The protest by 80 workers of ITI, who were allegedly terminated for unionising efforts, got support from Dalit, farmers and women organisations on Monday. On the 69th day of the protest, over 500 people, including the 80 terminated workers, led a rally to the corporate headquarters of ITI in the city. The rally forced the ITI management to hold talks with the protesting workers.
“The management held a meeting and promised us to get back after consulting the higher management in the organisation, in a couple of days,” said All India Central Council of Trade Unions.
Hemanth Kumar, one of the laid-off staff and leaders of the protest, said they would intensify the protest till their demand to restore their jobs was met unconditionally.
Trouble began at ITI when some of those working on a contractual basis tried to form a union and assert their rights in November, he said. “Eighty of us, working at ITI from 3 to 30 years, were laid off by the management without giving any satisfactory reason,” he said. The management has been arguing that they were not their direct employees but of the labour contractor. The Karnataka State Labour Department also intervened recently and sought to broker peace, but is yet to achieve any breakthrough, sources said.
Another senior employee Tilakavati said she had been working at ITI on a contractual basis for the past 30 years and she was laid off without even serving a notice. Another laid off employee Palani said his father passed away shortly after being laid off in December and he did not even have enough money to perform his last rites. Muniyamma, said she had been working for the past ten years, was a widow and was caught in debt trap after performing her daughter’s marriage and had now been laid off. “We will fight till we get justice. We have done no wrong,” she said.
Mavalli Shankar, convenor of Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, who was also part of the rally on Monday, said, “It is unfortunate that the workers, a majority of whom belong to the Dalit community, are being refused work. This issue is not only about the workers of ITI, it is reflective of what is happening in this country. Contract labour is nothing but a form of bonded labour. We will together intensify this struggle against this form of slavery,” he said.
Noted activist Medha Patkar had also visited the protest site and expressed solidarity recently.
Repeated attempts to contact R.M. Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, ITI Ltd, failed to elicit a response.
