CHAPTER IV

TRADE UNIONISM AMONG THE LEATHER INDUS'IRY WORKERS IN CALOJTT.A

I. GROWTH OF TRADE UNIONISM IN THE LEATI-£R INDUS'IRY IN CALOJTT A:

Introduction: -------The history of trade unions in the leather industry

has its roots in the caste associations which were formed

by the Harij an workers in the tanneries and footwear indus­

tries. The unions in this industry are dcminated by Harij an

workers and political leaders. The social crigi ns of the

unions in caste associations also sets apart trade unionism

in the leather indus try from the other trade unions in

Calcutta. This is perhaps a reason why the trade union

movement which ..;athered momentum in 1920s in Calcutta di::i

not influence the workers in the leather industry. It was

only during 1940s that migrant workers in the tanning as

well as leather goods and footwear industry were first

organised into unions. The need for any formal body of

workers • did not arise much because, before the formation of

such a body, workers' grievances were channelised through

caste organisations. These organisations were formed to

protect the social and economic interests of Harij ans.

ThP. Bengal provincial Depressed Classes League {BPDCL)

and the Ravi Das Ekta Canmittee (RDEC) were formed in the

first half of 1930s. The BPOCL, organised by Babu Jagjivan

Ram, used to look after the interests of Harijans (both

employers and employees) in the leather goods and foo~~ar

industry. And the RDEC was formed by sane Harij an leaders

like Gukul Das, Tukkan Ram, Bar an Das 1 of south Tangr a

specifically to protect the interest of Harij an workers

in the Tanneries. The major objective of both the organi­

sations was mutual cooperation among their members with a

provision of rudimentary social security system. Naturally,

the stated aim of these organisations was cooperation and

not conflict; but they themselves under pressure of events

star ted acting like unions. The possibility of organising

the leather industry workers on trade union lines was first

demonstrated by these organisations throuqh collective

resistance of attacks on Harij an workers by Chinese employers.

In fact, the leaders of these organisations later took the

initiative to form trade unions since the workers• interest

could not otherwise be fully protected through caste orga­

nis ations. They were unable to negotiate officially with

the employers or coul,j not put up charter of demands for the

benefit of the workers. Thus, the need for a separate

working class organisation prompted the leaders of the RDEC

to form the Tannery Mazdoor Union (T M U ) in January 1940,

the first of its kind in the leather industry in Calcutta.

Similarly the All Bengal Charmakar Union (ABOJ) was formed

in 1948 by the leaders of the BPDCL with R amananda Das 2

1 ~)4

as its secretary. The union was mainly formed to represent

the interests of the Harij an workers in the Chinese owned

footwear industry in Calcutta. Though both the above

mentioned unions were formed by the Harij ans and for the

Harij ans in the leather industry, no organic link was built

up between these t·wo. The trade union movement in the tan­

ning or footwear industry grew up almost independently

although an attempt was made during seventies to unify

the movement of workers in both these sections of the

leather industry in Calcutta.

Today, in the tanning industry in Calcutta, nearly

10,500 workers are members of four trade unions, namely,

West Bengal Tannery Mazdoar Union (affiliated to the AITUC),

Calcutta Leather and Tannery Employees Union {affiliated to

the CITU), Federation of Leather and Tannery Workers and

Employees (affiliated to the INTUC), and Leather and

Tannery Mazdoor Sabha {affiliated to the HMS}. Nearly

4,500 workers in the tanneries, most of whom are Nepali,

have not joined any union. The West Bengal Tannery Mazdoor

Union is tre largest organisation having a membership of

nearly 6,000 workers in 250 tanneries. This union is con­

centrated mainly in the China Town. The Calcutta Leather

and Tannery Employees Union, comes second with over 3,000

members in nearly 50 tanneries. It has established a strong­

hold in the tanneries in south Beleghata and Tapsia. The

Federation of Leather and Tannery Workers and Employees

has enrolled nearly 1, 100 members in 30 tanneries in

Tapsia, South Beleghata, Dhapa an;:i South Tangra. Finally,

the Leather and Tannery Mazdoor Sabha, the ol;:iest among

the present unions, is now reduced to a minority of only

4 00 workers in ·few tanneries in Tapsi a and Tangra.

In contrast, a large nwnber of workers in the leather

goods and footwear industry have so far remained unorganised

though several trade unions have appeared on the scene over

the past few decades. The Calcutta Leather Workers Union the

(affiliated to~INTUC), the first union to organise footwear

workers, has remained limited to Chinese shoe factories

The Calcutta the

and has a strength of only 150 members.

Leather Indus try ~vorkers Union (a f filiated toLCITU) which

appeared on the trade union scene during seventies with

muchvigour is more or less defunct today. The only union

which succeeded in increasing its membership very rapidly

after 198 3 is the Calcutta Sports Goods and Shoe Makers • the

t-1azdoor Union (affiliated toLAITUC). To:iay the union has

nearly 2,000 manbers in Chinese shoe as well as sports

goods workshops. The Calcutta Shoe and Leather workers' the

Union (affiliated toLAITUC) which was formed much earlier

in 1 :n 5 in sports goods units nO\oi has only 500 members in

football works hops.

The above narration of trade union activities and

workers• struggles in the leather industry in Calcutta

needs to be located in the socio-political milieu of the

city in order to identify the strategies adopted by trade

unions in the industry. This exercise is undertaken in

the following pages.

!~_2nion Movemen!_!n the Tanneries:

The Tannery Mazdoor Union formed in 1940 was an un­

registered and unrecognised body. The .economic hardship--­

of Harijan workers provided an impetus to the growth of

unionism. They were paid low wages and the conditions of

work were marked by conspicuous absence of any statutory

benefit. Further, the compactness of the workers colony

in Tangr a area, and the caste solidarity of the main body

of leather workers favoured the growth of trade unions. As

against these advantages, there were some serious ·handicaps

like illiteracy, lack of leaders from among the rank and

the strong financial position of the employers. Neverthe­

less, just after the formation of the union, the Ravi Das

Ek ta Committee 1 eaders hip decided to utilise the plat form

of the union to exert pressure on the Chinese employers for

fulfilling some demands of the workers. By resorting to

the powerful weapon of strike, the Tannery Mazdoor Union

in 1942 succeeded in compelling the employers to concede

the following demands:

1. Nine hours of work a day;

2. Wages would be paid before the lOth of every month:

3. 5 per cent increment of wages tor all workers working under the proprietorship ot Chinese owners;

4. 12 paid holidays in a year apart from Sundays which also would be a paid holidays: and

5. Proper medical treatment of workers for any accident occurring from machines. 3

The union got registered in June, 1944. The name of

the union was then changed to All Bengal Tannery Mazdoar

Union (henceforth, ABTMU). Tukkan Ram, a local Harijan

leader and Jagannath Pandey, a lawyer and also a Congress

Party leader, were made the Secretary and the President of the

union respectively. The union got affiliated to the Indian

National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) after Independence.

The union, however, continued to be in a shaky position till

1952. The Labour Investigation Committee while carrying out

a survey on tanneries in Calcutta in 1946 found that the

union did not have either membership register or account

books for the maintEnance of proper records. The Committee

estimated that the membership strength of the union in May

4 1945 was 850.

However, during 1952-54 there was a spurt of trade

union activity in the tanning industry. This was particu-

1 arly caused by· the formation of Leather and Tannery Mazdoor

Sabha in 1952, affiliated to the Hind Mazdoor S.3bha (hence-

forth, for matter of convenience, I would call this union

as Mazdoor Sabha). The union was established under the

leaders hip of .Mr. Kamal Bose, a member of the Azad Hind

1 't ,' '· u

. 5 Force during the 194 Os. After Independence, Kamal Bose

was made the Sup@rintendent of a Government Co-operative

in Tiljala area where he came into contact with the leather

indus try workers. The plight of the tannery workers in

Calcutta drew his attention and with the help of sri Sudhir

Ghosh, a lawyer and also a memb@.r of the Socialist Party,

the Mazdoar Sabha was formed. The other founder members of

this union were sri Narayan Das Gupta and Sri Bhajan Das

Gupta both members of the Socialist Party. After the forma-

tion of the union, the leadership first demanded minimum

wages for the workers. Though the Government of West Bengal

by a notification in March 1951 had fixed the minimum wages

for the workmen in tanneries and leather manufactories,

workers were paid much less than the fixed rate. The mini-

mum wage issue attracted the attention of large number of

workers. Following this development the All Bengal Tannery

Mazdoor Union also joined the Mazdoor Sabha in demanding

minimum wages. In 1954, both the unions decided to go on an

i nde finite strike. Along with the demand for minimum wages

the unions also demanded (a) higher scales of pay for the

semi-skilled and skilled workers after five years of appren­

ticeship and (b) a genEral increment of ~.10,L. for all workers.

The strike continued for nearly one month and the dispute was

finally referred to the Fifth Industrial Tribunal, West

Bengal, in the court of Shri G. Palit. 6

The Tribunal awarded

the ruling that all tanning and leather work works hops came

1 () .. . 'J \ ' i

under the purview of the government notification on the

Minimum Wages Act of 1948. Therefore, "there is no reason

why the tanneries should not pay the wage prescribed in

the said notification". 7 The Tribunal decided that the

minimum wage in the case of unskilled workers in tanneries

should be Rs. 30/- as basic pay and Rs. 21/- as dearness allO-

wance per month. The Tribunal, however, turned down the

demand for a general increment on the ground that tanneries

are passing through a critical phase.

The Tribunal award gave a boost to the trade union

activity in the industry. The major gainer was, however,

the Mazdoor Sabha. Inactivity of the .AB:TMU during the

past few years caused widespread dissatisfaction among

its members. It is alleged that the leaders hip of the

ABTMU became pro-management and became sel £-centred. In

fact, a group of young Marijan leaders like Baranashi Das

8 and Jogi Ram became very vocal against the then leadership

of the ABTMU. Due to all these reasons, the Mazdoor Sabha

was allowed enough chance to establish its stronghold among

the tannery workers. Also the background of Mr. Kamal Bose

as well as his strong and uncompromising attitude towards

the Chinese employers made him a charismatic leader during

fifties an::i sixties. His cggressi ve style of functioning

led to several violent incidents during 1950s over the

minimum wage issue.

20~)

After 1956, the Mazdoor s ab ha not only forced the

employers to provide minimum wages, as was ordered by the

Fifth Industrial Tribunal, but also demanded a revision

of the rates of minimum wages for tannery workers. In

November, 1958, the Government of West Bengal by a noti­

fication increased the basic wages of semi-skilled and

skilled tannery workers by Rs. 3/- only. The Mazdor Sabha,

however, received a setback in 195 9 when ~. Kamal Bose_ was

convicted by the Calcutta High Court in a case of murdering

a Chinese employer and was Jailed for one year.

At the end of 1960, when Kamal Bose was released from

jail, the union placed its charter of demands regarding

wages, grades of employment, scales of pay, dearness allo­

wance, increment and leave days. The ABTMU also joined the

Mazdoor Sabha in demanding a revision of the rates of mini-'

mum wages for the leather workers along with some other

demands. Three associations of the Chinese employers,

namely (i) Chinese Tannery owners ASsociation, (ii) Chinese

co-operative Tanners' society Ltd., and (iii) Calcutta

Leather and Allied Products Marketing Co-operative Society

Ltd., surm1arily turned down the demands of both the unions.

The dispute was ultimately referred far adjudication to

the First Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal, on August 1961.

Before the setting up of this tribunal another dispute

broke out regarding the payment of the dues of workmen

arising out of their past services with the company upto

201

3ts t December, t96 2. The widespread feeling during ~the

IndO-China War that the Chinese may close down their tan-

neries gave rise to such demands. Both the unions, however,

reached an agreement with the Chinese employers • associ a-

ticns by which workers were paid their "retrenchment

benefit• upto 3tst December, t962, although actual dis­

continuance of employment of any of those w~kers did

not occur at that moment. It was also agreed that in

case of possible non-employment of any of these workmen

in future, his dues would naturally be calculated from

tst January, 196 3.

The First Industrial Tribunal in the court of Shri

h 96 9

Renupada Mock ~jee sat on September, 1 3. In the

Tribunal proceedings, the three employers• associations

submitted that since the workers are paid •retrenchment

benefits' as per the 1962 agreement with the unions, the

relations hip of employer and employee ceased after that.

Therefore, this Tribunal ceased to have any jurisdiction

to proceed with that reference. The Tribunal did not

consider this argument since the workers were not ret­

renched according to law and their services continued as

before.

Regarding scales of pay and other demands of the unions

the Tribunal awarded the following:

(a) The basic wages were revised to P.s. 35/- for un­

skilled, ~s.43/- for semi-skilled and "-s.53/- for skilled

workers per month. For each of these categories of workers,

~.5/- per month was enhanced as compared to their earlier

basic wages. The dearness allowance also was increased

by five to seven rupees per month far all workers. Along

with this, for the first time in the tanneries in Calcutta,

yearly increment at the rate of Re. 1/- for the unskilled,

Rs. 2/- for the semi-skilled and Rs. 3/- for the skilled workers

was in traduced.

(b) Payment of gratuity at the rate of 15 day's wages

for each completed year of service was declared as a condi­

tion of service of the workers in the tanning indus try.

(c) Workers in tanneries not covered by the Factories.

Act also would get earned or privilege leave in accordance

with the provision of section 7 9 of that Act. 10 Again

five days casual leave in a year was awarded to these

workers.

The award was made for tfm years (from December, 1%3

onwards). Both the trade unions then came to an agreement

with the employers' associations about implementing the

decision of the sai::l Tribunal. Since then, for nearly six

years, no major dispute arose in the industry. During the

first half of 19'70, the unions in the tanneries again became

2 () ,·;

vocal,demanding the implementation of the Wage Board recom­

mendations. The Wage Board, in September, 1969, recomnended

an increase in wages by 15 per cent over the existing rates

for all categories of workers except clerical, supervisory

and tect.lical staff. 11 The Wage Board held that "no wcrker

shall receive a wage of less than Rs. 78/- per month or Rs. 3/­

per day". 12 The Mazdoor Sabha went on a seven day's strike

in January, 1970, demanding wage increase by 15 per cent as

was sug9ested by the Wage Board. It is alleged that the .::>

office room of the Mazdoor Sabha was set on fire by the

employers; men during the strike. The employers were, how~

ever, forced to come to an agreement with the unions on

February 1970 regarding 15 per cent wage increase inspi te

of their strong reservations.

Trade union movement in the tanneries in Calcutta

during 1970s was marked by the growth of several other

unions. Inter as well as intra-union rivalries· led to

the weakening of old unions. The All Bengal Tannery Mazdoor

Union lost its vigour due to intra-union rivalry. The

you~ Harijan leaders of the Ravi Das Ekta Committee (RDEC)

who were complaining against the leaders of the ABTMU during the

sixties, got the upperhand during seventies. Definite

charges like inactivity, becoming management's 'dalal'and

appropriating 5 per cent commission from the •retrenchment

benefit' of workers in 1962, were levelled against Tukkan

Ram, Mahender Singh and other office bearers of the Union.

Infightings within the RDEC as well as the ABTMU reached

such a stage that a group of young Harij an leaders, being

unable to take control of these organisations, broke away

from them and formed another caste organisation, namely,

'Gram Sudhar Samiti', in 1959. This Samiti was formed

exclusively to counter the activities of the leaders of

both the Ravi Das Ekta Committee as well as the ABTMU and

also to protest against exploitation of Harij an workers.

In 197 2, February, the course of events turned in favour

of the young Harij an leaders when neither the A8THU nor

the RDEC leaders protested against the beating up of a

Harijan worker by the Chinese proprietor of Anjan Tannery.

The Gram Sudhar Samiti took up the matter an=l called an

in=lefinite strike in that tannery. The strike continued

for 17 days without the support of the ABTMU. It was

wi ttrlr awn on the 18th day when the employer apologised

and agreed to pay compensation to that worker. After this

incident, the Gram Sudhar Samiti became popular among the

Harijan workers. With the support of these workers, the

Ravi o'as Ekta Committee was brought under the control of

the young Harij an leader and consequently the Gram sudhar

Samiti was dissolved. The ABTMU was still under the control

of the old lea:ie-rs. At that point of time, the new leader­

s hip of the RDEC contacted some local leaders of the

q () :­r_ d

Communist Party of India (CPI) like Sushil Chakraborty,

Adi ti B hattachar j ee and As his h Chakraborty. Their help

was sought to counter the activities of the INTUC led

ABTMU. The experienced CPI leaders adviced Banar as hi Das

and others of the Ravi Das Ekta Cammi ttee to actively parti­

cipate in the activities of the union (ABTMtJ) rather than

forming a separate union. The idea was to establish their

control over the affairs of the union and slowly isolate

the existing ABTMU leaders.

our ing September, 197 2, both the Mazdoor Sabha and

the ASTMU separately called indefinite strikes demanding

the implementation of the Arbitration Award of 1971. The

Award asked fcc making 60 per cent of the casual tannery

workers permanent. The Mazdoor Sabha withdrew its strike

after 11 days following an agreement w1 th the employers.

It was resolved that (a) 60 per cent of the casual workers

would be made permanent and (b) Re.l/- per week would be

paid as medical allowance to workers who do not enjoy

benefits of the Employees State In~urance Scheme. The

employers also agreed to pay wages to the workers {full

salary to the permanent workers and Rs. 25/- to the temporary

workers) for the days of absence during the strike. The

agreement, however, was not implemented since the ABTMU

did not withdraw its strike. The union was demanding bonus

and puja advance 13 facilities for the workers. Intra-union

rivalry also contributed in prolonging the strike. The

young Harij an leaders of the R avi Das Ekta Committee, who

were very active during this strike, expressed their

reluctance to withdraw it unless all the demands are

accepted. After nearly two months, a settlement was

reached between the leadership of the ABTMU and the

employers• associations through the active intervention

of the then Chief Minister of the State, Mr. Sidhartha

Shankar Roy. It was resolved that {a) 60 per cent of the

casual tannery workers would be made permanent, (b) Rs. 25/­

would be paid as bonus and {c) Rs.SO/- would be sanctioned

as puj a advance. The young Harij an leaders of the Ravi

Das Ekta Committee, however, were not satisfied with the

terms of agreement. They, therefore, called upon the

workers to continue the strike. The present leaders of

.the unions were branded as •employers' dalal 11 • Also, the

platform of the Ravi Das Ekta Committee was utilised to

arouse caste sentiments among the Harij an workers. The

'Harijan far Harijan', slogan was raised to isolate the

non-Harij an ABTMU leaders. It should be mentioned here

that the union was then led by Subr ata Mukherjee and

Shankar Ghatak, both non-Harij ans. The slogan was most

effective in drawing large number of Harij an workers, some

of whom were even members of the Mazdoor Sabha, towards

the RDEC leaders. The ABTMU was then success fully taken

over by ·the Harij an labour leaders and the non-Har ij an

f)()··~ '- I

leaders of the union were kept at bay. The strike conti-

nued for some more days with much vigour. The local CPI

1 eaders provided extens:i Vf' help in running the union during

the strike. The strike was withdrawn on the 65th day when

a settlement was reached between the Harijan leaders of

the union and the employers • associations in the presence

of a labour official. According to that settlement (a) 60

per cent of the casual workers would be made permant,

(b) ~.100/- and ~.75/- would be paid as bonus and puja

advance respectively, (c) Employees State Insurance facility

would be provided to workers of tanneries employing ten or

more workers and (d) attendance register would be maintained.

The settlement was signed by Banarashi Das, Ram Bilash Ram

and Chandeswar Das on behalf of the ABTMU though none of

them were formal 'office bearers• of the union. The offi-

cial leaders of the union, however, succeeded in getting

an injunction order passed from the city Civil Court

against this settlement and consequently the settlement

was not implemented.

The young Harij an labour leaders, then, faced with this

new development, decided to form a new union, namely, West

Bengal Tannery Mazdoor Union (henceforth referred to as the

Tannery Union) in 197 3. The union got affiliated to the All

India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the labour wing of the

Communist Party of India. This new union continued to

function from the premises of the Sant Ravi Das High

School in China Town which was run by the R avi Das Ekta

Committee. The President of the RDEC (Banar as hi Das) was

made the General Secretary of the union. Another leader

of the RDEC CRam Bilash Ram} became tt-2 Joint Secretary ,

of the union. The post of the President of the union was,

however, held by a local cPI leader who used to maintain

relationsbetween the party and the union.

After the formation of the union's Executive Committee,

a new charter of demands was put up. The Chinese employers,

however, did not recognise this union and refused to nego-

ti ate with its leaders hip. The union then had to call an

indefinite strike from September, 1973. The strike conti­

nued for nearly three months and was withdrawn after the

following settlement:

a) 60 per cent of the casual workers would be made

permanent;

b) 8. 33 per cent bonus and Rs. 20/- as dearness allowa­

nce would be sanctioned;

c) Minimum wages would be paid;

d) ESI facility would be provided to workers of

Tanneries employing ten or more workers; and

e) Attendance register would be maintained.

20 ~-~

The successful execution of the strike and the subse­

quent agreement made the Tannery Union popular among the

workers. It also came to be recognised as a representa-

ti ve union by the employers. The CPI helped the union in

collecting funds and providing active support as well as

advice during the strike. The rise of the Tannery Union

in a big way in the post-1972 period damaged the prospect

of the Mazdoor Sabha also. The Tannery Union could make

serious inroads into the base of the Mazdoor Sabha by

exploiting caste sentiment as well as by its concrete

achievements& After the formation of the Tannery Union,

the All Bengal Tannery Mazdoor Union became a defunct body.

No one tried to revive it and the INTUC leaders instead

decided to sponsor another union, namely, East Calcutta

Leather and Tannery Workers • Union. This union was effec­

tive in few non-Chinese tanneries in Tapsia and Pagla­

danga. The INTUC leaders asserted that at that point of

time they did not try to organise workers in Chinese tan­

neries since that could have put them on collision with

the AITUC - a friendly union. The INTUC union was trans­

formed into a Federation of Leather -and Tanneries t.;·orkers

and Employees in 1983 (henceforth referred to as the Federa­

tion).

In 1975 the Central government declared a state of

Emergency in the country. During the Emergency, there was

no major upsurge of trade union activity in the tanning

2ltJ

industry in Calcutta. None of the existing unions launched

any programme of action though there were some disputes

regarding non-implementation of the agreement made earlier.

After the withdrawal of Emergency and the installation of . .. .•'."'

the Left Front Government in west Bengal in 1977, the trade

union movement again gained momentum in tanneries with the

formation of centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) spons~

red Calcutta Leather and Tannery Employees Union (hence-forth

. refer~eq_to-- as the Employees union). It should be men-

tioned here that much before the formation of the Employees

Union the CITU affiliated National Tannery sramik and

Employees Union {NTSEU) was set up in 1970. The union,

however, passed into the hands of INTUC supper ters after

197 2 when the Congress government came to power in the

State. Some of the CITU leaders in the National Tannery

were physically assaulted and some others went underground.

The local party office of the Communist Party of India

(Marxist) (CPI-M) was closed down for a few months during

the Emergency. It is also alleged that some party members

including labour leaders became victims of attack by anti-

social elements patronised by the Congress Party. The

NTSEU was brought under the control of CITU after the 1977

state assembly election.

The formation of the Employees Union under the leader­

ship of Mr. Badal Kar 14 , attracted several tanner workers.

211

The presence of a CPI (M) led goveranent in the state was

an inspiring factor for the workers and party supporters.

The union which used to operate from the CPI (M) local party

office received consider able help from party leaders. The

local CPI (M) Member of Legislative ASsembly CMLA) was . . ~· a

the President of the uni?n_ andL~w other party leaders

were made the union Executive Committee members •

. In 19'78, the Employees union planned an industry-

wide .s trug<~·le for demands like minimum wages, ESI, Provident

fund, and similar S·tatutory benefits.· Though trade unions

in .the industry had earlier brought forward such demands

and had succeeded in reaching some agreements with the

employers, in reality very few tannery employers had imple-

mented them. Taking advantage of a favourable political

situation in the stat~, the Employees Union decided to

exert its full strength for procuring the above mentioned

facilities for the workers. The whole party machinery

was geared up for this struggle. Other trade unions in

the industry were also invited to join the strug1le. All

Unions, except the Tannery Union, came f~ward to join the

strugqle platform led by the Employees Union. some of the

tannery employers voluntarily agreed tc provide minimum

wages to w~kers and implement other labour laws. But in

those tanneries whose employers were reluctant to do so, a

unions calledLstrike. The combined strength of these unions

as well as CPI (M) volunteers could not be resisted by the

employers far long. The strike was a total success in

those tanneries where the Employees Union, the Mazdoor

Sabha and the Federation were powerful. Employers of

these tanneries gradually accepted the demands of the

workers. A large nUmber of workers in the tanneries in

China Town, however, could not share the gains made in the

above struggle, since the Tannery Union did not join it.

Later the Emp).oyees Union concentrated more on the imple­

mentation of the agreement. The membership strength of

the union increased steadily after the struggle. Dis­

satisfied members of other unions including a few Tannery

Union members also joined it.

Ins pi te of the economic and political gains made by

the Employees Union, the Tannery Union remainea the largest

union in the tanning indus try. Harij an workers by and

1 arge supported their caste leaders in Tannery Union. This

caste factor also helped the union in expanding its influe­

nce in tanneries owned by Punj abi Harij an$ in Tilj ala. In

1977, the Tannery Union opened its branch in that area. A

Harij an leader (Mr. Hir alal Das) of Tilj ala, ins pi te of

being a CPI (M) supporter, took the initiative in involving

the Tannery Union there. According to that leader, the

Tannery Union was preferred because •it was led by people

from our s'amaj as well as from my state". On the contrary,

the Employees Union was not liked since "it was led by

Bengali non-Harij ans ". The difference between Harij an

and non-Harijan leaders became more important than the

one between the two Cormnunist parties.

After opening its union office in Tilj ala the Tannery

Union put up a charter of demands for the tannery workers

in that area. Demands like eight hours of work, wage

increase, leave days and dearness allowance were given

. importance. The union also went on an indefinite strike

from November 1977 when other pressure tactics failed.

During the strike, the union volunteers physically preven-

ted some new recruits from working in the tanneries. Most

of these newly recruited workers were brought from Punjab

by their respective employers. But after few weeks, a

large number of Bihari migrant workers went back to their

home si nee they could not sustain themselves for long in

the city without any income. AS a result, the union's was

organisational strengt~reduced considerably. The strike,

however, continued for nearly three months. Though some

employers utilised the service of a few new recruits, the

leather production process was hampered severely in the

absence of trained regular workers. The organisational

weakness of the union got reflected in the settlement made

w1 th the employers • association (Bharatiya Ad Dharm Seva

s ami ti). According to that settlement, the Punj ab1 employers

agreed to provide the following facilities:

a) eight hours w~king_ day,

~ llt

b) Sunday as a paid holiday,

c) 7day• s fest! Val leave annually,

d) dearness allowance, and

e) • talab' or monthly payment of wages.

The employers refused to increase the wage rate or to

provide statutory benefits to workers. None of the workers

were made permanent.

The Tannery Union had a serious setback in 1978 when

the then secretary of the union, Mr. Baranashi Das, was

killed by some anti-social elements in T.ilj ala. The union a

office in Tiljala was closed down forLfew months following

the incident. The terms of agreement: made earlier with

the Punjabi employers could not be properly implemented.

It took nearly two years for the union to overcome the

shock. In 1980, the union under the leadership of Mr. Ram

Bilash Ram, again prepared a charter of demands for its

members in Tangra, Tilj ala and Tapsi a. This time the

union demanded wage increase, permanent status of work,

ESI, provident fund, attendance register and increment

facilities. For the workers in Tiljala, three more addi-

tional demands, i.e., dearness allowance, twenty days leave

and bonus, were included in the demand list. It should

be noted here that the list included such demands which

had been earlier accepted but were not implemented by the

employers.

q 1 ::-: c. ... )

Negotiations over this charter of demands continued

for more than one year. But when no definite result was

achieved, the Tannery Union called an indefinite strike

from September 1981. The Punjab! employers in Tiljala

after one month agreed to ~ovide dearness allowance and

!?5. 200 as bonus tc all workers. The union leaders hip

decided to accept the offer and withdraw the strike in

the Tilj ala area where only a handful of workers remained

behind after one week of strike. The strike, however, conti-

nued in China Town and Tapsia areas for more than two months

since the employers of tanneries in these areas were not

prepared to increase wages or make workers permanent. The

strike errled in November follow! ng an agreement with the

employers • associations, namely, the Calcutta Leather Manu-

facturers ASsociation, Calcutta LeathPr and Allied Produc.ts

Market! n9 co-cperati ve Society Ltd., and Chinese Co-opera-

tive Tanners Society Ltd. According to that agreement, the

employers would slowly make all the workers permanent,

provide the benefits of annual increments, ESI and Provident

Fund to all eligible workers. The 1981 strike was the last

industry-wide struggle organised by the Tannery Union in

the tanneries in Calcutta. Afterwards, trade union struggle

in tanneries was fought at the plant level for the demands

of workers of a particular tannery or for getting the terms

of agreements enforced.

216

The above chronological account clearly establishes

certain important economic and non-economic factors res-

ponsible fcc the growth of unionism in the tanning indus try

in Calcutta. A detailed analysis of the activities of all

the existing unions, the style of functioning of their

leaders, success or failure of different unions as well

as the factors res-ponsible for such success or failure, how-

ever., is needed to appreciate the strength and weaknesses

of trade union movement in the industry. In the second and

third sections of this chapter, I have tried to deal with

such matters.

Trade Union Movement in the leather £!EOd~_2nd footwe-ar=_!ndu s ~_y: ------

(a) Growth of Unionism in the Chinese sh~~~~~ri~~:------------------

The All Ben.gal Charmakar Union formed in 1948, under

the leadership of Shri .Ramananda Das was organising Harij an

wockers in the Chinese shoe shops and manufacturing concerns

in Calcutta. Among other leaders of this union, Sivprasanya

Das and Dipnarayan Das were important. Initially, the union

had 3, 000 members. One year after its formation, the union

went on a strike demanding wage increase and housing facility

for the workers who used to work on piece rate basis. A

detailed account of the strike is not avail.:t>l e. Bu.t old

leaders of the union remember that the employers agreed to

increase piece rate by a small amount.

217

The name of this union was changed to Calcutta Leather

Workers • Union (henceforth referred to as the Workers Union)

while registering it in 195 2. The name was changed because,

(a) the term 'Charmakar' was confusing to the Chinese

employers, and (b) 'Calcutta• was a better term than 'All

Bengal' since the union was confined only to Calcutta. The

union activities gained manentum in 1952 when its President

became a Member of Parliament from the congress Party.

Though the workers Union was primarily formed to look

after the interest of Harij an workers in Chinese shoe

factories, the union leaders also used to help self-employed

Harij ans making shoes and Chappals in Calcutta. On the

other hand, workers of the leather goOds and footwear s

units owned by Harij ans were not encouraged to join unionf

Any conflict or dispute in these workshops was mutually

settled by the union leaders. The leaders of both the

Workers Union and the Bengal Depressed Classes League

actively helped Harijan employers to farm eo-operatives.

Therefore, the caste factor was more important in unioni­

sation than the class or worker-employer relationship

factor. Apart from the caste factor, the •regional'

factor also played a role. The union leaders were from

the Ar.t'ah and Mungher districts of Bihar. The workers in

the Chinese shoe manufacturing units as well as the Harij an

employers who were organised into co-operatives were also

from the same districts.

218

The Chinese employers, when threatened by the growth

of unionism in their workshops, started putting out orders

to Harijan shoe makers. This made the Harijan shoe makers

prosperous while the piece rate workers in Chinese shoe

factories suffered owing to insufficieney of work. The

Chinese employers also earned goOd profits using this put­

t! ng out sys tern.

The union leaders, realising their limitations prefer­

red not to precipitate matters by taking recourse to a

drastic course of action. They also had the experience

of an unsuccessful strike in 1949. Hence the union leader­

ship chose to adopt mild protest actions like demonstra­

tions, processions and publicising their grievances and

demands through wall posters. It took nearly a decade for

the union to get a few demands such as the demand for ttree

days of paid leave in a year and the provision of electric

fan and lights in the w~kshops to improve working condi­

tions. Again in 1960, the union put across a demand fcc

increasing piece rates. The dispute could not be solved

through negotiations. The workers were very much agitated

over the poor piece rates paid to them for the last one

decade. The union then had to go for an indefinite strike

trom 3 rd October, 196 1. The month of October was chosen

for the strike since it is the peak business season fer

shoes in Bengal due to Durga Puja festival. The strike

continued for three months. Almost all the Bihari workers

219

left Calcutta by the end of October. The Chinese employers

suffered a major loss in the festival cum winter season.

But the strike was then abruptly w1 ~hdrawn by the union

President without any major gain. The agreement reached

between the union President and the Chinese Shoe Owners'

Association provided for an increase of only two paise per

pair of shoes made. Following this agreement, the General

secretary of the union (Sivprasanya Das) resigned from his

post in protest against what he termed a 'ccmple te sell

out• of the union. It was alleged that the union President

received bribes from the employers for w1 thdr awing the

strike abruptly. Members of the union also got divided

over this issue. The intra-union rivalry became more prcmi­

nent three years 1 ater over the issue of whether the union

should call a strike for demanding higher wage rates for

the workers. The union leaders were not in favour of any

strike. Three consecutive General B<Xiy meetings of the

union were held w1 thou t arriving at any decision. sane of

the workers then approached Mr. Sivprasanya Das for forming

another union. The Calcutta Charmakar Sangha {henceforth

Charmakar Sangh) was then formed with Mr. Sivprasanya Das

as its Gener a1 secretary and Mr. Nepal Roy, a local Congress

Party leader, as its President. Nearly 1, 800 menbers of

the Workers Union joined the Charmakar Sangha reducing the

strength of the former to only 200. After its formation,

the Charmakar s angha came up with a charter of demands.

. 220

The employers did not recognise this union and refused to

negotiate with its leaders. The Charmakar Sangha then

went on an indefinite strike from 16th September, 1965.

The Workers Union ini t1 ally did not support this struggle.

But due to pressure from its members, the w·a:kers Union also

joined the strike after eight days. The strike was a total

success and the workers did not allow the Chinese employers

to open even their sales counter. On the 14th day of the

strike, the Chinese employers came to a settlement with the

Workers Union leadership in the presence of a conciliation

officer. By that settlement, piece rates for adult .,and baby

shoes were increased by 50 paise and 37 paise respectively. the

The leaders of ,Lcharmakar Sangha who had not been invited to

the tripartite meeting on the ground· that their union was

not registered, rejected the settlement. They continued

the strike. Ultimately, after 31 days, the Chinese

employers arrived at a separate agreement with the Charmakar

Sangha. Since the issue of union recognition was more

important for the Charmakar Sangha, its leaders expeditiously

came to an agreement with the employers although it further

enhanced the piece rate by only two paise.

The 1965 strike was the last one called in that decade

in the industry. The Charmakar Sangha became weak after

that due to the neglect of its affairs by its General

Secretary. Even the leaders of the Workers Union did not

take much interest in fighting for the demands of the

2.21

workers although its leaders pledged to take up the workers •

cause every year. It was alleged that the ·leaders of both

the unions became 'friendly' with the Chinese employers.

Inactivity of these unions after the 1965 strike prompted

some workers to approach Milan Verma, a local CPI (M) leader

in 1970. The CITU affiliated Calcutta Leather Industry

Workers Union (henceforth referred to as the Lal Jhanda

Union) was then formed. The union had 150 members in 22

Chinese shoe workshops. After its formation, the Lal

Jhanda Union, far the first time in the Chinese shoe indus-

try, demanded, (a) regulation of work in accordance· with

the provisions of the Factories Act, (b) stoppage of ret­

renchment and (c) payment of bonus. The union, however,

could not go for any militant course of action, due to its

poor numerical strength. Harij an workers in the indus try

by and large stuck to their caste leaders in Charmakar

Sangha and the Workers Union. In October, 1971, the Lal

Jhanda Union demanded 20 per cent bonus for all workers •

. · · .~.Following this the Workers Union also demanded festival ·\\.'·1\fi!;l '"\..

J us. This time the Lal Jhanda Union leaders thought of

ng on strike. But before such action could be planned, ~--·?

the employers came to an agreement with the Workers Union

by which Rs. 20/- per head was sanctioned as bonus. Next

year, Lal Jhanda Union again demanded 20 per cent bonus.

The employers this time also came to an cgreement with the

Workers Union by which Rs. 10/- more was added with the e~lier

bonus rate.

222

In 1 en 3, the Workers Union on its own, demanded

wage increase, t'l..ig her bonus, Employees State Insurance

(ESI), Provident Fund and leave facilities. The Lal Jhanda

Union also placed its charter of demands on the same line.

It also threatened to go on strike if tl'e demands were not

met with. The union campaigned seriously cg ains t the

leaders of workers Union who,they alleged,sabotaged their

prospects by being •easy going • with the employers. The

workers started attending the meetings of the Lal 3handa

Union in large number. The Workers Union leadership then,

under canpulsion, resolved to join the Lal Jhanda Union in

organising a strike from the end of September, 197 3. A

settlement, however, could not be reached through collect! ve

bargaining even after 15 days of the strike. The employers

then got the case referred to the labour court. The liti­

gation process continued for several years without any

solution. During those years, the unions continued demand­

ing higher wages and bonus. It was alleged by the members

of Lal Jhanda Union that their union's pro~pects were sabo­

taged every year by the Workers Union which independently

and in haste arrived at settlements with the employers which

provided only marginal benefits. After such a settlement,

the Lal Jhanda Union could hardly mobilise workers for any

course of action. In 1983 the Chinese Shoe Shop Owners •

Association and the workers Union mutually decided to settle

the 1973 dispute. The Labour court subsequently accepted

the following agreement by which (a) piece rate was

223

increased to Rs.14/- per pair of good quality shoes, The

lowest rate for any kind of shoes was fixed at Rs.8.50

per pair. (b) Bonus was increased to Rs. 100/-; and

(c) Workers were allowed six days of festival leave in

a year. For each such leave day Rs. 12/- would be

paid to those who work on the day preceding the holiday.

(b) Growth of Unionism in the non-Chinese r~her goods and shoe factories : -

our attempt so far has been restricted to the history

of the growth of unionism in the Chinese Shoe factacies in

Calcutta. Thousands of workers in the non-Chinese leather

goods and footwear units remained unorganised till the

middle of seventies. The workers of Gleskid India Private

Ltd., a medium sized shoe factory, were the first among

the non-Chinese shoe factory workers to get organised into a

union in 1975. Few years later, workers of sports shoes

and football making units in Calcutta also joined them.

The leadership of the Tannery Union took an active

interest in organising the shoe workers in Gleskid India

Private Ltd. A few of the Harij an workers in this factory

were known to them. Among these workers, a Har ij an worker

of Tilj ala (Shr i Hir al al Das) played a maj ac role in

influencing other workerQl of that unit. Thus the Calcutta

Shoe and Leather Workers Union (henceforth reterred to as

22tl

the sr amik Union), was formed in December, 1975, under

affiliation to the AITUC. Mr. Baranashi Das, the General

Secretary of the Tannery Union, took the responsibility of

leading the union.

In May 1976, the workers of a few sports goods workshops

also joined the sramik Union. These workers were. however,

fighting for their demands from 1975 onwards though they

were not members of any unien. They were then led by Shri

Rambabu Ram, a Harij an worker of a sports shoe unit in

En tally. In April, 1975, a meeting of spar ts goOds workers

was called by Mr. Rambabu Ram, to decide about the course of

action to be adopted to get their demands implemented. It was

decided that the workers in their respective units would

demand an increase of Rs.2/- over the existing rate of Rs.236

per pair of sports shoes. Though some workers felt the

necessity of an organised union to fight for their demand,

the meeting resolved to go for such activity only if the

employers refused to consider such demands. In the nego-

ti ation, the workers lowered t·heir demand to 75 paise, but

the employers were ready to increase only 25 paise per pair

of sports shoes. Failing to achieve their goal, nearly 200

workers of 50 sports goods workshops decided to go for an

indefinite strike from the middle of May, 1975. An Action

committee was formed to guide the striking workers. After

two days of the strike, one employer individually agreed

to increase the rate by 75 paise per pair of shoes. FOllow­

ing ttU.s, a. few more employers also agreed to increase the

rate. The strike was then withdrawn in those workshopa.

225

The strike which was timed during the sports season

(April to July) put the employers in considerable trouble.

The course of event..c; slowly took a turn in favour of the

workers. But a problem arose when a group of employers a

objected to the settlements made byL few employers and called \

a meeting of employers. In that meeting the employers

collect! vely resolved to refuse wage increase until and

unless the wholesalers of sports goods increased their

rates. Even those who agreed to increase the rate, went

back on it later. Employers threatened to retrench the

striking workers. Ultimately the strike had to be with-

drawn without any success. The Action Committee could not

prevent workers from joining work.

The experience of this strike taught the workers a

lesson that without any union and outside help, they could

not counter their employers. They, therefore, contacted

leaders of the Tannery Union and became member of the

Sramik Union in May, t'n6. The union then took up the

wage increase issue with the sports shoe employers. Since

the employers were reluctant to increase the wage rate,

the sr amik Union called an indefinite strike from 1St June,

1976. In order to ensure the success of the strike, union

leaders also mobilised the members of Tannery Union. After

nearly a month, the employers were forced to increase piece

rates per pair of sports shoes by 75 paise. This time the

workers were united and did not succumb to the pressure of

22t)

the employers. The presence of a union leadership and the

help extended by 'outsiders• i.e. the Tannery Union members

and the CPI leaders, provided the striking workers with an

added strength. Due to the success of the union in raising

piece rates, its membership strength increased to 800 in

1977-78. The Assistant secretary of the union, Rambabu

Ram, also made significant contributions tovlards organis-

ing a large number of workers in sports shoe workshops.

He not only persuaded them to join the strike, but also

prevailed on them to becane members of the Union. The

Harij an employers of most of the sports shoe workshops

used to employ their relatives and known persons. But

Rambabu Ram who was also a native of Begusarai, the district

to which most of the workers belonged, and was a known and

respected person in his community, could overcome these

social barriers to unionization.

In 1 <n 9, the workers of a few football units also

joined the sramik Union. The workers of B.D. Sports, one

of the wholesalers of sports goods in Calcutta, first joined

the union. The need for a union was tel t by them only when

the employer refused to pay higher rates for making better

quality of footballs using nylon fabrics. A worker of this

workshop, Laxman Das, who had acquired the experience of

organising unions in a rubber factory earlier, brought

workers to the Sramik Union's office in China Town. It

was thought that the Sramik Union would be a better choice

227

for the football workers since it already had organised

sports shoe workers in Calcutta. After becoming members

of the union, all the workers of B.D. Sports sat down in

a Dharna before the factory gate. The union •s flag· and

few placards were also displayed. After two days, the

employer agreed to negotiate with the union leaders and

a settlement raising the piece rate by 50 paise per foot­

ball and banning the use of nylon fibre was reached.

This was the first attempt to organise workers of

football manufacturing units. As the news of wage increase

in B.D. Sports reached workers in the nearby football work­

shops, they also joined the union. Laxman Das of B.D.

Sports took a leading role in enlarging the union • s base

among the football workers. Workers in small and tiny

es tablis t"ments, however, were reluctant to join any union

initially. Problems like scattered location of football

units, informal relations with Harijan employers, temporary

nature of job and fear of victimization came in the way

of strong unionism. The only advantage Laxman Das had was

that he knew most of the Bihar i football workers informally

as he also belonged to Gaya district of Bihar like the

other workers. The workers in the scattered football

manufacturing units waited till 1981 to join the union.

In May, 1981, during the sports season the sramik Union

put up a charter of demands for wage increase, bonus and

holiday facilities. The union ultimately had to call an

228

indefinite strike from 15th June for the fulfilment of

above demands. The workers of small football units also

joined the strike though they were not members of the

Sramik Union. Laxman Das utilised his social network

for influencing these workers to join the strike. Also

formal meetings were organised in different localities

where workers were told to cooperate with the union for

their own benefit. The union's campai;1n was most effective

in not only enlisting the workers • support, but also in

mobilising them to actively work for the success of the

strike. The members of Tannery Union also came in support

of the striking workers. Leaders and members of the CPI

helped the sports shoe and football workers in areas where

the party had influence. A CPI leader, Shri Chanchal Ghosh,

was particularly involved in helping the striking workers

in M.s. Road, Sealdah and Bowbazar area. Mr. Ghosh earlier

had the credit of organising printing press and hotel workers

of the above mentioned locality. The area, he was entrusted

with, was important from the point of view of the strike

since wholesalers of sports goods mostly had their factories

there. Mr. Ghosh proved to be of great help to the striking

workers. The wholesale dealers of sports goods could not

break the strike, ,.;hich continued for more than one month.

Finally, a tripartite settlement was reached on July 21st

and the workers resumed work. By that settlement (a) piece

rate was increased by 50 paise per pair of sports shoes and

50 to 75 paise per volleyball and football depending on their

22B

size; {b) two paid holidays in a year were granted for which

Rs. 12/- per day would be paid: and (c) Rs. 75/- as bonus would

be paid during the Durga Puj a festival. The agreement was

signed for three years.

The above mentioned settlement was not to the liking

of Rambabu Ram and Chanchal Ghosh. They felt that a long

term agreement was de tr !mental to the interest of piece

rate and temporary workers. They also charged the General

Secretary of the Union, ~.r. Ram Bilash Ram, ·.vith having taken

15 bribes from the employers. Hence, in 198 3, they formed

another union, called the Calcutta Sports Goods and Shoe

Makers Mazdoor Union (henceforth referred to as the Mazdoor

Union). Nearly a thousand members of the Sramik Union

transferred their allegiance to the newly formed union.

The new union also got affiliated to the AITUC and a vete-

ran CPI leader, Shr i MOhartlllad Illious was made its president.

Apparently, the CPI as well as the AITUC did not object

to the formation of another union among the leather goods

and footwear workers. Chanchal Ghosh became the working

President and Rambabu RCfn the General secretary of the

Union. Almost all the workers of sports shoe workshops

joined the Mazdoor Union following their lea d~er, l-4.r. R ambabu

Ram. But a majority of the workers engaged in making fo~­

balls stayed with the Sramik Union since their leader,

Laxman Das, did not leave it.

230

After 1 ts formation,

up a charter of demands.

the Mazdoor Union leadership put

The Calcutta Fbotball and Foot-

wear Employers Union, however, refused to negotiate on the

ground that their agreement with the Srami k Union was in

force till 1984. But this was not acceptable to the Mazdoor

Union leaders who gave a call for an indefinite strike on

March 28, 1983. Barely had the strike lasted a week.. when

several employers began negotiating individually with

the union and the strike was withdrawn in their workshops.

The agreements signed provided for (1) a 75 paise rise

in piece rates fot: sports shoes, (2) 75 paise to one rupee

increase for footballs, (3) bonus at the rate of Rs.lOO/-

in factories employing less than 20 workers and Rs.125/-

in factories employing 20 or more workers, (4) dearness

allowance at the rate of Rs.15/- per month, and (5) validity

of the agreement for one year.

Though a large number of employers subsequently agreed

to the unions demands, the strike continued in a few big

factories for nearly four months. The union leadership

caused a rift between the big and small employers. That

is why almost all the small employers concluded agreements

with the union even before the employers' association

agreed to the union's demands.· The small employers were

assured that the union would sympathetically view their

problems and cooperate with them in future if they separate

themselves :frcrn the employers• association which was •

23-1

dominated by the wholes<:~le dealer~ and big employers. The

small emp·loyers had grievances against the leadership of

their association who used to look down upon them and uti­

lised the platform of the association to further their own

inter;ests. The differences between the small and big

employers took a formal shape in 1985 with the formation

of the We:st Bengal Ball Boot Manufacturing Association

(WBBMA) b:y th~=> small employers.

The Sramik Union also was benefitted by this strike.

Without h-aving to resort to any strike in the football

units, it could renegotiate through bipartite agreement.

The footb;all employers easily agreed to do so because the

wholesale dealers of sports goods by that time had succum-

bed to the pressures of the Mazdoor Union. The terms and

conditions of the agreement made by the sr amik Union was

almost similar to the one made earlier by the Mazdoor Union.

The only difference was that the agreement did not provide

tor any dearness allowance although it stated that the work-

men shall be paid 15 paise per football made as production

incentive.

The Mazdoor Union had another success in July, 1983,

when nearly 1, 000 workers of Chinese shoe shops in New

• Market, Ben tick Street, Lal Bazar, S.N. Banerjee Road, and

nearby areas enrolled as its members. scme of them were

earlier members of the INTUC and CITU affiliated unions.

232

After enlarging its base among thes ~ workers, the Mazdoor

Union put up a charter of demands to the Chinese Shoe Shop

Owners Association. The Chinese employers initially

ignored the entry of a new union in their shops. The

union then had to call an indefinite strike fran 5th Septem­

ber, t983, as a show of its strength. To make the strike

a success, the union put up continuous vigil and the

employers were not allowed to open their factories. The

Chinese employers, however, got a. court order passed in

their favour, to open their factories with police help.

The union leaders hip then decided tc switch over to what

they called "guerrilla tactics", by which they took the

employers by surprise and gheraoed them in their homes.

Also groups of unicn volunteers were placed in di.'fferent

localities to see that the employers coulC. not recruit

new workers. Any 1 new face 1 entering the factory was

marked properly and anyone found helping an employer in

the production of shoes was thrown out of the local! ty.

The union volunteers were even asked to use force if requi­

red. The Chinese employers could not sustain th~ fight

for long and had to settle the dispute. The strike was

finally withdrawn on 5th December following an agreement

by which (a) the rate per pair of shoes was increased by

50 paise, (b) bonus was fixed at Rs.80/, {c) two

paid holidays in a year (Rs.12/- for each day) were granted,

and {d) striking workers were paid Rs. 250/- per head as

233

compensation for the loss incu.t"r-ed during the strike. This

agreement was signed for one year.

Later, in April, 1985, the Mazdoor Union on the basis

of a new charter of demands signed an agreement with the

Calcutta Football and Foot-wear Employers Union. This time,

the union did not have to resort to strike to obtain the

following benefits:

(a) 75 paise increase per football on a flat basis,

(b) 55 and 65 paise increase per pair of sports shoes

in small and big factories respectively,

(c) yearly four day's paid leave in big factories

and three day's paid leave in small workshops, and

(c) Ps.125/- and Rs. 175/- as bonus in small and big

factories respectively. The union also succeeded

in raisin;~ wages in Chinese shoe.shops without

any strike. The agreement signed on 12th August,

1985 with the Chinese shoe Shops Owners ASSociation

sta~d that, (i) the piece rate would be increased

by 60 paise per pair of adult shoes and 40 paise

per pair of children's shoes over and above the

existing rate, (ii) Rs.lO/- mare would be added with

the exis t1 ng bonus rate, and (iii) six paid holi­

days would be granted. Both these agreements were

signed for one year only.

While the Mazdoor Union could improve its position in

several respects, the Sramik Union did not s.tir itself after

234

the 198 3 crgreement. In 1985 the sr amik Union did put up

a fresh charter of demands, but it could not gear its rank

and file for any course of action. In 1986, the union

leadership again planned a stir for the fulfilment of

demands made in the previous year. When no settlement

could be reached through mutual' discussion, the union a

leadership decided to callLstrike on 7th April. During

the strike, the employers tried to weaken the union by

campaigning that the union leaders hip was intr ansi9ent

and uncooperative. They almost succeeded in alienating

the workers from their leaders. They woul::i do this because

the le·aders had distanced themselves from the workers. Due

to securi.ty reasons Ram Bilas h Ram alway,s moved in a taxi

and had bodyguards, therefore, he could not maintain his

close links with the workers. But the employers could not

derive much advantage from this alienation because the

workers went back to their villages in Bihar during the

strike. The employers ultimately had to yiel::i on May lOth,

·following which the strike was withdrawn. They agreed to

raise the rates by Rs. 2/- per football and to increase the

number of paid yearly holidays to four.

This review of trade union activity in the leather

goods and footwear indus try in Calcutta clearly es t'~lishes

that a large number of workers are s ti 11 unorganised. Trade

unions initially did not organise workers of Karijan owned

235

workshops. Even if the Sramik Union and the Mazdoor Union

started organising such workers from mid-seventies, the

attempt so far has remained restricted only to sports

goods industry. Thousands of workers in leather sandal

and leather bags workshops in Calcutta continue to remain

unorganised. several factors have contributed to the

success and failure of trade union movement in the leather

goods and footwear industry in Calcutta. In the next two

sections we turn our attention to such an analysis.

II. THE WORKERS AND THEIR UNIONS:

The attempt so far has been to spell out chronologi­

cally the growth of trade unionism in the leather industry

in Calcutta. This descriptive account is canplemented in

this section by turning the fOous of study to the workers •

attitudes towards unions and their relationship with unions

and their leaders. The discussion here also highlights the

organizational approaches and strategies adopted by various

trade unions and their consequences on the trade unions in

par ti cul ar and on tr ade union! sm 1 n general.

Studies of trade union movement in India have so far

i:ienti. fied several economic and non-econanic factors respon­

sible for the growth of unionism. 16 From the narration of

the emergence and growth of unionism in the leather industry

in Calcutta, two factors can be identified as accountable

for the growth of unionism. First, caste solidarity of

23{)

Har ij an workers provided a solid base to th~ formation of

unions. Interestingly, caste soli:iari ty. also prevents

unionisation. On the one hand, the tr acle union arose

almost spontaneously as an extension of caste association.

But caste solidarity also prevents the growth of conflict

consciousness with respect to Harijan employers. second,

the prevalence of an exploitative work system, low wages,

and deplorable working conditions prepared a strong ground

for the formation of trade unions. The unions in tanneries

and in the leather footwear industry had to first attend

to the_various economic problems faced b~ Harijan workers.

In fact trade unions emerged in the tanning as well as

leather footwear industry when the caste organisations of

the Harij an workers proved inadequate in !lecuring economic

benefits far the workers.

The trade union movement in the leattler industry has

passed through four decades of growth. Naturally, one can

expect changes in the priorities of the workers for joining

the union. Analysis of my interview data (I have inter­

viewed 120 workers in the tanneries and 80 workers in the

leather goods and footwear industry) shows that the concern

for fulfilment of economic demands has highly influenced

leather industry workers to join unions. Table 4.1 and

4.2 clearly reveal that 55 and 68 per cent of the inter­

viewed union members in tanneries as well as leather goods

and footwear industries respect!. vely have joined their unions

237

·----------------------·--------~~~----~---------------Trade Unions Reasons for joining the Union

EmplQY:~anne- Fede- Mazd- Total ees ry ration oor

__________ _!Ln.!.2!?._~n.!.PE_ s a!?J!.L. ___ _

For fulfilment of economic demands

For job security

For unity of workers

This union is power ful in my factory/area of work

For supporting the parent political party

For supporting the caste leaders

This union•s perfor­mance is good

17 25

3

2 3

2 7

1 1

3

5

For fulfilment of eco- 4 3 nomic demands and for job security

For fulfilment of eco- 4 4 nomic demands and be-cause the union is power-ful in my factory

12 7 61 (54. 95)

3 (2. 70)

5 (4. 50)

9 (8. 31)

2 4 (3.61)

3 (2. 70)

3 8 (7. 21)

7 (6. 31)

8 (7. 21)

For miscellaneous 3 3 reasons (2. 70) ----------------------------------------------------------Total 35 52 14 10 111

----------------------------------------------------------Note: Workers do not identify job security as an economic

demand1 it means dignity of job and social recogni­tion to them.

238

Table 4. 2: Distribution of trade union members in the Ieat"her-9E_9ds- and foo~~---.!.n~ffont~ basis_f>f reasons s:gecu!!.9 for joining t,b~ J?!:esent_ynion

"Reasons for Trade Unions -joining _________

the union Wcrk- Char- Lal Sra- Maz- TOtat ers• makar Jhan- mik door Union Sangh da Union Union

----- -- --~on --For fulfilment of 17 21 4 3 2 47 economic demands (68. 11)

For ful fi lmen t of 1 2 3 economic demands and (4. 35) for job security

For fulfilment of 3 1 4 economic demands and cs. eo) for good performance of this union

For fulfilment of 1 6 1 1 9 economic demarids and ( 13.04) this union is powerful in my workshop

For miscellaneous 4 1 1 6 reasons (8. 70)

------------------------------------------------------------Total 30 6 5 2 69 ----- -----to get •econcrnic demands fulfilled •. Both wage and non­

wage benefits like leave days, bonus, ESI, ~evident F.und

and gratuity, have figured in this demand list. Among

the rest, a good number of union members have mentioned

more than one reason, • the fulfilment of economic demands •

being one of them. Reasons like job security or unity of

workers are considered least important for joining any

union.

23B

Tables 4.1 and 4. 2 also make it clear that non-econcrnic

reasons are considered important far favouring a particular

. union over others. Caste or political considerations,

strength of a union and its reputation among the workers

in a particular factory or area of Work or its perfcrmance

are found to be significant for determining the workers •

choice of a particular union. The following examples are

cited to illustrate the matter:.

(a) Several respondents in tanneries said that they

joined the Tannery Union because the union provided them

with the place to stay in the Ravi Das School building.

some of these workers are Nepalis who earlier used to live

inside the tanneries in which they were employed. These

Nepali workers are also wooed by the leaders of Employees

Union who help them get rented rooms. sane Nepali workers

who have received such help have joined the Employees

Union.

{b) A Bengali worker in the Penhoo Tannery joined the

Tannery Union inspite of being a Congress Party supporter

because he considers the union as powerful enough to protect

the workers' interests in China Town. Two members of the

INTUC Union, however, joined it because of their allegiance

to the Congress Party even though the Union is relatively

weak.

(c) A worker in the East Asia Skin Corporation, a

1 arge tannery employing more than 300 workers, was a member

240

of the Mazdoor Sabha. He had several complaints against

the union but did not cease to be a member because of his

sense of personal obligation to one of its leaders. Another

member of the Mazdoor Sabha in the same tannery supported

the CPI (M) but refused to become a member of the CI'l'U

affiliated Employees Union because he did not like the

local unit leader of that union.

(d) Three Harijan workers joined the Tannery Union

because of caste considerations. But there were workers

who despite living in the Ravi Das School and having a

predilection tor the Tannery Union preferred to j o_in the

Employees Union in factories where it is strong. In the

leather goods and fcotwear industry nearly 13 per cent of

the respondents became members of particular trade unions

because of the persuasion by the co-workers.

From this listing of the consider ati ens that have

influenced workers in joining trade unions, it can be infer­

red that while there are some who are strongly motivated

by party ideology or caste loyalty to join this or that

union, many others take decisions about joining unions on

pragmatic considerations. There are some who allow their

personal relationships determine the choice of union. While

at the level of individual workers a diverse set of factors

operate in their choice of trade unions, a definite social

patterning of trade union membership emerges when viewed

241

from the perspective of the industry. In the case of tan­

ning industry, this social patterning reveals the importance

of caste.

Caste has played an important role in the formation

of early unions in the industry. Even during the seven­

ties, the Harijan leaders of tre Tannery Unicn mobilised

a large number of Harijan workers by arousing caste senti­

ment. Though very few of the intFrviewed mernbers of the

Tannery Union today consider caste as an important crit~rion

for union membership, tre social ccmposition of this union's

leaders and members reveal the importance of caste loyalty.

Almost all the office bearers and nearly 90 per cent of the

Tannery Union's members are Harij ans. The Harij an leaders

of this union run the social, cultural and reli9ious

affairs of the Ravi Das Ekta Committee. The members hip

of this committee is open to all Harij an workers irrespec­

tive of any union affiliation. But in reality, Harijan

workers belonging to other unions hardly join it. Though

the R a vi Das Ek ta Committee ~s supposed to be open to all

Harij ans it is considered to be an organisation of the

Harij ans of the Tannery Union. some Harij an members of

the Employees Union organise separate reli9ious progr arrmes

on the birthday of Guru Ravi Das. One of the office

bearers of the Tannery Union 1 Mro N.N. Rami who is also

a teacher in the st. Ravi Das School regards the strong

242

caste base of the union as one reason why other unions

could pose no serious threat to his union. The Tannery

Union is just not any Harijan organisation but a Bihari

Harij an organisation. 17 AS has been pointed out earlier

this 'Bihar! Harijan• identity accounted for the workers

favouring the Tannery Union rather than the Employees Union

in Tiljala. Only 10 per cent of the members of Tannery

Union are non-Bihar!, as canpared to 40 to 45 per cent

members of other unions.

Of In the case peather goods and footwear industry, as

all the major unions are led by Harij an leaders hailing

from 3ihar, subregional identities become prominent. Since

the leather footwear industry in Calcutta has mainly rec-

ruited shoe workers belonging to the Bhojpur district of

Bihar, the Workers Union which is led by Harij ans from

Bhojpur is strong in this industry. Even today, nearly

90 per cent of the members of this unien are Bhojpuri.

The same trend is also noticed in the case of the Sr ami k

Union which is active among the football workers who mainly

hail fran the Gay a district of Bihar. The workers in the

Sports shoe wx-kshops belong to the Begusarai district of

Bihar. Under the influence of their leader, who also

belongs to Begusarai, these workers joined the Mazdoor

Union. Though this union has recently penetrated into

the base of other unions in the footwear indus try, nearly

243

45 per cent of its members are still from Begusarai.

The strength of a union in a particular factory cr

locality also plays a vital role in the workers• choices.

Workers in some cases have preferred to remain with a

union which is powerful in an establishment or in a loca-~

li ty irrespective of their ca~te, region or political

considerations. In China Town, the Tannery Union has a

strong base and almost 80 per cent of its members work

in the tanneries in this area. But several Harij an workers

have joined the Employees Union in Pagladanga and Tapsia

areas where it has established a solid base. Multiple

unionism in one industrial area is a rare phenomenon in

the Tanning industry. Exceptions, however, occur in a

few big tanneries. When workers change their union affi­

liation it is because a big majority, if not all, of the

workers of a factory/workshop have agreed to do so.

Although poli t1 cal considerations have played a

marginal role in influencing workers preference for a

trade union, an analysis of the responses of interviewed

workers (s~e Table 4.3) shows that 72 per cent of the

union members in tanneries and about 50 per cent of the

union members in leather goods and footwear industry

support pol! tical parties. Among those who support poli­

tical parties, the inclination is generally t~ards suppor­

ting the parent political party of their own union. Thus,

241

Tanning Tannery 38 14 52 Industry Union (7 3. 08) (26. 92)

Employees 27 8 35 Union (77. 14) (22.86)

Federation 11 3 14 (7 8. 57) (21. 4 3)

Mazdoor 5 5 10 S.abha {50.00) (10. 00)

Non-Union 3 6 9 Member {33. 33) {66.67)

Total 84 ~ 120 {70.00) (30.00) --------------------------------------------------------

Leather Goods Workers 1 4 5 and Footwear Union (20.00) (80. 00) I ridustry

Charmakar 1 1 2 Sangha {50.00) {50. 00)

Lal Jhanda 4 2 6 Union (66.67) {33. 33)

Sramik 5 25 30 Union {16.67) (83. 33)

Mazdoor 23 3 26 Union (88. 26) (11.54)

Non-Union 4 7 11 Member (36.36) (6 3.64)

Total 38 42 80 (47. 50) {52. 50) --------------------------------------------------------

Grand Total 122 78 200 (61.00) (39. 00)

245

for instance, among those who support the CPI, CPI (M) and

Congress (I), the members of unions affiliated to AITUC

(tOO%), CITU (81.08%) and INTUC (60%) respectively constitute

a majority.

When workers change their union affiliation, the per­

formance of a particular union becomes a prominent reason.

Out of 180 union members interviewed in the leather industry,

I came across 59 (32. 78%) members who have changed their

union allegiance. Among them, 27 workers (45.76%) left

their earlier unions because of • non-fulfilment of demands •.

Another 10 workers (16. 95%) did so when they felt that

their union leaders betrayed the workers interests by taking

sides with the employers. Reasons lixs 'when other workers

of my workshop left it• (10.17%), 'they are weak' (6.78%),

or • the present union is powerful in the workshop which I

joined recently • (6. 78%) also figured among the responses.

During seventies and eighties a large number of

workers in different tanneries in Calcatta changed their

union membership owing to dissatisfaction with the perfor­

mance of their original union. Thus, for instance, the

workers of the Standard Tannery in China Town shifted their

allegiance thrice between 1'n 3 to 1980. In 1 r;n 3, 37 workers

of this tannery became members of the Mazdoor Sabha. The

tannery was then run by a contractor who had taken the

entire tannery on lease fran its Chinese owner. All the

24G

workers were permanent and enjoyed the E)nployees State

Insurance, and Provident Fund facilities. But when the

contractor declined to increase their wages and their over­

time rate, and when the Mazdoor Sabha leaders remained

indifferent to the workers • demands, they contacted the .

Federation President who knew the contractor personally.

But this union also could not fulf11 their demands. In

1 g'/7, the owner of the tannery removed the contractor and

closed it down for a few months. When it opened again,

the workers were offered work on a piece rate basis by the

owner himself. The workers then became members of the

Tannery Union in the hope of regaining their old work

status. But when they realised that even the lea:Iers of

this union were indifferent to their demands and tacitly

supported the owner, they decided to join the Employees

Union in 1980. The owner resisted this move by closing

down the tannery and tried to pressurise workers to stay

with the Tannery Union. The Employees Union then went to

court and won the case after a long drawn battle of two

years. Dissatisfaction with the performance of trade

unions and suspicions regarding the collusion of trade

union leaders with the employers have made workers of the

Volga Tannery, Alam Tannery, Indian Leather Tanning Cor­

poration, Pioneer Tannery, Mohan General Tannery and the

Tiger Tanning Industry to switch over their allegiance to

the Employees Union. The workers find that the Employees

247

Union has succeeded in winning over a variety of benefits

such as wage increase, permanent work status, Provident

Fund, ESI benefits and the 1 ike. In the leather goods

and footwear industry also, as has been shown earlier,

workers changed their union affiliation mainly because

their economic demands were not being fulfilled. For

instance, in 1983, some members of the CITU affiliated

Lal Jhanda Union changed over their affiliation to the

workers Union because the latter managed to get ~.SOl­

increase in the wage rate.

The examples cited above indicate ·that while caste

and region are important, these factors in themselves do

not ensure that workers will continue to support the union

of which they are members. The workers are willing to

change their allegiance to another union if their own union

does not deliver goods to them. Hence ultimately the success

of a union depends on its capacity to protect and further

the interests of ~orkers. The union should possess commit­

ted and intelligent leaders as well as a proper organisa-

tional structure to meet the workers • needs.

In this context, it would be relevant to examine the

reasons far workers not joining any union. In the tanning

industry in Calcutta, o~ly about 4,500 workers out of a are not

total of about lS,CO<lttmembers of any union,while in the

leather goods and footwear industry more than 90 per cent

of the workers are not unionised. Responses gathered from

248

a few of these workers which were supplemented by the inter­

views of trade union leaders, local (Mohall a) leaders as

well as my own observations indicate clearly that lack of

initiative on the part of existing t.r ade unions is a major

reason for their non-unionisation. Out of 20 non-union·' . -~·

members interviewed in the industry, ten have not become

members of any union because they have :_n~t been approached.

Among others, four have not becane members because of dis­

unity among the workers of their establistrnents, three do

not feel the need for any union since their employers are

good, two workers are dissatisfied with the activities of

unions in their factories and only one worker has pointed to

their temporary work status as a reason for not joining any

union.

It has been observed that trade unions have not only

tried to organise these workers but they have in some cases

deliberately neglected it. Thus, for instance, the Tannery

Union leadership has not deliberately bothered to organise

workers in tanneries owned by Bihar! Harij ens in Tilj ala,

while it has organised workers employed in tanneries owned

by Punj abi Harij ans in the same place. The Al:nbedkar seva

s angh which is a voluntary association of the Bi hari Harij an

employers also is supposed to settle disputes arising

between the workers and employers. The secretary of the

sangh asserts that the Bihar! Harij an workers in the Tilj ala

area do not need any union because the employers regard

24B

their workers as 'brothers •. The Ambedkar Seva Sangh has

the reputation of discouraging workers fran protesting

ag ai ns t their employers.

The Tannery Union is also accused of being canmunal

by the Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj (a Nepalis • associ a­

tion). The Nepali Samaj leaders point out that the Tannery

Union leaders have not cared tc ensure that their collective

bargaining agreements with the Chinese employers are extended

to the Nepali· workers as well • They dismiss the Tannery

Unicn leaders • plea that because the Nepali workers live

inside the tanneries, it is difficult to mobilise them.

They say that the Tannery Union leaders have nEver bothered

to find living quarters for the Nepali workers to loosen

the hold of Chinese employers over them. Hence, they say

that nearly 60 per cent of the workers in the tanneries who

are outside the orbit of unions are Nepal is.

In the leather goods and foot·..rear industry also, the

tJorkers Union left out workers in the shoe an.j leather

sandal workshops owned by Harijans frQn its unionising

efforts. Thou·Jh the platform of the Bengal Provincial

Depressed Classes League (BPDCL) was utilised by the Harijan

union leaders to unite Harijan employers of shoe and leather

sandal units, the workers of these workshops were never

encouraged to join any union. The League did not even allow

the CITU to organise workers of footwear workshops in Uma

Das Lane because of the 'good relations• that prevail

250

between the Harij an employers and the workers. If along

with these cases, is considered the fact that 14 of the 20

non-unionised workers wanted to join a trade union, it

becomes quite clear that workers are not inherently reluc­

tant to join unions.

Unionising workers in the leather industry pose a

number of prOblems. It has been seen that the caste factor

helps in mobilising workers but the use of caste loyalty

may result in sectional mObilisation. Further, caste consi­

derations have even come in the way of forging effective

workers • organizations, especially in areas where both the

workers and the employers also belong to the same caste.

Thus, attempt made by an INTUC leader in 1982 to organise

leather sandal workers in the: Raj a Bazar area failed because

the workers were not prepared to form a union against their

own relatives. But as the cases of the Mazdoor~union and

the Srarnik Union among the spC?I"ts goods and shoe workers

show, it is possible to overcome these barriers as well

by using caste linkages.

The leather industry consists of a large number of

small workshops scattered all over the city. Many small

entrepreneurs 1 ack ing r com to house a works hop all ow their

workers to take raw materials to their homes to produce the

goods. The trade unions require considerable financial

resources and manpower to set up offices to cover all the

251

workers. To raise funds for union activities is, however,

a big problem. Workers are choosy in paying fees and

unions require people with initiative and drive to collect

fees. Workers prefer to adopt a wait and watch policy in

paying their fees. They \"'ai t far the union to achieve ...

concrete results before paying their dues. The leaders of

the Sr amik Union say that nearly 50 per cent of their

members are defaulters even after they received

their bonuses. In the case of Employees Union and Mazdoor

Union the proportion of defaulters is less, perhaps because

they possess better organisational structures for fee

collection.

Trade unions cannot rely on their members in carrying

on day-to-day business or in attending meetings and demons­

trations. Members usually visit the union office only when

they are faced with some problems or when they hope to

listen to some good news from the leaders. Union meetings

are well attended only if the agenda includes the economic

demands of the workers. Though 55 per cent of the inter­

viewed union menbers said that they always attend union

meetings irrespective of the issues involved, meetings

called to discuss political matters or to demonstrate

solidarity with other workers, are thinly attended. During

my field work a p'ublic meeting of all the left trade unions

had been called on May Day. The Tannery Union and the

Employees Union were supposed to take out processions from

their respect! ve union offices and reach Brigade Ground

for the meeting. The Tannery Union did not take out a a

procession and only Lfew of its leaders were seen at the

meeting. The procession organised by the Employees Union

also included other local CPI (M) supporters and only a

hundred union members attended it. To cite another

example, the Tannery Union organised a meeting in China

Town on 28th February, 1986 in prates t cg ains t the retrench-

ment of scme workers in Sunita Tannery. There were 400

workers at the meeting but most of them were from Suni ta

and other nearby tanneries. When the union took out a

procession after the meeting, half of the nwnber present

disappeared. It is rarely that workers of one tannery

come out on to the streets in supper t of workers of othe-r

tanneries. But poor attendance at meetings is no index

of the popularity of the unions among its members. Respon-

ses gathered from union members about the degree of

satisfaction regarding their union's performance, are set

out in Table 4.4. This Table shows that 70 per cent of

them are fully satisfied with their union •s functioning.

The proportion of partially satisfied is 18.33 per cent

and only 11.67 per cent of the union members are dis­

satisfied. Table 4.4 also shows that in the tanning

industry, while over 85 per cent of the members of the

Employees Union are fully satisfied with their union's

functioning, about 58 per cent of the members of Tannery

Tradeunioiis _g~-otsatiS"fiStroii- Total Fully Parti- Dissat-satis- ally is fied fied s atis-

---------------------------l!ed _________________ __ Tanning Indus try

Tanning Union

Employees Union

Federation

Mazdoor Sabha

30 (57 .6 9)

30 (85. 7 2)

7 (50.00}

6 (60. 00)

14 8 52 (26. 92) (15. 39)

2 3 35 (5. 71) (8. 57)

4 3 14 (28.57) (21.43)

4 10 (40.00)

--~------------------------------------------------------Leather Goods and Footwear Industry

Workers Union

Charmakar sangh

sr arnik Union

Lal Jhanda Union

Mazdoor Union

2 (40. 00)

20 {66 .67)

5 (8 3. 33)

26 (100.00)

1 2 (20.00) (40.00)

2 (100.00)

7 3 (23. 33) (10.00)

1 (16.67)

5

2

30

6

---------------------------------------------------------Total 126 (70.00)

33 21 ( 18 • 33 ) ( 11· 6 7 )

--------------------------------------------------180

Union arxi 50 per cent of the Federation members are so.

In the leather goods and footwear industry, all the members

of the Mazdoor Union are fully satisfied with their union

while only 40 per cent of the Workers Union members and

none of the Charma'kar Sangha members are so. Diss a tis fi ed

251

members of all the unions (see Table 4.5. for details) have

identified non-fulfilment of demands (46.30%) and union's

slackness in solving their problems (31.4%) as the major

reasons for their dissatisfaction. A third related reason

is that union leaders do not maintain contact (5. 56%). ,

Members of the Tannery Union s.tate that their dis­

satisfaction with the union stems from the union's inability

in getting their demands accepted by the employers. A few

{22%) of the dissatisfied members of this union complain

that the union leaders have become self-centred. The

workers contrast the achievements of the Employees Union

in forcing the employers to provide statutory benefits

such as the .Provident fund, gratuity, annual increment,

ESI and the like with the Tannery Union's inability to

get permanent work status and higher wage rates to a large

majority of workers inspite of several successful struggles

launched by it. More than 73 per cent of the interviewed

members of the Tannery Union are temporary while only 22.86

per cent of the Employees Union members have this status.

Further only 25 per cent of' the Tannery Union members

receive E .. s.I. and provident Fund facilities, while 80

per cent of the Employees Union members receive them.

Table 4.6 shows that even other facilities such as gratuity,

yearly increment and yearly paid leave days are available

to only a few of the Tannery Union members whereas a 1 arge

~sons------------------------------------------------T'rade unions _________________ _ Tannery Employ:-Tectera:Ma"Zdoor sramikLal ____ worker'S'-c"'harm~---'Totai Union ees tion Sabha Union Jhanda Union kar

__________________ __Qni_2g___ _ ___________ .Y.!ll.£>.!L_. _J.il.n.9.b9..... __ _

Demands not fulfilled

Leaders do not react promptly

Leaders do not maintain contact

Leaders work for their own interest

Leaders are aggressive

2

3

5

3

1 1 5

3 3 4

2 1

1

1 1 25 (46 • 30)

2 2 17 (31.48)

3 (5. 56)

6 (11.11)

3 (5. 56)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total 22 5 7 4 10 1 3 2 54 --------------- ----------------------------------------------------

25{)

number of members of other unions including the Federation

and the Mazdoor Sabha receive them. Interestingly dissatis­

fied members of the Federation or the Mazdoor Sabha have

not identified •non-fulfilment of demands' as the major

reason for their dissatisfaction with their unions• function­

ing.

The trade unions • problems do not end once agreements

with employers are reached. Agreements do not guarantee

their implementation. The Tannery Union's leaders, unlike

the leaders of the Employees Union or of the Federation

and Mazdoor Sabha, have not carefully monitored implemen­

tation even when agreements had been reached after long-

drawn strikes during the seven ties and eighties. Hence,

~he outstanding demands of the workers in China Town, though

officially accepted, remain unimplemented even after several

years.

Several factors have contributed to such a state of

affairs. certainly, the prE-valence of a tenancy system in

the Chinese tanneries is an important factor. The Tannery

Union had signed agreements with the associations of the

Chinese employers. The contractors, who are not members of

such associations, are not bound to accept such agreements.

In any case the contractor who conducts his business only

for a short period cannot and will not be able to give

257

Fac1li ti PS ____ T annery--Empi oy--~dera:-Mazdoor ___ Total

ESI & P. F.

Union e~s ----~!~----§~E~----------Yes 13 28 10 7 58

(25.00) (BO.CO) (71.43) (70.00) (52.25)

No. 3 9 7 4 3 53 (75.00) (20.CO) (28.57) (30.CO) (47.75)

----------------------~-------------------------------------Gratuity Yes 12 20 9 4 45 (23.08) {57.14) (64.28) (40.00) (40.54)

No 40 15 5 6 66 (76.92) (42.86) (35.72) (60.00) (59.56) ------------------------------------------------------------

y~ ar 1 y Yes 5 2 1 7 3 36 Incre- (>9.62) {60.00) (50.00) (30.00) (32.43) ment

No 4 7 14 7 7 75 (90.38) (40.00) (50.00) (70.00) (67.57) ------------------------------------------------------------

Yearly Nil 31 4 1 3 39 paid (59.62) (11.43) (7.14) (30.00) (35.14) leave days 7-20 11 3 14

days ( 21. 15 ) ( 21. 4 3) ( 12. 6 1)

21-40 1 21 2 7 31 days ( 1. 9 2) (6 0. 0 0) { 14 • 2 9) (7 0. 0 0 ) ( 27 • 9 3)

4 1-55 9 10 8 27 days (17.31) (28.57) (57.14) (24.32) ------------------------------------------------------------Bonus Nil 2 2

Rs. 100-500

(3.85) (1.80)

29 2 5 2 37 (53.85) (5.72) (35.71) (20.00) (3~.33)

Rs.501- 12 13 2 5 32 900 {23.07) (37.14) (14.29) (50.00) (28.83)

Rs. 901- 10 20 7 3 40 1, 2GO (19. 23) {57.14) {50.00) (30.00) {36.04) ------------------------------------------------------------

D. A. Yes

No

48 33 12 9 {92.31) (94.29) (85.71) (90.00)

4 2 2 1 (7. 6 9) (5.71) (14.29) (10.00)

102 {91.89)

9 (8. 11)

------·------------ ·----------------·--

25B

workers a perman~nt status. The tenancy sys~em also allowed

the employer to divide his tannery among smaller employers

at least on paper and thereby avoid the provisions of the

Factories Act.

The leaders of the Tannery Union, however, played into

the hands of the Chinese employers by not insisting that

they maintain proper attendance registers and issue proper

employment letters to the workers. The leaders of the

Tannery Union are not only accused of being neglectful of

the workers• interests but are also char9ed with collusion

with the Chinese employers. It is said that thase leaders

appropriate commissions from the bonus or dearness allowance

to workers. Hence, because they compromise their positions,

the leaders have to look the other way when the employers

resort to retrenchment or other anti-1 abour policies. One

instance of such compromise came out into open when the

owner of Sunita Tannery brought out a pamphlet accusing

the General secretary of the Tannery Union of taking bribes

from him. The Harijan employer of this tannery stated

that he had 'good relations • with the General secretary,

Shri Ram Bilash Ram, in the past. He had helped Shri Ram

in buying land and getting his daughter 'married. The union

leader in turn ensured that the employer had a peaceful

war.k force, even when the union had called strikes in other

tanneries of China Town. The employer stated that when he

stopped helping Shri Ram, trouble began in his tannery.

The pamphlet gave details of when and for what purpose

money was paid to Shri Ram, including details such as cheque

number, name of the commercial bank on whi. ch the cheque was

drawn and other witnesses to that.

The treasurer of this union, Shri N.N. Ram, does not

deny the charges labelled against Shri Ram Bilash Ram. He,

however, maintains that the union President, Shri Chandeswar

Das, is not involved in such practices. He expresses his

helplessness in countering corruption because there are far

too many corrupt leaders and that even the parent Party

(CPI) had lost control over these leaders.

The Chinese employer's reaction to the st-3te of trade

unionism also indirectly confirms the thesis of union- .

management collusion in China Town tanneries. The Chairman

of the China Town Citizen Committee, for example,claimed

that some union leaders including leaders of the Tannery

Union take bribes. He said that the Chinese employers

pre £erred the Tannery Union since it is 'disciplined •. He

went on to say that •a special form of kinship between us

and the Tannery Union has brought about industrial peace

through better understanding• and hence the Chinese employers

would not easily allow the Employees Union to gain an entry

into China Town. It is important to note here that nearly

40 per cent of the interviewed members of the Tannery Union

agreed that employers favoured their union. In the case of

2{)0

the Federation or the Mazdoor Sabha, however, complaints

mainly refer to leaders • lack of contact with the workers.

The Tannery Union still has managed to retain its base

in China Town, first, due to the caste and regional identity

of its leaders, and second, because employers favour the

union. The Chinese employers favour this uni.on so much

that if workers openly defy the leaders of the Tannery Union

and join any other· union, they may lose their job or even /

face physical torture. Thus wherever the Employees Union

replaced the Tannery Union in China Town, the employers

subjected its members to considerable trouble. For instance,

the Penhoo Tanning Indus try was closed down by its employer

in 1982 following 20 of its 30 workers shifting over to the

Employees Union from the Tannery'union. The lockout

continued for six months and physical fight broke out.

In other tanneries in China Town, the members of Employees

Union are frequently enticed to change over to the Tannery

Union by the employers who offer them loan or special leave

facility.

The organisation and style of functioning of the the

Tannery Union also p:OJ.tle adequate scope ·toJemployers to

collude with the union leaders. Though th:! union has an

Executive Committee of ten members, only four members of

this conmittee <Ram Bilash Ram, Chandeswar Das, Jogi Ram

and Sukhu Ram) look after the problems of the workers.

2f>1

Mare importantly, each of these four leaders deal indivi-

dually with the affairs of particular tanneries; and when-

ever any dispute arises workers contact that particular

leader since their employer listen to him only. The

Executive Committee meetings are hardly called and only

when a strike is organised the services of other Executive

Committee members including a few Party (CPI). members are

utilised. The Executive Committee, however, has never

passed any decision against the top four leaders since it

is mostly comprising of men 'close• to these leaders. Since

a few persons daninate the union affairs, leaders cannot

ensure proper implementation of agreements in diverse

tanneries sPr-ead over a vast area. True, a few leaders

did acquire charisma by successfully mobilising workers

and fighting far their causes. But their charisma also

made then targets of inter and intra-union rivalries. The

leaders, there fare, are farced to move in taxis with body

guards. Such arrangements only serve to alienate them

from the workers further.

of The style of functioningLthe Federation is similar

to that of the Tannery Union. Its leader Shri S.M. Imam

is locally reputed as an effective trade unionist. The

Federation, however, suffers from lack of infrastructural

facilities in the form of offices and support staff in the

tanning area. The workers have to trudge a long distance

to Imam's office to corrmunicate their grievances. In the

f)("' J '~ ) (;.,

case of the Mazdoor Sabha, its charismatic leader is old

and is unable to keep in,daily touch with the workers.

The Employees Union, on the contrary, has enlarged

its base in recent years because of its style of function-.

ing. The union has set up Unit committees in tanneries

where its members dominate. The leaders of these Unit

Committees are empowered to negotiate and settle any dispute

in consultation with the Executive Committee. The EXecutive

Committee has eight members who take important policy

decisions and guide the Unit Committees. Only in exceP­the

tional cases, the members oL'Executive Canmittee are directly

involved in bargaining process. By following such practices,

the Employees Union has gone against the practice of •top

leader based negotiation•. This practice has initially been

disliked by the employers since it prevents them from estab-

lishing 'good relations • with the top leaders of the union.

The employer of Alam Tannery in Tapsia, for example, initia-

lly refused to negotiate with the Unit Ccmmi ttee leader of

the factory. The striking workers were asked to bring their

top leaders. The Employees Union leadership, however, stuck

to its principle and forced the employer to negotiate with

the Unit Committee leaders. The Executive Committee

strictly supervises the work of Unit Canmittee leaders.

It is claimed that this •control and check system• does not

allow any Unit Canmi ttee leader to betray the interests of

the workers. In the recent past, the Employees Union has

2B3

suspended one of its Unit Committee leaders and one Executive

Cornmi ttee member on charges of taking bribes from the emplo-

yers which shows that the organization can check dominant

personal! ties to a considerable extent.

The success of the Employees Union is also due to the

political climate in the State since 1 <n7. The CPI (M) led

government in West Bengal has inspired the members of the

union to work actively during strikes without fear of

police intervention in normal trade union disputes. AS a

result~ the workers are not afraid of getting arrested by

the police for picketing at the tannery gate. 18 On the

contrary, the members of the union have experienced that

police cOmes to their help in case of attacks on them by

the employers • men. Moreover, the local CPI (M) members and

its student and youth supporters also have helped the union

during strikes. Most of the Executive Committee members of

union are actually local leaders of the CPI (M). The President

of the union is a local MLA fran the CPI (M), and its General I

Secretary is a member of the Calcutta Corporation from the

same party. Hence, the union, which operates from the local

party office of the CPI (M), receives all kinds of help fran

the Party. The close union-Party relationship has proved

beneficial to the Union.

In the leather goods and footwear industry, the only

union which could satis·fy all its members is the Mazdoor

Union. Thd.s union has succeeded in bargaining for higher

")(' 1 r.. )

wage rate and other facilities like bonus, leave, ar..d

dearness allowance fer its members. This is, however, not

the only reason why the Mazdoor Union is liked by its

members. Other unions like the Sramik Union have also

succeeded in achieving sQ'ne demands for their members. The I

major difference lies in the work style of the leaders of

these unions. The leaders of the Mazdoor Union, unlike

others, are in constant touch with the union members and

their day-to-day problems and try to solve them. The

leaders of Sr ami l< Union do not get enough time because

they also have to manage the affairs of the TB!:l~ry Union.

The founder of the Charmakar Sangha Shri Sivprasanya Das,

comes only once a year to finalise the bonus claims of a

fev·J '.oJorkers. Only if he succeeds in getting higher bonus

rates, the 30 members of his union in Chatawala Gali pay

their dues. Otherwise, they contact the leaders of Workers

Union. It has been mentioned earlier that none of these

unions has organised any strug·;rle over the 1 as t fifteen

years. The Workers Union, oldest among the present unions

in the leather goods and foo~ar industry, has failed to

revive its organisational strength after the death of its

founder in 1973. The union's day-to-day work is now sanehow

managed by its ASsistant Secretary, Shri Raj Kishore Ram,

a worker in a Chinese shoe factory in Chatawala Gali .. Other

office bearers are all non-workers and trey take less

2{,~

h)

interest in union's work. The Lal Jhanda Union has also

become inactive due to the negligence of its founder, Shri

Milan Verma. The union is mace or less defunct now and

some of its members in New Market area have already shifted

to the Mazdoor Union. Milan Verma claims that during the

seventies he tried his best to organise shoe workers in

the Chinese factories but the local party (CPI (M)) leaders.

pai:i little attent;ion to such activities. He says that he

could not persuade a 1 arge number of Harij an workers in the

Chinese shoe factories to leave the Wcckecs Union and take

recourse to militant actions because of the Harij an wcckers •

attachment to their cas·te leaders. Also, the experience of

two long strikes in 1961 and 1 rn 3, which resulted in no

major gain, made them antagonistic towards strikes. Mr. Verma

1 aments that,

If I can bargain higher wage rates for workers, they will be happy; but if I ask them to join a strike or a demonstration for their demands, they are not prepared.

The leadership of the Mazdoor Union, has, however,

proved that if correct tactics are followed, if the union and if

leaders are commi tted,_"help from political party is available)

workers of even small workshops could be mobilised to take

to a militant course of action. It has been mentioned

earlier that the Mazdoor Union (and also the Sramik Union)

has succeeded in making even those workers of sports goods

workshops its members, who are relative of their employers

2f)E

and who eat and sleep with their employers. The union

leaders have correctly avoided the course of going through

labour tribunals which take long time. They rather have

depended on the strength of union and Party volunteers,

and utilised the division between the small and big sports

goods manufacturers to attain success. Also the strategy

of calling strikes during the peak business seasons paid

off.

But we should. admit that whatever has been done in

the leather goods and footwear in::lustry is just a begin-

ning. Trade unions will have to go a long way to establish

themselves properly. To what extent they would be able to

fight effectively for the workers will be determined by

their strategy and commitment to fi~ht for the workers'

causes. This is true about u9ions in the tanning industry

also.

III. SOME IMPCRTANT OBSERVATIONS ON TI-E PROBLEMS ~~ PROSPECTS OF UNIONISM IN THE LEATI£R INDUS1RY:

Over the last forty years or more, trade unions in

the leather industry in Calcutta have tried to organise

workers and fight for their economic demands. Quite a few

of the struggles launched by unions, as detailed earlier,

have proved successful. But still only a small proportion

of workers enjoy Provident FUnd and E SI benefits • This

is ins pi te of the fact that in the tanning indus try nearly

'>f'7 '~ )

seventy per cent of the workers are unionised. Unions

in the leather goods and foot·.vear industry could, however,

organise only a few of workers. Lack of initiative on the

part of trade unions in recruiting new members has been a

contributory factor to the sluggish growth of trade unions

in this sector of leather industry. There are, however,

several other problems confronting the trade unions in the

leather industry.

In the earlier two sections, I pointed out that the

style of functioning of some of the unions, the negative

role played by their leaders, and inter-union rivalry have

been largely responsible far poor state of unionism in the

indus try. Lack of ini ti ati ve on the part of a few union

leaders and their concern with winning over employers •

favour have done much harm to trade unionism. Further,

several union leaders have betrayed the workers• interests

for their personal gains. The leaders of the Tannery Union

are regarded as pro-management men who turn a blind eye

to blatant violations of labour laws, and non-implementa-

tion of agreements. Even when the Chinese employers have

deliberately gone back on the agreements they had signed,

the union leaders have not protested. In the leather shoe

industry, the Chinese employers utilised their 'good

relations • with the leaders of the Workers Union for

bypassing· the claims of the Lal Jhanda Union. The settle­

ments reached between the employers and Workers Union

2BB

during the last two decades have secured only a marginal

increase in the wage and bonus rates. Union-management

collusion has weakened the other unions fighting for the

exploited w~kers. Though the union management collusion

has particularly helped the Tannery Union to retain its

base in Chfna Town, it has gone against the workers • interest

in general.

Similarly, the caste factor which favoured the growth

of unionism in the industry at a particular stage of its

development, now weakens the trade union movements by divid­

ing the workers and instilling caste and ethnic conscious­

ness. The Nepali workers in Chinese tanneries consider the

Tannery Union as "Harij ans • Union" which cannot properly

protect their interests. Caste and region feelings have

also be~n utilised to maintain the influence of corrupt

union leaders.

AS against the style of functioning of the Tannery

Union or Workers Union, the Employees Union and the Mazdo~

Sabha have becane popular because their leaders are supposed

to be committed to the workers • interest. Also, these

unions allow their lower level leaders and members to

participate in the decision making processes thereby limit­

ing the scope for collusion between labour and management.

This arrangement also makes for prompt redressal of workers •

grievances.

Inter-union rivalry has also weakened the strength

of trade union movement in the leather indus try. Such

rivalry arises mainly because of differences in union's

perspectives, in the level of commitment of their leaders,

and their desire for s hart-term gains. The employers have

over the years taken advantage of inter-union rivalries.

For instance, the Employees Union members of Saber a and

Canpany went on a strike in February, 1986, for demands

like payment of monthly wage in time, payment of earliPr

dues and reinstatement of retrenched workers. The other

union. in the tannery, namely the Federation, did not

support this strike and asked its members to continue

work. The owner of the tannery utilised this rift during

the strike and assured the Federation of his sympathy and

cooperation in the future. AS a result, inspite of fighting

jointly against the employer, the members of the two unions

remain locked in a mutual fight.

A proper evaluation of the problems of unionism in

the leather industry also involves the way union have fixed

their priorities in dealing with workers• grievances. Though

unions have fought for the ful fi lmen t of economic demands

of their members, the implementation of the settlements is

not given proper importance by all the unions. AS a result,

a 1 arge number of workers in the tanneries in China Town,

for instance, have remained temporary though employers have

270

formally agreed to make them pP.rmanent. On the contrary,

due to constant pressure from the Employees Union leader­

ship, the employers in South Beleghata and Tapsia are

forced to make a 1 arge nwnber of their workers permanent

and provide the.'Tt statutory benefits. .Aqain, trade unions

in both tanning and leather goods and footwear industry

have rarely fought for better working condition or against

health hazards. First Aid Box is seldom maintained and

workers are not provided with safety equipment. But trade

unicns have not even tried to inform workers about potential

dangers in work. Though the tanning process involves dealing

with dangerous chemicals and machines, ever 50 per cent

of the workers in tanneries, as has been mentioned earlier,

do not have E s I card. On the is sue of safety and

security of leather industry workers, trade unions could

have mobilised public opinion. This, as a corollary, could

have added extra momentum to their struggle for various

economic demands of the workers. But not a single trade

union has made safety and security of workers an issue of

struggle. Most of the workers in the leather industry drink

alcohol and on an average they spend between ~.30 to

Rs. 50 a month for this. But, for all trade unlon leaders

this is quite a natural phenanenon.

It should, however, be maintained that the task to

fight even for the economic demands of the workers is not

an easy job every where. In the leather industry in Calcutt~

271

industrial sickness and resulting unemployment have made

the trade unions defensive in sane places. For instance,

nearly 500 workers of the National Tannery are fighting for

the last few years to retain their jobs under the leader­

ship of CITU and INTUC unions. Inefficient management and

a long period of low productivity rendered the tannery sick

for over two decades. Hence, members of both the unions in

the tannery have not even protested that production bonus

or canteen allowance are not being paid far the last few

years. The same is the case with the workers of Standard

Tannery, C.R. c. Tannery, I. c. Limited, and a few other

tanneries.

The structure of the lEather indus try itself has put

obstacles to the growth of strong unionism. In an indus-

trial structure, where the small employers are subordinated

to the interests of big employers as well as wholesalers,

trade unions may find it di f fi cult to articulate their

struggle only against the small employers who are just

intermediaries. In the leather goOds and footwear industry,

for example, trade unions have faced a simi 1 ar kind of

situation. The wages of their members cannot be raised

unless the wholesalers of sports goods or shoe businessmen

raise rates given to small employers. In such a situation,

if trade unions squeeze the small employers, it may le-ad to

decrease in product! vi ty. Ultimately any fight on behalf

of the workers gets centred around those who control the

business.

272

The Mazdoor Union adopted a strategy of divide and rule.

The union decided to sympathise with the small employers who

merely perform •job work' and to counter the wholesalers.

This may, over time, develop cQ'nplications. The small sports

goods manufacturers can any day refuse to cooperate with the

union and they may as well join hands with the wholesalers.

In organising workers in small works hops, trade unions

face several problems. Thus the workers of leather sandal

workshops in Central Calcutta had not joined any union be.cause

most Of them were relatives of their employers. The informal

systen of recruitment by which relatives or known persons

are employed generally prevent workers from joining unions.

Further, a worker who works along with his employer develops

close and personal relationship with tum. Trade unions in

the leather industry succeeded in breaking this nexus by using

regional and caste loyalties. The history of unionism in the

leather industry shows that workers generally cnoose a union

led by leaders sharing their caste and regional background.

But the vast pool of unemployed persons in Calcutta sets

sharp limits to the growth of trade unionism. The trend

now-a-days of replacing Harij an workers by Nepali and Punj abi

workers in the tanning indus try. is inimical to the growth of

unionism. It has been ob:3erved that trade union~ eaftnot

always resort to mili t.:~nt course of action like strikes.

Poor Harijan workers, even in the tanning industry, cannot

sustain themselves for long at Calcutta 1..rithout work and

leave for their homes during prolonged strikes. Hence

unions in the leather goods and foot·~ar indus try call

strikes only during the peak business seasons. The strikes

are usually general strikes affecting a large number of

workers in a particular division of industry if not workers

in all the divisions.

In the tanning industry also trade unions, for nearly

three decades, have mainly confined themselves to the stra-

tegy of organisin~ struggles on industry-wide basis. There

have been instances of even two or more trade unions going

tor j oint actions • However, after 1 981 trade unions have

mainly taken up the demands of worker's worKing in a single

industrial establishment arising mainly from the non-

implementation of agreements signed by the employers or

due to the violation of labour laws. During the last few

years trade unions have not raised any fresh demand which

could have resulted in industry-wide actions. While this

strategy of organising unit level struggle has helped

trade unions to consolidate their strength, it has came in

the way of pr anoti ng workers • solidarity. There have,

of course, been attempts on the part of trade unions to

involve workers in solidarity actions, but workers• parti­

cipation in such actions is low. Perhaps the post-1981

trends reflect the ruling Party's dilerrma. While it is

ideologically committed to militant trade unionism, it

cannot afford to alienate employers who may resort to

lcclc-ou ts and closures.

').., 1 ,_ ' l

It can be Said that trade unionism in the Calcutta

leather industry cannot be visualised without recognising the workers • causes. Party volunteers

the role played by political parties in supporti.ngLand the

infra-structural support of party organisations have helped

trade unions mobilise workers on a large scale and overcome

the institutional obstacles. Yet this type of political

linkage has promoted a unionism which aroused only an instru-

mental consciousness among the workers. It has yet to gene-

rate a sense of working class solidarity and consciousness

which transcends bread-butter issues of daily existence. It

can be argued that trade unions cannot transcend economism

·because of the structure of the economy. When the employers

can subdivide and fragment their enterprises and when they

can substitute militant Harijan workers with docile and

loyal Nepalis and when strikes reduce the volume of business

of small football employers in Calcutta and drive them out

of business by exposing them to compe titi.on from manufac-

turers of synthetic football in Punjab, it is clear that

trade unionism will be bo;}ged down in •economism• for quite

some time. But to condemn trade unionism on these grounds out the

is like throwingLthe baby withLb~th water. The major issues

in the contl!xt of Calcutta leather industry are the contra­

dictions that trade unionism has generated. A theory of

the practice of trade unionism should squarely confront

the contradictions generated by the very success of unionism.

2 ,_, r: ' t.J

When trade unions succeed im fighting for the war kers •

interests they not only reinforce a tendency towards econo-

mism on the part of workers, but they also generate back­

lashes fran a monopolistic economic structure which may

exacerbate the economic problems of workers instead of

relieving them. In such a situation, the practitioners

of trade unionism have to grasp the general economic trends

and develop a strategy which promotes the long term interests

of workers and realise their potential as agents of change.

To work out such a strategy, it will be instructive now to

turn to the problems of trade unionism in Calcutta's book-

binding industry.

NOTES:

1.

2.

3.

4.

s.

6.

All these Harijan· leaders of South Tangra were earlier workers in Tanner:;ies. They received considerable help from Babu Jagjivan Ram while forming the RDEC.

Mr. Ramananda Das was an influenclal leader of the BPDCL in West Bengal. In the first Parliamentary election he stood fran Dumdum constituency of West Bengal as a Congress Party candidate and won heavily.

See, for details, Labour Investigation Cormnittee, !!~ECX:.!- on Lab_gY!:_f~!.!!..2~!!L!annery and Leathe£ Goods Factories by Ahmed Mukhter (Simla: Govt. of india ~ess;-1146), pp.so-s1 •

.!!2iOoe 1 P• 81.

Be fore joining the Azad Hind Force, Kamal Bose was a pilot in the Royal Indian Airforce. He was arrested by the German Soldiers in Middle East and then taken to prison camps in Greece, Rome and Henbarge. He was caught again by the British Army in Kohima in August, 1945.

The Fifth Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal, £:.!!.sg-ttt gazette, (Par~) Extrao/.dinary, April 19th, 195 , pp.S00-3. .

7. !bid., p.801.

() .. , l' ::.. I )

8. Both these leaders were Executive Committee members of the R avi Das Ek ta Conmi ttee.

9. see, far details, The First Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal, The Calcutta Gazette, Part I-C, September 26, 1%3, w.82~~ --

10. According to section 79 of the Factories Act of 1948 every worker, who has worked for a period of 240 days or more in a factory during a calendar year, shall be allowed during the subsequent calendar year, leave with wages tor a number of days calculated at the rate of - (i) if an adult, one day for every twenty days of work performed by him during the previous calendar year, (ii) if a child, one day for every fifteen days of work per formed by him during the previous calendar year.

11.. Government of India, Report of the Central wage Board !gE-~~~£_~~~2§9s-JEdustry Wew Delhi: Ministry of Labour, 1969).

12. ll21§., p.63.

13. Harij an workers in Calcutta also celebrate Durga Puj a. That is why the unions in the leather industry deman­ded bonus and 'Puja advance' before the festival.

14. Mr. Badal Kar was an influencial leader of the CITU in East Calcutta. He took a leading role in- forming the National Tannery Sramik and Employees Union and the Calcutta Rubber workers • Association during the first half of seventies.

15. It was reported that the party (CPI) was aware of such complaints. Ram Bilash Ram was a CPI member. There­fare, a secret enquiry at the party level was conduc­ted to establish the truth.

16. see, far details, K. Mamkoottam, Trade unionism:_My~ §Ed R_!.§!ity - Un!_2n~m in ~e Tata Iro~g__§te~ ~~ li5elhi: Oxford University Press, 1982); Vaid, K.N., "Why workers join Union", Indian ~ourna).-9£ Industrial Relations, vol.I, 1%5, pp.208-30; Sood, santosh, Traaeunion Leadership in India (New Delhi: Deep Pub.:l9s4 r:-pp. 16S-6 9.

17. All the Harij an leaders of the Tannery Union are from Bihar. They maintain extensive social and political link with their home towns. Recently, the President of the Union fought Assembly Election in the sta~e as a CPI nominee.

I) .._, '7 ::... I

18. Although the Left Front government's labour policy prohibits police intervention in normal trade union disputes, in the case of strike in the Amrit Bazar Patri ka office, the government was forced by a court order to .sent in the police to remove the striking CITU agitators. There were few such incidents in the state ove-r the past one decade-.