They Empty Cinder Out Of Their Shoes

On February 16, Jat agitators in Haryana were on their third day of protest, demanding reservation in government jobs. They attacked public property, set vehicles on fire and didn’t even spare the police. But the leaders were invited for talks by Ha­r­yana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and, within a month, the demands were met.

On the same day, barely 80 km away, in Rajasthan, a different story was unfolding—one that has not concluded so easily. When a worker in the paint ­section of Honda Motors & Scooters India (HMSI) refused to do overtime ­because he had become ill from doing so for several days, he was allegedly abused and assaulted by the supervisor. This was around 2.30 pm as the shifts were about to change. In white uniforms with white-green caps, the 1,700 or so workers ­attempted a spontaneous sit-in instead of changing their shift. Police and bouncers hired by the company last August (when workers tried to form a trade union) soon landed. HMSI says the police only “used mild force”. But Raj­pal (25), a member of the proposed union, says: “They beat us like animals.” In their police complaint, they say at least six workers suffered head injuries and 60 others were hurt. Nearly 3,000 workers went on strike. Over the next three days, police rounded up over 90 workers on the Rajasthan-Haryana border and charged them with attempt to murder, rioting and looting. (They managed to secure bail but only with heavy sureties.)

The differential treatment in the two cases highlights an unspoken bias in the system. While dominant groups can get away with violence, weaker sections pay a heavy price for much less. And while the government speaks of ‘Skill India’ and ind­ustry moans the dearth of skilled workers, trained and experienced workers risk being sacked for the flimsiest of reasons. “Pro­duction started the very next day,” boasts HMSI. But of course, workers who protest face the double penalty of losing their job and waging long legal battles.

There is no overlap between what HMSI understands of the agitation and why workers themselves are agitating. An HMSI spokesman in a written reply inf­ormed Outlook that workers who were already sacked instigated unrest along with “external supporters.” The claim doesn’t add up given the tight security in Honda’s industrial enclave of Tapukara (Rajasthan). Workers say they have had enough of abuse on the factory floor and want their union. It’s a measure of their distress: they naturally have no reason to jeopardise their own jobs.

In 2014, Rajasthan became the first Ind­ian state to make its labour laws blatantly pro-employer. HMSI produces a range of two-wheelers, including the popular Activa and Dio. The day after the strike, HMSI inaugurated a new plant in Ahmedabad and declared it was  “aggressively investing to Make In India”. Their plan is to manufacture 1.2 million scooters each in Ahmedabad and Tapukara. HMSI has a total annual ­production capacity of 5.8 million units, spread across its four plants.

In a sparsely furnished apartment in Dharuhera (Haryana), workers take out a crumpled shirt. Flies swarm to it. When they shake it open, you see that it is covered in dried blood.  “I suffered head ­injuries and went back home to recover,” says Sumit Dahiya, who had worn the shirt. Several striking workers have taken refuge in the apartment, where a Honda calendar hangs on one of the walls. February 16 is circled and then crossed out. For most of them this was their first job and now these young men are without a job and a bleak future stares at them. The services of a total of 136 permanent workers have been terminated, reports Workers Solidarity Forum. “The company is targeting permanent workers, so that the union movement gets weakened once they are gone. They hoped that contract workers would return to work. A few did, but have come back to join the strike and support union,” says Amit Akash from the Forum.

Fresh out of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), workers say they were unprepared for the impersonal and harsh work culture. “In the name of discipline, companies exploit workers. Foul language is common. The management shows us no respect. Our colleague has been made to stand in the corner with his hands up, when his ID card failed to work,” elaborates Choudhari (26). Raj­pal explains that although guidelines require the company to issue a warning letter and two chances, or constitute an inquiry committee, the company simply suspends or fires workers.

Workers now want the cases against them to be withdrawn. They want the reinstatement of the terminated and suspended workers, a high-level enquiry into police brutality and no interference from the company in the process to form the workers’ union. They feel that the company is going out of its way to stop their union formation. Outlook saw a transfer letter sent to Naresh Kumar, president of the proposed union, asking him to report to Patna on December 14, 2015. This was the same date on which workers submitted their charter of demands for unionisation to the company. They explain that the company produced an affidavit from some workers saying they opposed attempts to form the union but then the affidavit turned out to be false as the workers named in it themselves countered it.

Meanwhile, HMSI innocuously states,  “The company has no role to play with the process of formation of labour union.” “But if they are not opposed to it,  why was the company absent at four of the app­ointments given by Alwar’s labour dep­artment,” ask workers. The union process has been stayed and the workers are upset that they were not given a chance to present their case to the court on this. Back in the house where the workers are gathered, the HMSI calendar says,“We believe if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” The only hope is that HMSI does right by them.

By Anoo Bhuyan in Tapukara and Gurgaon