Tata Workers’ Union enters centenary year

Jamshedpur: Founded on March 5, 1920, the Tata Workers’ Union (TWU) entered its 100th year on Tuesday. It is the first labour union to achieve this milestone, an official statement said.
It was constituted as Labour Association, following a month-long strike. Suren Haldar, barrister-at-law from Kolkata led the strike in 1920 and negotiated with the management. He formed the union.

“On March 20, 1920, Dorabji Tata announced the terms of settlement. Most important, he recognized Jamshedpur Labour Association,” Satish Singh, general secretary of TWU, said. “In 1936, Prof. Abdul Bari, who later became Deputy Speaker of Bihar assembly, was elected the president of the union and he then changed the name of the union to TWU,” Singh added.

Under Bari’s leadership, TWU launched a peaceful movement for a thorough revision of the wage structure and introduction of incentive bonus scheme.

Intuc leader Rajendra Prasad Singh said, “Apart from Bari, TWU also has other eminent figures like C F Andrews and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as its president.”

“A 100-year-union itself is a rarity and we are privileged to celebrate the occasion. The TWU had only 11 presidents in the last 100 years. This reflects the stability of the union. A strong and matured union is required for the development of the company and the city,” T V Narendran, CEO and MD of Tata Steel, said.

R Ravi Prasad, current president of TWU, said, “We have achieved this milestone due to the spirit of working together.”