Trade Union, Dalit & Minorities

Dalits and persecuted minorities being the poorest of the poor they naturally form the Indian working class the proletariat. Ambedkar called them born Marxists. It is this section which is the backbone of the organised trade union movement controlled mostly by the Left parties CPM and CPI. It is these dalits in the State owned and private sector industries who provide the muscle for the trade unions. It is they who shout slogans, carry banners, flags, stick posters, lead the strike, face the police bullets, get arrested, injured and face dismissals. It is true that a much larger section of the dalits and persecuted minorities are in the rural, unorganised sector (landless farm labourers) but our trade union movement has not bothered about tham. It is not paying. Therefore, here we are concerned with the urban, organised labour force controled by our trade unions which wield considerable influence. They can paralyse a city’s life. They can hold Bombay, Calcutta, Madras to ransom. A number of our unionised dalit comrades in different parts of India, particularly South, are facing a dilemma, torn between their class loyalties to unions & caste loyalties as Untouchables, tribes Muslims, Christians and OBCs. A number of them have complained that their trade unions, the leadership of which is in the hands of high caste Hindus, are indifferent if not hostile to their interests. So much so in all major Govt. undertakings such as Railways, LIC, P&T, RBI, banks, State owned industries, they are forced to form their own unions called SC & ST Welfare Associations & fighting for their recognition as a trade union. J. R. Antwal, chairman, P&T, SC/ST Employees Federation, New Delhi, has given such a call to all da it employees in India. When they are all members of a recognised, powerful trade union, what forced them to have a separate welfare association? The answer to this quest on will reveal the anti–dalit role played by our trade unions. We have the famous case of the Railway “Oppressed Employees Union” going to Supreme Court unsuccessfully challenging the reservations in promotions to SC/STs in Railways. Dalit employees alone collected funds to fight this case but our trade unions having huge funds refused to pay anything. in Canara Bank, we have the shocking story of a CPI controlled union siding with management whenever the dalit employees have a dispute. Dalit employees will be naturally most concerned with the implemention of constitutional reservations in recruitment and promotions. But on such a crucial issue dalit members of unions have found the trade union leadership more hostile to them than the management. In many cases, the trade union leadership is pressing the management not to implement reservations to SC/STs. Such complaints have come from almost every factory & office. The list will be too long if we go on citing cases of trade unions turning anti dalit & anti–minority. In the Madras Tank Factory (Defence Ministry) union leaders them–selves assaulted dalit employees for installing Ambedkar photo inside the factory. In Beharshariff communal riots, the CPI did not come forward to protect the interest of Muslim bidi workers who were killed in the riot (see Mainstream– 16–5 81, Pg. 887–89). The Karnataka Dalit Action Committee in a statement (March 22, 1981) about discrimination against SC/STs in Bangalore based public sector units said the workers are controlled by trade unions belonging to CPI, CPM. “These unions in which SC/STs are also members do not show any concern to the welfare of this section. In fact, the union leadership and management are one when it comes to the question of dalits“. We have reports from our dalit comrades of union office bearers themselves assaulting dalit colleagues at union meetings called to discuss reservations issues. in some places, dalit employees were removed from union posts for fighting on the reservations issue. Dalits are rarely given important positions in unions. Those who dare contest important posts get defeated. During the Gujarat Caste War, the Majoor Mahajan unions controlled by the Gandhi an INTUC got split on caste lines in all the Ahmedabad mills. Dalit workers are kept out of weaving depts. in all mills in India. Hindu workers attacked dalit coIleagues in Ahmedabad mills. It is this that forced the Gujarat Dalit Panthers led by Rameshchandra Paramar to think of forming their own Dalit mill workers union in Ahmedabad following the success of a strike call given by the Panthers. This is a significant development worth emulating by our dalit comrades all over India. From this we can make out that a new development is taking place in India’ on the trade union front. Caste is cutting into class. Because caste interests are stronger than class. That is why recognised trade unions have failed to protect the interest of Dalit workers who because of this are being forced to form their own unions. This is a welcome development. In South, dalits have formed their own unions in every offices & factory. In North, this is yet to develop. “Trade union movement is becoming increasingly irrelevant in India. While we will not deal with that subject now, we call upon our dalit and persecuted minority comrades in organised unions to realise this danger and get prepared for the combined onslaught on them both from the management and their own trade unions. Both have turned enemies to this section but in many cases, the union has become the bigger enemy. When dalits and persecuted minorities are facing special problems which other employees do not face, though poor, they have every right to have a separate trade union for themselves. Dalits and minorities should seriously apply their mind to this new development, assert their rights and face the challenge.