Manesar:
Class Struggle of the 21st Century
While right wing sections inside the
media, fanatically anti-working class bloggers, vested interest in the Haryana
establishment, and other sundry forces are baying for Trade Union/Communist
blood in the unfortunate incidents that took place inside the Maruti-Suzuki
plant at Manesar, sober assessment reveals a different
picture.
1991, the year that inaugurated new
economic policies and the liberalization drive, marked also the emergence of
new ideas regarding the management of productive forces. Large Public Sector sections were dismantled.
Enormous human and domestic/foreign capital resources were placed in the hands
of private corporate players. In the name of fiscal management, State
expenditure was sought to be restricted. But perhaps, most importantly, production
relations between labour and capital, workers and management, were altered.
Foreign Direct Investment in the
manufacturing sector brought in foreigners in management as well. The new
management structures—that included Indians and foreigners—were inculcated with
a new work ethic that placed growth above workers welfare: but the crucial change rested
in the way the new management culture downplayed the cultural sensitivities of
the Indian worker.
In a famous case that took place last
year in the Honda factory of Haryana’s industrial belt, foreign trained Indian managers
refused to allow workers to celebrate Vishvakarma
Pooja. In the Hindu pantheon, Vishvakarma
is the lord of tools and workers—his birthday is normally a holiday, no less
relevant than Ram Naumi, Buddha Jayanti or the birthday of
Prophet Muhammad.
Workers worship their tools on Vishvakarma Diwas. In Honda, a worker
was assaulted by the supervisor when, the latter tried applying a teeka on the former’s head. Indian
workers have their own definition of what constitutes `hard work’. It includes
whiling away time, bonding with fellow workers, and then putting in extra work
at the right time. Also, the sense of impersonal hierarchy is alien to Indian
workers. They can respect an angrez
who mingles with them; but they will boycott Indian managers trying to put up
foreign airs and indulging in unfamiliar hierarchical behaviour.
Foreign—especially American, German
and Japanese personals—were often found dumbfounded by these cultural
practices. Because of historic factors—the traditional resistance of the
Hindi-Urdu belt to British Imperialism, the
rugged-peasant masculinity and sense of honour—dubbed mistakenly, `pre-modern’
by social analysts—the management Vs worker clash was more severe in
post-liberalization, North Indian factories.
In the 1990s and 2000s, India saw
substantial creation of wealth. The culture of malls and new units in service
sector and manufacturing, inducted a new working force emerging from Bihar, Delhi,
Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The management culture in force looked more towards
casual, contract labour.
Affiliated either to Communists,
Congress, and BJP-Shiv Sena—or practicing Dutta Samant type syndicalism—the old
Unions were unable to read the modern times. After failing miserably in
creating space for casual/contract labour, they started losing their grip over
old working class centres as well.
Interestingly, the Gurgaon-NCR based
factories flirted at first with CITU and AITUC, the Trade Unions respectively
of the CPM and the CPI. The workers—most of them in their twenties—young,
restless and ambitious—however, soon grew tired of old negotiating skills of
traditional Unions. It is symptomatic that last year, the Manesar Maruti-Suzuki
plant, saw the emergence of a new Union with a new, younger leadership. Sonu
Gujjar, the erstwhile chief of the Union, typified the novel, 21st
century worker. By presenting the viewpoints of workers through con-calls and
other modern techniques, Sonu Gujjar grabbed national headlines. His colleagues
wanted their own voice, independent of the management, to be heard.
Indeed this contemporary worker,
especially in North India/Hindi-Urdu heartland, was both more rooted and
cosmopolitan. Unlike his counterpart of 1970s and 1980s, who hailed mainly from
a landless labour, poor peasant or a pauperized proletariat background, the
contemporary worker came from middle to upper-middle peasant backdrop. In
Indian terms, he belonged to a khaata-peeta
milieu—he was much more capable of acting on his own. He was part of the North
Indian pattidari village community system that ensured both bonding and
individuality. He had learned how to fight while growing up,
without getting inflicted with the scars of the lumpen proletariat. Averse to slow paced, constitutional ways, he
found the quick action recommended by radical Left activists—or `on their own’ marka angry young men—far more
attractive.
This contemporary worker disliked
both the detached persona of the foreign manager as well as the philistine,
pseudo-personalized approach of Indian mangers. He was as impatient with the taalu-chaalu andaaz of the foreigners as
with the baniagiri of Indian executives.
In March 2012, while the Manesar
plant was facing wage negotiations between the new Union and the management, two workers shocked the managers
with their statistical knowledge. The workers knew exactly that between 2007
and 2011 while the Maruti Suzuki
workers’ yearly earnings increased by 5.5 percent, the
consumer price index (for the Faridabad centre, Haryana), went up by over 50
per cent. Since 2001, profits for the Maruti Suzuki company increased
by 2200 percent!
So in any case, the Maruti Suzuki
management was throwing crumbs at the workers. The workers’ salary was in no
way, by any yardstick, commensurate with the rise in Company’s profit. Yet the Manesar plant management was not
ready to grant even a miniscule wage increase. Here, while contract labor got
Rs. 7000 a month, regular workers survived on a mere Rs. 17000. Manesar workers
were demanding wage increase of Rs. 15-18000, which the management was
resisting, even when Honda workers were getting similar pay scales.
In this period of global crisis, the
Maruti section(Swift and Dzire cars) was contributing more to Maruti Suzuki’s
super profits. There seems to be immense pressure on the management to reduce
wages in the name of increasing productivity. But why should Indian workers
always suffer during a downward spiral cycle of global capitalism?
The problem is that
post-liberalization India has no idea of 1857, India’s first war of
Independence. The Bengal Army of the East India Company, which remained at the
forefront of the war’s long and torturous course, comprised of soldiers from
the Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar belt. They rebelled against what
was seen as the insensitivity of a multinational company—the world’s largest
that managed a huge country like India plus other colonial stations—towards the
sense of dignity, pride and religion of both Hindus and Muslims.
It is imperative to note that the
Manesar incident arose following an anti-Dalit, caste slur issued by a
supervisor to Jiya Lal, a worker. Then Jat-Gujar-Tyagi-Dalit workers—belonging
to the Haryana region—and UP-Bihar Poorabias—united to give a fitting reply to the
miscreants belonging to the management. The management brought in hundreds of
bouncers to beat workers to submission. In fact, the official statement of the Maruti
Suzuki Workers’ Union, states that the bouncers started the fire that killed a
senior manager.
So class solidarity overcame caste
divisions—a
similar phenomenon occurred during 1857.
Both 1857 and Manesar incidents arose
out of cultural slights inflicted by an insensitive foreign/part-foreign
management. At the other end of the spectrum, it can be seen that like the
Manesar incident, the cultural aspect of 1857 carried a slew of wage related
issues, and other socio-economic grievances, nursed by soldiers against the British
East India Company.
It can be seen clearly that though
India runs on the workforce of UP, Bihar, Delhi and Haryana, the
people of these regions have historically resisted the homogeneity, uniformity
and conformity demanded by global corporate culture. These
workers demand their own indigenous-capitalist ethic, different from the west.
They are in no mood to comply. Be it Gujarat or whatever take, Maruti Suzuki
anywhere—Gujarat is not India. But UP, Bihar, Delhi and Haryana do constitute
India. The country is finished without these states. As the author signs off
this article, news about certain Jat sections of the Haryana establishment
dividing Jats and Gujars and undermining workers’ solidarity is pouring in—massive
police repression has been unleashed on workers. Without a proper enquiry,
workers are being blamed for the Manesar violence. Such tactics however are not
going to work—after twenty years of enormous liberalization, India is on the threshold of a
gigantic working class unrest. Indian people regard economic reform and the
English speaking managerial elite with disdain. They have tasted wealth—but
they also know that, foreigners and their lackeys have amassed riches a
thousand times over. With people of North Indian origin—their culture of
constructive violence and non-submission to power intact—leading this battle,
the stage is set for new class struggles of the 21st century. Like
the Anna Hazare movement of August 2011, the Manesar incident has taken all
political parties by surprise. Their political response system is simply, not
attuned to the new, 21st century Indian reality.
Comments:Sort by: Newest | Oldest | Recommended (40) | Most Discussed (11) | Agree (45)
Rajesh Upadhyay (Delhi)
says:
July 23,2012 at 01:30 PM IST
While references to 'gujrat' may have been avoided
in this article and so the 'glorification' of UP, Bihar, haryana...
There is no doubt that the article raises the most relevant points that
the mainstream media is trying to hide and avoid.
Any body who claims to be on the side of justice cant agree that the
workers be given only 5.5% raise when the price index goes up by 50% and
company's profit goes up by 2200%.
The Marutii management should take the responsiblity of creating the
situation for such incidents. The labour deptt has been a silent
spectator of the violation of rights of workers who had to for strikes
for a minimum democratic right of getting their union registered.
If the system thinks it can use the 'investment' illusion to convert
the workers to mere slaves, the Indian society is not going to tolerate
it. Support voices for workers have already started gaining ground.
There was a demonstration at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi on 21st July for
justice to workers. And this support process continues.
Harsh (India)
says:
July 23,2012 at 12:35 PM IST
There is some thing seriously wrong in management
admission or in the training as very low HQ people get the job that
bound to create problem. The human nature and behavior basically depend
on the natural climatic conditions of that particular region and place.
It is very much necessary the working conditions have to be managed
according to that and global generalization of rules and regulation in
human management is wrong. In most tropical country, the human output
is low and it has natural reason. The management policies have to strike
proper balance between the business demand, requirements and
limitations posed by the natural constraints, then only the problems of
unnecessary shut down can be minimized.
Sharma M C L (Bangalore)
says:
July 23,2012 at 12:07 PM IST
Although the killing of a Maruti executive is not
pardonable, the overall approach and demand of the Maruti workers are
justified. The workers are right in demanding their religious culture to
be practised. Managers cannot stop the workers from performing
Vishwakarma worship. In reality, it is the aggression of North Indian
Hindus that has saved Hinduism in India. If North Indians were weak then
the British or Mughals would have wiped out Hinduism from India
Vee (North India)
says:
July 23,2012 at 11:28 AM IST
To,
The editor and web site handler and
the mainstream maniac
Times of India
Sirs
Is this man who has wrote the above article sane? "Gujarat is not India"
are his words. This writer is absurd in his thought process. He further
wrote " united to give a fitting reply to the miscreants belonging to
the management.
People like him are the major reason that we the people of India are
suffering from caste-ism and violence.
The stage is not set for a class struggle but should be set to give this
writer to suffer out of his north Indian constructive violence.
If this writer is attuned to his own reality least he should do is reply
to all the comments to this article and apologize to the Indians.
Anonymous (Mumbai)
says:
July 23,2012 at 11:12 AM IST
After reading this blog, I read the blogger's
profile twice and, I am not at all surprised in what he has blogged. The
comparison to the '1857 uprising', 'Gujurat is not India',
'constructive violence',etc.etc.(mercifully he did not drag Narendra
Modi in to this. Perhaps, in his excitement he simply forgot!) , all
fits into his 'dalit/minority/human right activist' profile. I have now
come up with what I would to call as the 'ACTIVIST THEOREM' and I think
it is time tested and proven true on several occasions. And, it runs
like this:
THE SUCCESS OF ANY ACTIVIST(HUMAN OR ANIMAL RIGHTS) IS DIRECTLY
PROPORTIONAL TO OUTRAGEOUS STATEMENT HE/SHE MAKES PUBLICLY OR POSITIONS
HE/SHE TAKES.SUCCESS VANISHES WHEN THE ACTIVIST STOPS MAKING/TAKING
OUTRAGEOUS STATEMENTS/POSITIONS.
Here are some examples to support it:
1) An 'activist' says J & K should be part of Pakistan. This
activist will be on on TV channels Prime time panel discussion and
allowed to make even more ridiculous statements.
2) An 'animal activist' says that 'stray dogs and mad dogs which maim
and bite people should be treated with love, affection and
compassion.Actually, it is the human beings which drive these poor
animals mad.
(Reply to Anonymous)-
P P Rajagopalan
(Chennai)
says:
July 23,2012 at 12:15 PM IST
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After replying to your earlier post, I once again
read Amaresh Misra's article. Yes, there is a tinge of parochialism in
it. I also agree with you that controversial positioning is a passport
to get into limelight! But that does not alter the overall substance he
presented. That the workers are denied and provoked are beyond doubt.
Maruti Suzuki deserve to be blamed more than the workers - that is the
bottom line.
(Reply to Anonymous)-
Sushant (Kuwait)
says:
July 23,2012 at 12:32 PM IST
After reading this article - which is an insult to
any intellectual's sensibilities- I have decided to refrain from reading
further articles from this author. Statements made by him are
definitely anti nationalistic and divisionary in nature. I agree with
Anonymous one his views about the article and the author and certainly
wish to know what sort of editor allows such statements like 'Gujrat is
not India' to be a part of his newspaper.
I am totally for the rights of the employees ( again, please refrain
from using the word labourors) and it is the duty of the Maruti Suzuki
management to adress their concerns.
Each organization, while being responsible towards its employees, is
also responsible towards its stakeholders and no matter which company it
is, the stakeholders always want to see growth in profits and overall
growth of the organization. What happened in the Manesar plant of Maruti
Suzuki is not something that anyone wants - netiher the employess, nor
the management and definitely not the stake holders. Instead of a post
mortem of events form 1857 to current date, what is needed and what will
benefit everyone involved is to give time and understand the concerns
of all parties and come to a logical, win - win conclusion of this
incident.
S Mohandas (pune)
says:
July 23,2012 at 11:11 AM IST
Misra ji , your great union leaders should build
their own factory having already learnt whatever skills are required to
build world class cars. They should employ only Biharis, Haryanvis
UPites and ofcourse the great citizens of "Daly"and give them a minimum
of Rs 50,000 per month with a mandatory 20% hike every year , 8 hours
shift with suitable tea ,lunch , biological and socialising breaks.
akumar (mumbai)
says:
July 23,2012 at 11:00 AM IST
Such warped logic! The problem with people like
Amaresh Mishra is pure jealousy. These frustrated columnists were left
behind by their classmates in pursuit of success and now is the time of
retribution. I can say with certainty that Mishra must have prepared for
civil services during his student days where he picked up bits about
1857 movement. and now he will leave no chance to apply it anywhere to
showcase his intellectual superiority. People like Mishra will leave no
stone unturned to destroy the Indian growth just to satisfy their
bloated misdirected egos. We Indians have seen time and again the menace
of unionism which has served only to destroy job creating industries.
Who can forget Datta Samant and his destruction of Bombay textile
industries. Or for that matter jute industry of Bengal and absymally low
productivity in public sector. Only one sector which has seen
tremendous job creation is IT sector, and the only differentiating
factor has been the non application of stringent labor laws in the
sector. Now even that sector is coming under the gaze of revolution
spewing comrades. God save India from these people.
sughoshbansal Bansal
(Delhi NCR)
says:
July 23,2012 at 10:49 AM IST
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It is apparent that Amaresh Mishra is on this earth
155 years late. 2012 is not 1857 and should not be compared. Today the
people are more enlightened, and knowledgeable about their rights and
their duties. But alas they care only for their rights but not of their
duties. It appears that this Amaresh Mishra was an eye witness to the
episode, thenwhy is he not co-operating with the probe. Suzuki is not
foreigner to this country and so is the case with many more foreign
companies which are running their operations pretty successfully in the
country in general and Gurgaon in particular. Labour unrest based upon
wages, working environment and many other matters can be justified and
there are set procedures to resolve them. And none of those procedures
contain or can justify burning a human being alive. People of the like
of Amaresh must bear in mind (1) Business is not run for charity; (2) No
business is forcing the worker to join them. A worker joins an
organisation for the worker’s own self needs and not for the
businessmen; (3) The organisation is successful if it operates based
upon laid down principles, norms and protocol and not to satisfy the
whims of the workers; (4) In any organisation one has to give respect to
the relationship between the supervisor and subordinate, elder and
younger, experience and inexperience, productivity and inefficiency. If
one does not respect these, he has no business to remain the part of
that organisation. Amaresh’s dislike of Foreigners can be understood but
then throw them out of the country. Once George Fernandes did throw out
IBM and Pepsi but his successors brought them in and they are today far
more stronger than ever. A worker may be frustrated in his life for
various reasons other than Maruti Suzuki but he does not get a license
to kill his supervisor. And a Contract worker is working in Maruti for
Rs. 6,000 only because he is not able to earn even that out of Maruti.
July 23,2012 at 10:38 AM IST
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Haha so Gujarat is not India but UP and Haryana with
its caste cauldron and bad work ethic is India. Shows what a great view
of India you have Mr Misra. I agree the workers most of them contract
labourers werent given adequate compensation but in these modern times
killing isnt the answer. Datta Samant destroyed the textile industry of
Mumbai. Manesar is looking to go down that same path now
(Reply to Mandar Karnik)-
Sangharshi (Bangalore)
says:
July 23,2012 at 11:42 AM IST
I am surprised whether you have read the piece of
Amaresh Misra carefully! It may not have conveyed what you wish to hear.
But I can tell you that you have not understood the context of Amaresh
telling that Gujarat is not India. What is meant is that in this context
Gujarat is not typical of India. He is postulating a theory to
understand the labour relation in the changed context, and particularly
with reference to Delhi Capital Region. How many Gujarathis do you see
there among the workers? Most of the workers come from these states
whether it's Gujrat, Delhi or Maharashtra. People can have their own
opinion. But that won’t change facts. Analysis of the ground realities
matches with class of achievements the author has as an historian and
novelist.
Indian (US)
says:
July 23,2012 at 10:31 AM IST
Mr Misra tends to blame everything on Hindus. What
has rightwing sections of media got to do with this Mr Misra. The
hollowness of your mind, in blaming rightwing and Hinduism, stands
exposed. Haryana has been ruled by your favorite Sonia Gandhi's party,
central govt from 2004 is your favorite Sonia Gandhi's- yet the blame on
right wing for criticizing the violence without even issuing a
statement against Sonia? You have been at the forefront in criticizing
BJP governments for a non issue and yet when this scale of violence
rocked Manesar, not a single journalist has questioned the stoic silence
maintained by the state CONGRESS govt. You now try to turn the tables
by saying fire was started by the management and not the workers - the
destruction and damage caused, has many witness' who managed to save
themselves, so stop trying your old tricks of fooling people.
Finally though every true Indian believes in providing the hardworking
workers their due, this kind of violence has to be stopped and guilty
should be punished.
Amareesh Misra your biased articles have eroded your credibility to
provide honest viewpoints. You have been relegated to the trash can and
no blogger considers your articles worthwhile (the ratings you receive
are a reflection of it). Your answer is anticipated Right-wing Hindus
giving you negative marks….???
Search for a new job sir..
(Reply to S.Anand)-
VIKAS (DELHI)
says:
July 23,2012 at 10:32 AM IST
a class called worker class has more than often
allways been oppressed by foreign trained managers + sympathised by
IDIOTS like Mr Aravind
if u r statistically unaware about the situation - u r insane!!!
No doubt the loss of life is disregarded
but how do u retaliate when again n again u r oppressed!!!!!
the message is these MARUTI managers must reconcile their differences
by undertaking welfare initiatives
simply sending in police teams n bouncers will only aggravate the
situation
a lock -out 'LL LEAD TO DELAYS
N I THINK WEN THEY SUFFER THE LOSSES THEY'LL GET THE HAMMER ON THEIR
HEAD N THEN THE MANGMNT LL TAKE STEPS POSITIVE
AFTERALL THIS WAS NOT XPECTED FROM A TRUSTED INDIAN giant MARUTI
(Reply to S.Anand)-
Pravin (Pune)
says:
July 23,2012 at 10:39 AM IST
I am always amazed with the communist/Socialist
writers. Right from pre-independence era, they have been the
parasites/virus eating at the progress of India. There is no
constructive violence. Dont have to go far in history, Gandhiji halted
his agitation due to Chauri Chaura incident for the same reason. No
agitation or struggle can justify use of violence. FULL-STOP.
(Reply to S.Anand)-
Ashwini (Bangalore)
says:
July 23,2012 at 11:51 AM IST
I think it is you who should feel stupid for your
lack of understanding even a simple article based on facts and ground
realities. You cannot justify violence but at the sametime you cannot
neglect the injustice and abuses which were the reason behind it. Most
of the uprisings in the world have similar patterns. phrase. I am
surprised whether you have read the piece of Amaresh Misra carefully! It
may not have conveyed what you wish to hear. But I can tell you that
you have not understood the context of Amaresh telling that Gujarat is
not India. What is meant is that in this context Gujarat is not typical
of India. He is postulating a theory to understand the labour relation
in the changed context, and particularly with reference to Delhi Capital
Region. How many Gujarathis do you see there among the workers? Most of
the workers come from these states whether it's Gujrat, Delhi or
Maharashtra. People can have their own opinion. But that won’t change
facts. Analysis of the ground realities are eye-opening for the HR
management and leadership of any manufacturing company in India.
Excellent article!!
Bhagwad Jal Park
(Chennai)
says:
July 23,2012 at 09:20 AM IST
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You're insane. "Construc
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