yet another mobilisation of sanitation workers demanding basic rights and job security, at a time when the central government was touting ‘success’ of its Swachh Bharat Mission. The workers have been agitating since early September against the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, which has failed to regularise their jobs citing lack of funds to pay them state wages. On October 5, the striking workers reached the residence of Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal. Incidentally, the Delhi government had assured the SC that funds to the tune of Rs. 500 crores will be made available to the municipal corporations to tide over their financial obligations.
Ironically, even as the central government was getting awards and honours from international leaders for its success in creating a culture of hygiene, residents of Delhi were posting ‘selfies with garbage’ on social media.
Anantapur workers against contractor raj in the sanitation system
The sanitation workers of Anantapur municipality are going on strike to prevent the municipality from implementing a new government order aimed at giving greater scope for contractors in dealing with municipal solid waste. The Joint Action Committee of sanitation workers elicited support from AITUC, CITU, IFTU and Madiga Reservation Poratha Samiti for the demands to repeal the order that promotes outsourcing of work as well as the implementation of GO 151 that ordered the increase of wages for the sanitation workers.
Police actions against striking workers in Chennai
We have been covering the strikes that have been rocking the auto hub near Chennai, where thousands of workers in YAMAHA, Royal Enfield and MSI automotive have been on strike against unfair labour practices by their companies. The labour department has repeatedly asked the company to take back the workers on status quo and let the conciliation process move ahead, however, the companies have refused to accept the advice, demanding that the workers sign new ‘good conduct’ declarations and not bring in mobile phones into the factory.
In the meantime, the police force has swung into action to disperse the protesting workers. They had entered the YAMAHA factory to enforce the court order asking the protests to move 200 meters away from the factory. The protestors moved out and continued the protests. This week, the police detained over 600 workers of Yamaha and MSI. MSI workers had been detained earlier when they attempted to march to the Korean Consulate in Chennai to petition the officials about their company’s activities. Workers, who are members of the AICCTU, were arrested and remanded over the weekend for protesting the non-implementation of amendments to Model Standing Order that curtails precarious employment.
Transport workers rally in Chennai
In a massive show of strength and solidarity, over 10,000 transport workers from across Tamil Nadu came together near the State Transport Head Office in Chennai. They were demanding the dues owed to them by the transport corporations, as well as a pension scheme to workers who were employed after 2003. The transport corporations together owe more than Rs. 7,000 crores to the workers on account of wage arrears, unpaid social security contributions and other benefits. Even after many protests and more empty promises, the outstanding dues remain high. This has forced the workers to take up many struggles over time to win back the earned wages. This time, the workers wanted to move towards the secretariat but were prevented by the police. The transport workers have decided to go on an indefinite strike from November 1 if their demands are not met.
Verizon to Infosys: workers traded as chattel
Verizon sold part of its business operations to Infosys in a multi-million-dollar deal. As part of the deal, it provided for workers of Verizon to be moved to Infosys at comparable remunerations. While the companies claim that they are not retrenching the workers, the workers will lose seniority at Infosys and some might even have to forgo gratuity if they have served less than five years at Verizon. There is also fear that Infosys might not hold on to them after the transition and knowledge transfer is completed smoothly. An article in NDLF IT Wing website explains their issues in detail, calling this akin to the slave trade.
Fishermen face livelihood loss after Kerala floods
A rapid assessment by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) in the wake of the devastating floods that ravaged Kerala this monsoon has pegged the loss in the livelihood of fishermen involved in inland fishing at Rs 93.72 crores. Losses incurred due to damage to craft and gear in inland and marine capture fisheries have been estimated at Rs 10.96 crores.
Apart from the loss in livelihoods, there has been extensive damage to marine environments such as a change in the course of rivers, siltation of water bodies, accumulation of debris and a gradual decline in water levels, the research body said. There have also been significant changes in the type of fish being caught in major rivers post the floods. “Loss of biodiversity and invasion of exotic and carnivorous fishes are other possible threats to fishing,” the Kochi-headquartered CIFT said.
The troubled workers of Bengal’s tea industry
While the tea industry brings a lot of export income to the private estates and the nation, its workers have steadily moved into troubled times as wage rates have stagnated and working conditions worsened. They have been campaigning for improved minimum wages that would offer them a living wage in these hard times. While governments have offered them minor interim relief, they have failed to resolve the fundamental problems. Here is an article in The Wire that chronicles the struggle of workers from the Dooars region of West Bengal and the effect of poverty on these labouring families.
International news
Owen Jones: Young people are rewiring capitalism with their McStrike: Workers from JD Wetherspoon, McDonald’s, Uber Eats and TGI Fridays are organising a coordinated strike for the first time in the UK. The union that made this possible is the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union. Owen Jones, one of the most articulate voices who writes on labour politics in the UK, spoke to the striking workers and discovered how they felt inspired by the idea that the unions contained workers who were young and that they could connect with, rather than old men using jargons. Jones writes, “Their demands – a £10-an-hour minimum wage, the abolition of discriminatory youth rates, and union recognition – are modest in their own right, but they require a radical change to a precariousness hardwired into Britain’s economic model.”
Amazon US increases wages but workers’ rights still lacking; Amazon Germany on strike
After last week’s announcement that Amazon had agreed to raise the minimum wage, there was understandably a lot of cheer for the workers who would be positively affected. But it’s important to remember that the company still has a long way to go. Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said on the union’s website, “From Jeff Bezos at the top, down to middle management, the company uses every trick in the book to stop its workers organising into unions to improve working conditions and bargain collectively for decent conditions and pay that reflects the full value of the work they do. Amazon has an appalling record on workers’ health and safety, and imposes work practices on them that would have been unacceptable 100 years ago, let alone today.”
In Germany, ver.di, the largest union of service workers, will go on strike for two days to pressure the internet giant to negotiate a collective wage agreement with a recognised union.
Pakistan: 18 garment factory workers fall unconscious from poison
A garment factory in Lahore that had 3,000 workers was the site of a shocking incident last week when some of the employees had to be rushed to the hospital in a critical condition. They had consumed something poisonous from the canteen. The workers went on protest but were disbursed after the police assured them that action would be taken.
Weekend reading
Who keeps your streets clean? The invisible women of ‘Singara Chennai’
Aruna Natrajan writes for Citizen Matters about sanitation workers facing unemployment as their contractor downsizes, “The steady, low hum of buses leaving the city punctuates the night at Koyambedu, a commercial hub in Chennai. A few shops remain open for the odd patron while others are firmly shut. Under the golden yellow of the street lights, a rhythmic swoosh of bamboo against tar grows in the dark. Three women, bent at work, are leaving a pristine path in their wake, a trail they have cleaned for the last seven years.” Read more here.