Workers disunite

 

 

These workers of the world are not uniting. A worker’s right to strike has always been given top billing and regarded as an inalienable right in West Bengal, both by the government and by CPM’s powerful trade union wing, Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

On Monday, however, this golden rule was given the go by when heavily armed members of the Left union chased and assaulted labourers of a lesser union, leading to the death of a worker. Contract labourers belonging to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC)’s Thika Mazdoor Sangh had called for a ceasework on Monday demanding that they be recognised as electrical workers. At present, they are registered as masons, which does not entitle them to compensation in case of accidental death on duty.

According to eyewitnesses, about 50 members of the Thika Mazdoor Sangh were travelling towards the CESC unit near Ruby Hospital in south east Kolkata when they were chased by CITU men in five trucks. As soon as the labourers got off near the CESC unit to distribute leaflets urging co-workers to join the strike, they were surrounded by the CITU and assaulted mercilessly.

One of the labourers, Ramparvesh Singh, was pinned to the ground where the 42-year old received serious head, chest and neck injuries and died at National Medical College and Hospital. At least 19 others were seriously injured. The incident triggered a demonstration by Singh’s fellow workers across the city.

CITU president Shyamal Chakraborty, declined to comment. “I heard the news from a private media, and not from my party. How can I comment on this? I can comment only after going through the incident,” he said. CESC workers say the attack was well planned. “They didn’t use firearms or sharp weapons, which only shows how severely Singh was beaten up.

It was a short and brutal assault, planned in advance. They casually walked back to the trucks after the assault and drove away,” said Rana Jana, member of Shramik Sangram Committee, another CESC union.

“Ours is a legitimate demand and the workers were agitating peacefully. The attack only shows the CPM-controlled union has no sympathy for less fortunate workers. In fact, they are out to terrorise us,” said Bhupendra Prasad Yadav, Singh’s cousin.

South 24-Parganas SP Praveen Kumar said the police have launched a hunt for the killers. The incident triggered a demonstration across the city by the fellow workers of Rampravesh Singh. However, no arrests had been made till Tuesday night.

The new union was formed way back in 2006, when some CITU members broke away to form the Thika Mazdoor Sangh. While this one attack is an isolated incident, India’s so-called workers’ haven of West Bengal is increasingly coming under a cloud. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, trying to invite capital in West Bengal, has expressed his concern. Afterall, that is one stigma that the Left Front would like to avoid, if it wants the monies to flow into the state.