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Trade unions flay Supreme Court decision

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay

Trade unions today flayed the Supreme Court judgment yesterday upholding the Kerala high court judgment baning bandhs (general strikes). The Supreme Court dismissed a special leave petition filed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist challenging the Kerala high court judgment that bandhs are illegal and violate Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

Speaking to Rediff On The NeT, Arvind Nachane, general secretary, All-India Life Insurance Corporation Employees Federation, said, “Bandhs cannot be called illegal; it is only a means of expression of the oppressed classes. A bandh can be called illegal only if there is an act of violence and the life of the common people is affected. If people willingly want to shut down their operations against anti-government policies, then there is no harm in it.”

Echoing him, Madhukar Sarpotdar, Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (affiliated to the Shiv Sena) chief and a Shiv Sena member of Parliament, said, “Nobody calls a bandh without reason. If workers have no alternatives, only then do they call for a bandh. I do not welcome the Supreme Court decision.”

A Centre for Indian Trade Unions (affiliated to the Communist Party of India) press release said the Supreme Court judgment was a cruel slap on the people's democratic rights.

K H Dastoor, secretary, Association of Chemical Workers, an union associated with the Indian National Trade Union Congress, criticised the judgment for limiting workers' rights. “The decision is welcome as far as political bandhs are concerned. There are too many bandhs called by politicians for no reason. However, workers bandhs are limited and affects only the people employed by the company. I do not welcome this decision in the case of workers protesting against the management.”

Industrialists have welcomed the judgment. F T Khorakiwala, chairperson emeritus, Wockhardt Ltd, and a crusader against bandhs, hailed the decision. “Already, Indians have too many holidays. And if you add bandhs to that, there are hardly any workdays left in a year,” he said. “Bandhs are anti-national as they halt production and doe not answer the difficulties.”

Disagreeing with him, Nachane said, “About six million people have lost their jobs in America in the past two years. But they are looked after by the American government. However, in the case of India, there are no such schemes for poor workers. You cannot compare the developed world with the developing world.”

When asked what bandhs had achieved so far, Nachane replied: “It is not a question of achieving something by bandhs. What I can say is that by imposing bandhs, we have been able to prevent the bureaucracy and the government from implementing anti-labour and anti-national policies, which in itself is a great achievement.”

RELATED REPORT:
People pleased, politicians look for loopholes

EARLIER REPORT:
Reactions to judgment reveal politician-people chasm