Trade unions are not the enemies of industry

Workers' organisations in Kerala take no position that stands in the way of industrial growth or an investment-friendly climate. The trade unions follow a policy that helps more industrial investment come in and existing establishments run without disruption. We made this position clear at the meeting of trade unions called by the Chief Minister as part of creating an investment-friendly climate in the state.

The trade unions in the state wholeheartedly supported the government's steps to end the practice of nokkukooli (wages for work not done) in the loading and unloading sector. What the unions asked was that the government step in to guarantee alternative work at the minimum wage for those who lose jobs because of mechanisation. No industry in the state has ever had to close because of any action by workers.

The trade unions are committed to protecting workers' just rights and jobs. Workers have the right to form a trade union in any establishment, and employers must accept this. The trade unions take no position that ruins an establishment by raising demands the industry cannot bear. At Synthite, a company in Kolenchery in Ernakulam district, it was the workers' forming a trade union that provoked the management. There was an organisation set up by the management in the company, and the management's position is that all workers must join only that organisation. This is unjust and illegal. No modern management takes such a position. It is managements refusing to recognise registered trade unions and taking a hostile attitude that has led to anarchic organisations forming in some sectors, including private hospitals. Managements that oppose even the formation of trade unions should think seriously about this. Registered trade unions are accountable to the people and the state.

For not joining the management's union and forming an organisation of their choice, the management transferred 9 workers to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The workers protested without striking or disrupting production. In the end both sides held talks in the presence of labour department officials and reached a settlement. The workers did not dig in their heels; they made a reasonable compromise.

It was the management that broke this atmosphere, the management that took a stand that destroyed the goodwill created by the settlement. Throwing the spirit of the settlement to the winds, it transferred 18 workers, the very ones who had helped form the trade union, to Coimbatore. That is what caused the trouble in the company. The Labour Commissioner and the industries minister held conciliation talks to resolve the dispute. The industries minister put forward a proposal that would have solved the problem, but the management did not accept it. The management's obstinacy is the cause of all the problems at Synthite. The trade unions are willing to cooperate in the smooth running of the establishment and are ready for further talks to that end. In this situation, blaming the trade unions over the Synthite issue is done without understanding the facts.