From: tstpcc@gwunix1.gwu.edu (Paul C. Chemmanoor)
Newsgroups: alt.culture.kerala
Subject: TRADE UNIONS in MAVOOR.
Date: 17 Dec 1992 12:04:05 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu




On Thu, 17 Dec 1992, M.Sankaranarayanan sent me this article for forwarding
to ack.

 
 =============== The News Post Starts =====================
 
 
 Subject: Re: MAVOOR STRIKE
 Newsgroups: alt.culture.kerala
 In-Reply-To: MAVOOR STRIKE
 Organization: Nihon Unisys, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
 Cc: 
 Bcc: 
 
 In article  you write:
 >In article <BzB9K2.8KF@cs.psu.edu> tripunit@algol.cs.psu.edu (Mahesh V Tripunitara) writes:
 >>In article <Pine.3.02.9212141959.A8196-c100000@gwunix1.gwu.edu> tstpcc@gwunix1.gwu.edu (Paul C. Chemmanoor) writes:
 >>
 >>
 >>Though this may be the ideology they supposedly adhere to, I don't
 >>think the Marxist party & its allies have been caught in the
 >>ideological quagmire that their comrades in USSR were caught in,
 >>for instance. We all know of then-CM Nayanar & then industries-
 >>minister Gowri unabashedly fixing up an appointment with a mere
 >>industrialist (Birla) to get him to reopen a factory. 
 >
 >1] Quite so, except that they were forced to do so because the Birlas
 >   were intent on shutting down the plant and moving it elsewhere.
 >   And the end result was that teh strike inspired by the cpm-led
 >   unions achieved bery little other than wasted production and 
 >   misery caused all around. 
 >   [ The kerala govt had to offer further subsidies in the wood supplied
 >     to mavoor to persuade the birlas. ]
 >
 >   I agree all credit goes to Gowri for treating the mavoor issue as a
 >   a priority, but that in no way takes the blame away from teh cpm-led
 >   unions for fomenting trouble and complicating issues.
 >
 
 I woule like to mention some facts related to this (I was staying at Mavoor for
 four years during the strike). 	
 	1. The strike was NOT sponsored by a cpm-led union. It was done by a group
 	   unions which included INTUC, CITU, STU (the trade union of AIML, then)
 	   and BMS (the BJP-led one). As far as the strength of the various groups
 	   is concerned, CITU and INTUC were almost equal, with uneven distriibution
 	   among workers, office staff and other officers.
 
 	2. At the later stages, when the above group was almost forced to withdraw
 	   the strike (on the pretexts of talks), it was a different union called
 	   GROW (more or less attributed to a single person who propagated some 
 	   ultra-leftist ideologies. This also ended in almost failure when finally
 	   the agreement was 'reached'.
 
 >>The establishment of the Cochin Export Processing Zone, for instance
 >>(where strikes are banned for a certain period after an idustry is
 >>established there) went ahead rather smoothly even though the
 >>Marxists were in power. The number of strikes also seems to be
 >>quite low when the Marxists are in power...perhaps this is just
 >>a feeling I get. 
 >
 >   2] This is something seen when the communist party comes to power
 >   especially in recent years. But the link is the other way around:
 >   there are fewer strikes in cpm times because there is no point in
 >   cpm-led unions striking against cpm administered industry.
 >   This is another manifestation of teh control teh cpm exerts over the
 >   unions, nothing else.
 
 Again, let me comment here.. 
 
 	1. Though trade unions and strikes are part of the communist ideology,
 	   they have become part of any of the political groups in Kerala (to that
 	   extent, all the parties are communists there).
 
 	2. The trade unions and other organizations of the non-communist parties
 	   are also equally active and vocierous (no ill-meanings intended). In
 	   fact, it was during the Vimochana Samaram (truely anti-communist in
 	   ideology) that the strikes manifested into its true vigourousness for
 	   the first time, especially among the students.
 
 	3. In India, the use of the organized tributory forces (like the trade 
 	   unions, student organizations and the other so-called social groups etc.)
 	   against the state as an effective way of non-cooperation was introduced 
 	   (and made justifiable) by the Indian National Congress (tributes to the 
 	   Mahatma) for the first time. After that, the others have just followed
 	   the tradition, ofcourse with increased vigour and decreased descretion.
 >
 >  When non-communist governments come to power teh cpm flexes its muscles
 >  through the unions disregarding the loss of man-days and production> 
>  not to mention loss of income to people concerned.

 	Again, it is not just CPM, but the whole political organizations and
 	the system as such that is to blame here (if you want to).
 
 >3] Stay Cool.
 
 	But NOT Cold !!>>
 >
 >----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 >.   Rain makes me remember,                                                .
 >.   The sunset of that golden hour,                                        .
 >.   When my eyes were first opened,                     Paul Chemmanoor    .
 >.   And I saw your eyes, No longer blind.                   Boulder.       .
 >----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Sanx (Sankaranarayanan M.)