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TSRTC workers end strike after 52 days, management refuses to take them back
Around 48,000 employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) ended their 52-day strike on Monday. The strike, which started on October 5, saw numerous protest demonstrations and even loss of lives as some employees reportedly died by suicide. The primary demand of the protesting workers, in a list of 26, was to merge the autonomous corporation with the state government so that its employees could get the same benefits as the state government employees. Chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, however, outrightly rejected the demand.
The TSRTC management has, in fact, refused to take back the employees even after they decided to call off the strike saying that their strike was illegal. All the protesting employees were sacked by the corporation soon after they went on strike. “A statement from TSRTC managing director Sunil Sharma said that the employees will not be taken back to work, as their strike is illegal, and that the management will deploy the required security to ensure that the employees do not disrupt or try to prevent the temporary bus drivers and conductors across TSRTC bus depots,” Livemint reported.
Also Read: TSRTC Employees Call Off Strike, Management Says Wait for Labour Commissioner’s Decision
According to a report in The News Minute, KCR spoke to governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday for two hours where he informed her about the state government’s plans to privatise 5,100 bus routes of the RTC.
Over 92,000 BSNL and MTNL employees opt for VRS, union alleges coercion
A PTI report published on Tuesday quotes a government source claiming that over 92,000 employees of the state-run BSNL and MTNL have opted for the recently announced Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). BSNL chairman and managing director P.K. Purwar had previously said that over 75,000 employees had opted for VRS. BSNL had set an internal target of 77,000.
Nearly 1 lakh, out of the total 1.6 lakh employees, are eligible for the scheme that has an effective date of retirement fixed on January 31, 2020. The scheme is open till December 3 this year. All permanent employees, including those on deputation to other organisations, who have attained the age of 50 years are eligible for the scheme.
However, the BSNL employees’ union has alleged that the management is forcing workers to opt for the scheme. They organised a pan-India hunger strike regarding this on November 25. “We are not opposing VRS. Those who want and think it is beneficial for them should opt for it. It is not beneficial for lower level employees and they are being threatened to take VRS, else retirement age will be reduced to 58. It is a forced retirement scheme; therefore, we are going on a hunger strike on Monday,” All India Unions and Associations of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (AUAB) convenor P. Abhimanyu told PTI.
Honda Manesar plant suspends 6 permanent workers, restarts production
In a retaliatory move by the management of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) at their Manesar plant, six permanent workers and employees’ union members were suspended for participating in a strike by contractual workers. The president and general secretary of the union are among the six suspended.
Around 2,500 contractual workers employed by the plant have been on a strike since November 5 after nearly 300 contractual workers were sent on an indefinite leave citing “demand fluctuations and production adjustment”. The company management enforced a lockout two days after the protest started, halting all production for 18 days before restarting it on Monday.
“All permanent employees have been asked to join back in 4 batches from November 25 to 28, but they have to sign a ‘good work/conduct undertaking’ first. We were always ready to join work; it was them who had suspended us. This is totally unacceptable. All of the 2,500 contractual workers have been asked to leave, they are still protesting in front of the plant gate,” HMSI workers’ union president Suresh Kumar Gaur told The Wire.
Also Read: Honda Workers’ Protest Enters 16th Day, Over 3,000 Camp Outside Manesar Plant
Gaur further said that the six permanent workers have been suspended under standing orders, which is only applicable for activities inside the plant’s premises, whereas they visited the protesting workers outside the plant in solidarity. Calling the move “illegal”, Gaur said that the company can’t punish them for union activities outside the plant.
The Wire published a ground report in English and a video report in Hindi last week explaining why the workers have been protesting.
Workers from HMSI’s manufacturing plant in Manesar protesting. Photo: Khushi Khurana
BPCL workers to protest against privatisation
Soon after the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) cleared the largest asset sale involving five companies including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), trade unions and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) workers were up in arms against the attempt. “In the case of BPCL, the government will sell its 53.29% stake to a strategic buyer, ceding management control,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters. This recent asset sale is part of the government’s strategy to achieve the Rs 1.05 trillion target from disinvestment in the current fiscal year.
Thousands of BPCL workers across the country have decided to protest on November 28 against this move. 22 BPCL unions all over India have already given strike notice, and even the executives seem unhappy with the move. “The company’s executives, too, are upset at the proposed privatisation but have decided against going on strike. Instead, they have decided to wear black badges to work every Monday and also skip company-provided lunch and dinner on November 27,” Anil Medhe of Bharat Petroleum Officers Association told the Economic Times.
The main concerns of the workers are that they might lose their jobs in an already challenging economic situation as the new private owner might look to trim the workforce, their welfare and benefits like pension and post-retirement medical care might be impacted, job reservations for marginalised communities might be done away with and as profit becomes priority for the private company, aid during calamity and the company’s social commitment might be diluted.
“BPCL is a Maharatna company and part of the fortune 500 list of companies for 15 years. It has sound finances, efficient management, second-largest fuel retailer, pays more than Rs 17,000 crore as dividend to central government. It has 6,000 acres of land across India, of which 750 acres is in Mumbai alone which is valued for crore of rupees. It does not make sense to sell a profit-making company to the private sector,” Praveen Kumar P., general secretary of Cochin Refineries Employees Association told ET EnergyWorld.
Not just resistance from employees, questions have also been raised on how the sale would practically materialise. Richa Mishra writes in the Hindu Businessline on why the BPCL strategic sale is a tight walk for government.
International News
Google accused of union-busting after firing four employees
Four employees involved with workplace organising have been fired by Google alleging that they violated its data security policies. The tech giant accused the workers of “clear and repeated violations of our data security policies”. In response, Google Walkout published a blog calling the move an “attempt to crush worker organizing”. The blog goes on to detail how they believe Google redrafted company policies to get back at these organisers.
Also Read: India’s Labour Laws Are Being Amended for Companies, Not Workers
Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland, two of the four employees who have been fired, have been known for their worker activism in the company. “Rivers helped put together a petition against Google’s work for US immigration enforcement agency Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and Berland was involved with employee protests about hate speech policies on YouTube,” Recode reported.
The logo of Google. Photo: Reuters/Charles Platiau/File
WeWork lays off 2,400 employees
WeWork, an American commercial real estate company that provides shared workspaces, is laying off 2,400 workers. The company has drawn ire for financial management that led to postponement of their IPO and resignation of co-founder Adam Neumann. It was been under strict scrutiny and questions have been raised regarding its leadership and business plan.
In a scathing and detailed critique of WeWork and it’s functioning for Jacobin called The WeWork Con, writer and musician Amber A’Lee Frost offers an exhaustive insight into what might have led to the company’s downturn.
Extra Reading:
The pursuit of too much labour flexibility
The frustrating life of a Google contract worker
IT layoffs: Where will mid and senior-level employees find jobs
The ‘ghost work’ powering tech magic
How caste affects India’s rural job market
Uber’s paradox: Gig work app traps and frees its drivers
Infusing Care in the Gig Economy
Five Years After SC Judgment, States Yet to Submit Proper Data on Sewer Deaths
Can a mining fund provide relief to Rajasthan’s silicosis widows?
Negotiating Our Way Up: Collective Bargaining in a Changing World of Work
Zara’s sustainable sweatshirt raises troubling fashion ethics issues