Chapter 7

Conclusion

I

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Britain, the system of

production underwent radical transformation culminating in the industrial revolution

in the following decades. Dobb (1963: 123) states that Marx identified two ways, by

which the industrial capitalism would expand - one, through the expansion of small

workshops into big factories and the other, through the merchant turned employer in

the domestic system. This enhanced the control of employer over the Wl!lrker. When

the workers gathered under one roof, their activities could be much more tightly

controlled: tasks could be assigned, output accurately measured and attendance

checked. The foreman of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries was very much

the master and the key figure in the workplace. The division of labour further forged

the link between efficiency and control. The splitting up of work into specialized

functions, organized by department and section, raised the productive powers of

labour and controlled the labour process. However, for most part of the nineteenth

century, the means of production did not progress much beyond the basic controls of

the factory. In the beginning of 1890's, Taylor developed the science of work

popularly called the 'time and motion' study. This laid the basis of modern

management as a rational system of administering work. Nonetheless, of all the

preconditions, the one most directly Hnked with industrialism was technology. Both

the proponents, of the socialist (Marx) and the 'laissez faire' economy « biblio »

stated that the massive increase in productive powers went hand in hand with the

subjugation of people to work. Marx, in particular, drew attention to the enslavement

of workers to machinery.

Recent scholars of industrial thought like Moore (1965) and Kerr et al (1960)

stated that successful industrialism required loosening of family ties, achievement

rather than ascription as a means of progress, commitment to an urban way of life,

small family no om, state as a provider of social security, emphasi, on competition

between interest groups rather than class conflict, importance of education and

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training, recruiting and promoting on basis of universalistic criteria rather than on

basis of ethnic affiliations, and so on. Thus, developing countries like India,

according to such arguments, did not fulfill the criteria of modernity because

industrial workers of such countries did not give up their attachment to their villages.

The Western process of industrialisation and emergence of modem industrial worker

influenced such a thought. However, further studies on industrialisation and its

impact on industrial workers, particularly in the context of developing countries,

exploded the myth of a unilateral model of industrialisation. Such societies presented

a blend of industrial and traditional values, which did not necessarily hinder the

process. Japan presented a unique integration of traditional kinship values with the

modern industrial system.

Experience of industrialisation in India presents an intermix of promoting and

retarding factors, Ninety percent of the popUlation of pre-independent India lived in

villages and the constitution of the village was the most important factor in Indian

social structure. Under the Hindu Jajmani system each individual had a fixed

economic and social status established by his birth in any given caste, The industrial

revolution, which synchronized with the British conquest and colonisation of India,

led to the disintegration of the village economy, Village folk had to abandon the

hereditary work and seek new employment in industries, Occasionally members of

the family took turns at factory employment. Even when workers lived in the factory

areas, many kept contacts with their villages, The smaller centres everywhere drew

their workforce from surrounding areas except where labour required special skills,

The only centres, which got labour from far a field, were Rangoon, Jamshedpur,

Bombay and the Hooghly area, However, industries faced shortage of skilled labour,

This further got accentuated as industrial training was handicapped by lack of primary

education, Skilled labour was drawn from other places by paying them higher wages,

Training was obtained by working besides a friend and by watching and helping

others, In most of the cases, till the early years of Independence, the jobbers supplied

the labour. Most employers used the services of intermediaries to bring workers from

the villages owing to the reluctance of the workers to leave their villages, This system

tended to build a loyalty to the jobbers rather thar, the employer. The employers

allowed such control and unfair labour practices to exist l;ecause it saved them the

22+

expenses of invesiing in housing, health care, or a body of rules guiding conditions of

work. Their job starus also remained low. In majority of the Indian industrial

establishments there was hardly any incremental scale. Most workers, in spite of

their seniority, continued on the same wage rate and favouritism was most

widespread. In the case of the railways there was outright racial discrimination.

Things were also haphazard with regards to holidays and leave of absence. The delay

in payment of wages was widespread The wage system was unstable. Deductions

were surreptitiously made leading to discontent and strike. The notice of working

hours was also not affixed and attendance was taken irregularly. The hours of work

were as long as fourteen to fifteen hours a day. There was no proper ventilation in

work places and often the air was fou I with smoke and gases. The machinery too was

insufficiently fenced and there were serious accidents. The Indian factory owners did

not provide for good drinking water and adequate toilet facilities, though large

factories had good sanitary conditions. To some extent, the cause of absenteeism

could be attributed to this, besides the worker's attachment to his village.

Since independence, the government of India wanted to promote the spirit of

industrialism and to transform a predominantly rural economy into an industrial one.

The government quickly took a number of measures designed to achieve these

objectives. Various legislation was passed and to improve the quality of manpower,

vocational training in institutes became the principal means of turning out skilled

workers. Some major enterprises set up their own training schools. The creation of

post of labour officers and the use of employment exchanges in recruitment curtailed

the powers of the jobber.

However, the recruitment through intermediaries remained a feature of Indian

Industry. The demand for the 'sons of the soil' acquired political overtones. On the

other hand, workers stressed that recruitment from outside should be resorted to only

when suitable candidates are not available within the unit. With regards to

promotions, employers claimed that there were in existence well defined promotion

policies based on seniority, merit, trade test, efficiency, etc., and their strict

observance in practice. However, workers' organisations alleged nepotism,

favouritism and corruption in the matter of promotions, which were intended to sow

225

seeds of discord among workers. Since the 1980's, employment securities have been

subject to judicial scrutiny, renegotiations for increased flexibility, and in some cases

altogether revoked. With the increasing scarcity of jobs, exacerbated by mass

unemployment, the allocation of even casual jobs may become a stake for all

communities. There may be a decreasing number of cases of competition 'based on

merit' in the labour market. However, a new breed of workers is emerging which is

are urban based, highly educated and with a consumerist culture.

Il

Given this background of the shaping of industrial worker in the country, it

raIses scholarly curiosity to understand the factors influencing favourably or

unfavourably the formation of the workforce. The interface between traditional

factors and those based on 'modem', 'rational' factors (as understood in the Western

context) has been an area of social analysis. The present research inquiry aims at

understanding the factors shaping Indian industrial worker, with particUlarly emphasis

on the 'ethnic' factor. The specific objectives of the present study, therefore were:

1 to examine the recruitment procedure for permanent work force and the role

of ethnic identities in this process,

2 to analyze the criteria for promotion and operating ethnic cleavages,

3 to study ethnic relations such as social distance and stereotypes amortg the

work force,

4 to study the role of trade unions in enhancing or reducing ethnic tendencies,

and finally,

5 to examine the relevance of theoretical formulation, 'the logic of industrialism'

in the Indian context for a possible emergence of a 'rational', 'modern' and

'secular' labour force committed to the 'industrial way of life'.

A reVIew of literature on the emergence of labour force in general was

presented which provided insight into various perspective on the phenomenon. In

order to achieve the above objectives workers belonging to two organisations in the

226

city of Mumbai (fonnerly Bombay) were chosen for a detailed study. A detailed

profile of these organisations was presented for introducing the workforce under

focus. The choice of these organizations was done keeping in mind their

identification with the traditionaVmodern workforce. The Mumbai Port Trust under

focus is a labour oriented organisation. In contrast, Company C is a " modern"

chemical plant employing latest technologies.

After the transfer of the Port and Island of Bombay (now Mumbai) to the East

India Company by Royal Charter in 1868, the Mumbai Port Trust Act of 1873 was

passed and the administration. and the properties of the company were vested in a

public trust. In 1858 Mumbai was passed under the direct rule of the British Crown,

and in 1873 the present statutory autonomous Port Trust was set up for administering

the affairs of the Mumbai Port. The Port is now administered by a statutory body

constituted under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. It is composed of 21 Trustees

lleaded Q'j th.e Chairman who is appoi.nted by the Government. There are at ?resent 16

departments, which look after the day-to-day administration ofthe Port.

The multifarious activities in a major port make the port a huge and complex

organization unlike other industries. However, the main function of major ports is

cargo handling; loading into vessels the cargo intended for export and unloading from

the vessels the cargo brought for import. There are two main groups of workers

working on the docks. One principal dock labourers and the other, labourers working

on other activities. The first group directly handles the cargo while the labourers in

the other group only attend to the work other than handling the cargo. The cargo

handling labour can be further divide-d into two groups. One is the stevedores labour

and the other is the shore worker employed by the MBPT.

The fanner group is employed to work on board the ship by the stevedores

and the other group of workers belonging to Port Trust handle cargo from the landing

point to the stacking point or vice versa. For cargoes handled in lighters generall y, the

lighter crew performs the duties of loading and unloading. As on 1997, there were

25,187 employees working in MBPT. Of these, about 8,930 workers were shore

labourers which included Shed Superintendents (SS), Assistant Shed Superintendents

227

(ASS), Labour kspectors (LI), Labour Supervisors, Clerk Grades I&II, Tally Clerks

(TC), Sorters, Morpia, Baroot, Cart Unloaders, Shoreworkers, etC. In addition, there

were 6,006 stevedore workers which included categories like Supervisors, Assistant

Supervisors, Chargeman, Foreman, Dock Clerks and On Board workers.

In the case of Indian ports and docks, all stevedore workers employed on

board and at vessel within the limits of a port, and all shore workers working

'alongside' a vessel, are covered by the Indian Dock Labourers' Regulations, 1948

framed under the Indian Dock Labourers' Act, 1934. The health and welfare of all

port and dock workers and the safety of those not covered by the Indian Dock

Labourers'Regulations, 1948 are taken care of by the Dock Workers (Safety, Health

and Welfare) Scheme, 1961.

In comparison with MBPT, the other organisation chosen for the study

(Company C - actual name withheld) is recent in origin and was promoted in 1965 by

E.I.D. Parry [India], in collaboration with Hercules Inc. USA and Distillers Company

Limited, UK It is located in the Thane-Belapur industrial belt of Mumbai and went

on stream on 18th February 1968. In 1984, the interests ofEID Parry were taken over

by Mr. GP Goenka - Duncan Goenka Group. Company C has been ranked among the

top five companies in India in the Chemicals Category through a survey carried out

by Business World in 1996.

Its initial product range covered Cumene, Phenol, Acetone, Phthallic

Anhydride, Phthalate Plasticisers and Diacetone Alcohol. These lines were

commissioned in 1967-68 using technology from internationally known Licensers

like UOP, Scientific Design and BP Chemicals. These technologies have been fully

absorbed and adapted to local conditions. Over the years, virtually every one of these

plants has been debottlenecked and modernised to about double its original capacity.

Company C is a sophisticated petrochemical plant. It has the unique position

of holding 'letters of intent' and licenses for a wide array of specialty chemicals.

Notable among these is: synthetic rubbers like EPDM and SBS, Magnetic Ircn

Oxides, Isophoron and Iso Butyl Benzene. Also included is a Polybutenes project in

228

the joint sector 'with HPCL. The Company received the lCMA Award for Process

Design and Process Engineering, through pioneering efforts in in-house research and

development. The R&D Centre was established in the early 19705. In the beginning,

the role ofR & D was to improve and innovate the foreign technologies, to assimilate

and integrate them with our indigenous/domestic tech commercial scenario. It has

been responsible for a number of new products, plants and product improvements. To

cater to the new market, Company C strengthened its R&D Centre to carry out

innovative process development work. The Centre provides scientific and research

support for the development of new applications for various existing products and

evolution of new processes and technology.

The total number of employees in Company C as in 1997 was 532. They were

employed in three main departments viz. Production, Maintenance and Technical.

They are further divided into Six Groups from I to VI. The number of workers in the

production unit is 229, in the maintenance 136, and in the technical section 60. These

employees have various designations such as chargehand, senior plant operator, plant

operator, boiler operator, mechanic, lab assistant, flaker, sub plant operators, general

labour, etc. The type of work these employees do differs from department to

department even though the designations are similar. For instance, the work of the

chargehand at the off'site would be different from that at one of the plants.

Research Design

The research design followed in the study was a sample survey of workers in

both the organisations, supported with detailed interviews of union leaders and

concerned management personnel. The difficulties encountered during the selection

of representative samples in both the organisations led to a 'lesser representative'

sample the final sample size of workers from the MBPT and Company C were 95 and

68 respectively. This weakness to some extent was overcome through in-depth

informal discussions with respondents. The generalisation in the present study has to

be taken within the above constraints.

229

III

The major findings and observations are as follows:

1. The first objective of the study was to examine the recruitment procedure for

the permanent work force and the role of ethnic identities in this process. As

mentioned earlier, with the processes of modernization recruitment was supposed to

take place on universalistic criteria. Positions were supposed to be filled on the basis

of merit or competence. Waste of talent is considered to be intrinsic in the system of

racial and ethnic discrimination. Against such rationalisation and impersonalisation of

the workforce, it was considered that ethnic tendencies could persist and segmented

labour markets based on ethnicity could prevail.

In this context, the initial employment of labour in the Mumbai Port prior to

Independence was intermittent and casual. There was no security of employment and

the wages of workers varied with the contractors. About 80% of the labour employed

in the docks were engaged in gangs recruited through the headmen or enterprising

and intelligent coolies called tolliwallas from their villages. As mentioned earlier, the

Dock Labour [Regulation of Employment] Scheme framed under the Dock Workers'

[Regulation of Employment] Act IX of 1948 which came into force in 1952, ensured

greater regularity of employment to dock workers. Under the Act, the workers get

overtime; attendance allowance; minimum guarantee; disappointment allowance for

not getting work; stream allowance; privilege leave; sick leave; and casual leave. The

Port Trust also provided large housing complexes and other welfare amenities

including a modem hospital complex. The workers, employers and government did

playa significant part in establishment, adaptation and administration of rules. The

government, besides investing in infrastructure came up with various legislation

through which the industrial relations were dealt through the tripartite system

Various labour legislation concerning compensation, discipline, layoff, transfer,

promotion, welfare facilities, output, pace and performance were adopted by the

Mumbai Port and formed the basis of the web of rules which proved crucial for the

operation of the organization.

230

By the time Company C came into existence in the 1960s, the government had

well-defined labour laws in place. It was but natural that Company C provided

various allowances to its employees from its very inception. The work conditions in

the company are one of the best provided by a few well reputed organisation.

However, with regard to the development of rationality, universality and

achievement-based criteria, the Indian situation does not measure up the criteria

evolved in the Western industry. The Natio'nal Commission for Labour (1969) states

that the recruitment through intermediaries has remained a feature of Indian Industry

and the demand for the 'sons of the soil' acquired political overtones. With regards to

promotions, employers claim that there were in existence well defined promotion

policies based on seniority, merit, trade test, efficiency, etc., while worker's

organisations alleged nepotism, favouritism and corruption in the matter of

promotions which were intended to sow seeds of discord among the workers.

With regard to recruitment in organisations under focus, it was found that the

ethnic considerations did play an important role. In both the organisations,

Maharashtrians maintained their lead position. In the case of MBPT, the work force

in the ex-BDLB came from various regions of the country while that of the original

MBPT consisted largely of Maharashtrians. Of the several reasons given for this, the

reason that Maharashtrians chose jobs, which were less hazardous and dangerous,

seems to be the most plausible one. Piore's (1979: 35-43) theory of labour market

segmentation neatly explains this labour composition in MBPT. According to the

theory well-paid jobs with decent working conditions and opportunities for

advancement are grabbed by the dominant group. In this case the Maharashtrians in

MBPT cornered the good jobs while the dead-end jobs at lower wages are primarily

taken by the in migrants and minorities. In the present case, jobs in the informal sector

which were time and again decasualized to make up the ex-BDLB were occupied by

the in migrants from other states. Besides this, the jobs on Board the ship which were

finally occupied by migrants were not only more dangerous than those on the wharf

but the facilities provided in MBPT to those provided at ex-BDLB were far more

superior. Thus, the Maharashtrians grabbed the good jobs while the difficult and

231

strenuouS jobs in the informal sector which were later fomalised were mainly

available to in migrants from other states of India.

Bonachich's (1972: 547-559) split labour market theory further helps in

explaining the dynamics of ethnic relations in the MBPT. The split labour market

develops when two ethnically different groups of workers compete for the same jobs

at different cost to employers. Since the employer is interested in increasing profits,

they substitute the low priced worker with the higher priced labour. The higher priced

group in order to counter the threat to its interest could use two strategies: one,

exclusion of the lower priced groups through legal restrictions on immigration or

second, creation of a caste system which limits lower priced labour to jobs which are

undesirable. The Maharashtrians used both these strategies. For instance, the Shiv

Sena had been agitating for the recruitment of local persons in the Docks by

organizing morchas and publishing articles in their weekly Marmik. They also

emphasised on recruiting through the employment exchange, as this policy would

leave out inmigrants with less than 15 years domicile. Thus, the legal restriction were

placed on immigrants though only in an indirect manner. Recently, this phenomenon

has also been extended to the informal sector. The I<amgar Sena itself supplied labour

at several points viz. MOD, STP, etc on a day to day basis. However, the general

feeling in the docks is that the Sthaniya Lokhadikar Samiti affiliated to the Shiv Sena

was not very effective and only had a say in the state government offices, like the

LIe, banks, etc. Nonetheless, such the practices of local unions resulted in caste

restrictions. Another casteist strategy used not only by the MBPT workers but also the

decasualised ex-BDLB workers, was the recruitment of son's of employees. The

policy of recruiting 'sons of employees' only strengthened the present incumbents

hold over the Jobs. Many workers took advantage of their advanced age and got

themselves declared medically unfit on the eve of retirement so that their sons could

be employed in their place. Further, the sons of employees recruited were not

necessarily expected to be registered in an employment exchange - otherwise the rule

in the labour market. Thus, the employment of 'sons of employees', besides being an

ethnic strategy, it enabled the migrants of ex-BDL13 to beat the system of employing

through the employment exchange which was often proposed by the Shiv Sena. Thus,

this was a case when the poorest group takes work which no one else does, these

people, over time, develop partial monopoly over jobs which contemporaneously

have become attractive due to the surplus labour market and ever swelling number of

in migrants in Mumbai city.

The split labour market also operated within the internal labour market in the

MBPT. In the case of shore labour, only certain gangs who agreed to do this work

handled manganese ore and bone meal. These gangs belonged to the SC groups from

A.P. or Maharashtra or were Muslims from AP. This officially continued till 1974.

Thus, caste restrictions in terms of choosing one's job were relevant among the

Dockworkers ofMumbai.

In contrast to the MBPT, in Company C there existed a cultural division of

labour. Hector's (1979: 311) observation here becomes relevant according to which

individuals having different cultural markers is distributed through an occupation.

The higher caste workers in Company C occupied jobs of operators which were

considered to be as good as white collar jobs, while the OBC's occupied jobs of

mechanics which they had acquired through the 'sons of the soil' movement. Thus,

the observation of Holmstrom (1978: 54) finds relevance here that a factory hierarchy

can be termed as a modem equivalent to the traditional caste hierarchy. In the present

case, the OBC's took up jobs as mechanics as compared to the outsiders who worked

as operators. The management of Company C used ethnicity, nepotism and

favouratism in the employment and promotions as a way of gaining control over the

workers. In the Thane-Belapur industrial belt where the Company C is located, MIDC

and CIDCO acquired land in the area and developed it to provide space for the

industries and in the process displaced a large number of farmers in the area. These

farmers, who belonged to the agri community, then pressurised the units (through

political pressure or agitation) for providing them jobs. The villagers stated that since

their land had been taken away at a meagre price and they were not adequately

compensated by the government for this loss, they had lost their traditional source of

livelihood and, therefore, should be given jobs. These workers who got jobs in

Company C were not sympathetic to other workers whom they termed as "outsiders".

Some of the workers who were not gaonwallas (locals) alleged that the gaomval:as

were very harsh and employees were scared of them. There were also occasions when

233

they att~<.:ked the management because they wanted jobs and the company did not

relent. Since the company was built on their land, they thought the land still belonged

to them. The management of Company C, in this regard, stated that they had provided

jobs to local workers out of a sense of social responsibility. This policy also placated

the Shiv Sena leaders of the area and also helped the management in times of

difficulty such as the labour unrest. The management of Company C had cultivated

these locals by subcontracting certain activities to their organisation caned the

Shramik Kamgar Sangathan. This organisation later helped the management during

strikes. This had further alienated the gaonwallas from those whom they termed as

the "outsiders".

Further, with the growing unemployment, workers of Company C, like those

of the MBPT, insisted that the sons of the employees should be recruited. However,

the workers whose children did well, aspired for better avenues for them. Such cases

were very few. Thus, in short, the recruitment process even in a modem chemical unit

left very little scope for merit. Instead, ethnic factors played an important role.

2. It was aimed to analyze the criteria for promotion and involved ethnic

cleavages. The web of rules related to promotions should be independent of any

personal/ethnic bias and the relation between the worker and employer was supposed

to be contractual.

The merger of ex-BDLB with the MBPT, resulted in a new problem - of the

promotion of the tally clerks. The MBPT union leaders insisted that the promotion

channels of existing employees (mainly Maharashtrian) of the then MBPT should not

be affected. They stated that by the merger, their tally clerks should not suffer and,

therefore, the merger should not allow promotion into their channel allowed to ex­

BDLB tally clerks (mainly immigrants from other states of India), even though the

work done was the same. They also stated that some of these tally clerks did not have

the minimum qualification (SSC) and therefore no common channel for promotions

was possible. For the MBPT tally clerks, promotions were faster and the ex-BDLB

tally clerks stated that the MBPT tally clerks who joined in the same year as they did

were been granted four to five promotions, while the former remained unpromoted

234

for years. Besides this, they did not get bookings on points where the "speed mO:l(;y"

could be made. This issue of postings at MBPT was more competitive than that of

promotions particularly in the case of Shed Superintendents. Here the non-SC/STs

made up for what they lost by way of lack of promotions. The godowns were

identified by the worker as 'Dry', 'Wet' or 'Dubai' in their ascending order in terms of

the 'speed money' that they could receive. There is a lot of competition for these

po stings especially amongst the Shed Superintendents. The SCs/STs workers alleged

that they were being discriminated against the caste Hindus, as they were not given

the 'Wet' or 'Dubai' postings.

Similar, was the case in Company C with regard to the promotion policy. The

workers stated that the management did not have any policy and it favoured people

who were loyal to them. Even the workers who worked hard and sincerely and were

good at their work were not necessarily promoted. There was no transparency in the

system; at the same time there were a few openings. At times, seniority in the

Company was considered while at other times it was the plant seniority. Being a

union leader or one's closeness to management personnel was an important factor for

inducing promotion. Workers tried to get involved in various programmes in the

company so that they could get closer to the management and prove their worth.

Others stated that there was a strong South Indian lobby and only if one belonged to

the same caste to which the boss belonged, one could expect a promotion. Only a few

workers stated that promotions in the job were based on merit and policy of the

company in doing away with the seniority-based promotion was in the right direction.

The plant managers agreed with many of these observations of workers but the

officers of Personnel Department were more circumspect in their comments. They

stated that tests or interviews were taken depending on the exigencies of the situation.

In issues like promoting a union man, or promoting the "loyals", qualifications were

molded to suit the candidate. According to the management, those workers who

worked well and honestly were called chamchas by their colleagues. Thus, lack of

clear-cut policies enabled the management to exercise control over the workforce by

rewarding the workers accordingly. This is in keeping with Holmstrom's (1985:

218-219) argument that employers " .... recruh labour through those they employ not

only because it is convenient and safe or due to pressure from workers but also to

235

make employees dependent on them and exercise control over them resulting in caste

or regional clusters. This also applies to workers who play the same rules and share

the same values of personal obligation and dependence. Thus, caste is thought to

affect, and sometimes does affect, recruitment and promotion in factories as do

religion and language. A situation of cut-throat competition further accentuates

concentration of caste as a wider network of contacts and can be exploited to get jobs

or get things done ... "

3. The acts especially of granting of promotions in MBPT though not as

important as that of transfer from one shed to another created a rift and led to several

prejudices between the general category workers and the SC/STs. The general

candidates despised the reserved candidates because of the reservations in jobs. They

felt that due to the policy of employers (particularly MBPT) by promoting young

SC/ST candidates, their chances of promotion were blocked. They also stated that

SCs/ST's got promotions faster than general candidates have. The Non-SC/ST

Association was formed in the Port to protest against "wrong" implementation of

reservations. A case against the reservations for SC/STs was filed in the Bombay

High Court by the Bombay Port Trust Non-Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes

Employees Association. On the other hand, the SC/ST workers stated that the

reservation was absolutely necessary without which it would not have been possible

for them to get a job in the Port. They formed the SC/ST Association. The SC/ST

Association came into existence because the operating trade unions were alleged to be

lethargic when it came to the issue of the reservations. This situation similar to

Bains's (1994:181-189) observation that the non-SC/ST respondents revealed

unfavourable attitudes to the statutory privileges. Those who were directly affected by

the reservation policy showed more unfavourable attitudes than those not affected by

it This resulted in the mobilization of a socially affected group i.e. the non-SC/ST

workers. The reservation policy, instead of narrowing the gap between SC/ST and the

general categories, only widened it. It led to a distasteful relationship between the

employees but the resentment was primarily against the government rather than

against the their SC/ST colleagues. Most of them were willing to concede the

reservation in jobs for SC/STs but not ill the matters of promotions. In a society

where jobs are scarce and unemployment high, preferential treatment is likely to

236

create deep resentment. This was true of SC workers vis a vis ST workers tOQ.

However, even the SC/ST Association showed no enthusiasm when it came to the

issues related to ST's especially that pertaining to the identity of H.M.Kolis (in the

MBPT) as a tribal group. This gave an impression that the Association was only

interested in representing the SCs. In fact, the SCs, like the general category workers,

appeared to despise the ST& who got promotions faster as the reserved posts for them

exceeded the availability of suitable candidates.

Given this, it is but natural that the ethnic relationships played a key role in

one's getting and retaining jobs. Many MBPT workers helped their own community

members by providing them place to stay when they initially came to Mumbai. They

joined institutions, associations, and religious groups that linked them to their •

communities. Closeness to their 'own people' resulted in prejudices towards the

other&. In Company C, differences between the local people and outsiders often led to

threats and tensions. With regard to the Muslim workers, many non-Muslim workers

perceived the former as living low quality of life and not worth having them as

neighbours. Muslim workers were considered pro-Pakistan and prone to large

families for some respondents, they ate meat and married their own COUSInS.

Interestingly, Muslim workers also had their own prejudices against the workers from

other communities. Same was the case with regard the prejudices between SC/STs

and non-SC/ST workers. There were only a few workers who did not believe in the

distinction of caste or creed and had a rational and secular outlook.

The institution of marriage reinforced these prejudices. Most of the workers

stated that marriage should be practised only within the caste. For most of the

respondents, intercaste marriages were not permissible, and a person could be

ostracised for it. Marrying outside ones caste led to hatred and loss of respect for the

person concerned. Most of them wished to get married to people of their own caste

and would not like to have any thing to do with Muslims and "dalits". For such

workers, inter-caste marriages are not good because the customs differ and could lead

to problems for the parents. Some workers stated that in case their children opted for

love marriages, they would be unable to do a thing, while a few others were confIdent

of their children of not even dreaming about a love marriage. There were a few

237

respondents w]:!) weren't interested in deciding for their children and, for them,

differences based on religion or caste were man-made.

With regard to practicing reI igious rituals, among the docks workers, there

existed a group of workers who themselves called "Bhuas" a kind of a religious sect.

There were several temples within the docks and each department organised their

own pooias. During these poojas, devotional hymns were sung and arti was

performed. Not all the non-Hindu workers contributed to the "satyanarayan" pooja

however those who participated did so not out of mere courtesy but in the interest of

harmony and acceptance. Another common behaviour amongst the port trust workers

was the visit to the Mumbadevi Temple on the 10th or lIth of every month. They all

donated some money and offered prasad at the Mumbadevi temple- the Goddess of

Mumbai - "with whose grace they were there".

Workers of Company C too were engaged in several social activities. The

only festival officially celebrated was the Dassera. Besides religious activities,

workers were linked to cricket clubs, participated in poetry competitions, were

members even of an astronomy cluo, belonged to a group called 'Andhashraddha

Nirmoolan Samiti', organised inoculation camps, actively associated with earthquake

and flood relief works, organised blood donation and medical camps, and so on. The

"Marathi Mitra MandaI" was also formed with the purpose of bringing the workers of

different plants together. Workers were not only divided according to their plants but

also on- ethnic lines. The Marathi Mitra MandaI was quite active. Though some

respondents stated that the membership was open to all, many others considered it an

association catering to the interest of Maharashtrians. Thus, all in all, pre-industrial

characteristics were widely prevalent and ethnic attachment had not lost its charm.

However, this is also true of developed countries. Worsely (1970: 207), observed

that states there was no clear line between the industrial and the pre-industrial society

as the ties of kinship are still important in contemporary Britain.

4. As in other industrial units in the country, the ideological influences of trade

unions were waning out. Several factors could be attributed for this state of unions.

238

Among :hcse, the emerging consumer culture and ethnic divisiveness were quite

responsible.

The Company C workers were more educated, earned more, had better

educated fathers, had even working wives, and were more attached to the city than the

MEPT workers. For instance, the average wages that Company C workers earned

were Rs, 11,382 (approx.) while that of the MEPT workers, averaged about Rs 660lf­

(approx.). Three quarters of the workforce in the MEPT had studied only upto SSC or

below, while the graduates and postgraduates constituted as managers 46 per cent in

Company C. Fifty-six percent of the workers' father's in MBPT were illiterate while

those of the workers of Company C were only one quarter in number. Workers

originating from villages were higher in the MEPT than those in Company C. About

45% of the MEPT workers lived in slums while more than 80% of the respondents in

Company C owned flats. Thus there prevailed two distinct subcultures - one of the

more educated and urbanised workers (in Company C) while the other still having

pre-industrial traits (the MBPT workers).

With regard to the commitment to "urban way of life", about 70% of the

respondents, who had rural origins, wanted to migrate back to their villages after

retirement. About 45% of the MEPT workers lived in slums because they did not

intend to stay in the city on a permanent basis and saved their money to invest in the

village. However, those who had no stake in the village economy preferred to stay

back in Mumbai or to move (after retirement) to some other city. Whilst those

investing in the agriculture preferred to migrate during the old age. There was a

strong tendency among the Port workers to abstain from work and frequently visit

their villages. In contrast, in Company C, the work force was quite committed and the

management did not even maintain absenteeism records. Given the living styles of

MBPT workers, it could be stated that though living in Mumbai, in several respects,

the dock worker presented a dual living culture - influenced both by rural and urban

values,

239

Nonetheless, there emerged a new breed of workers (in Company C) who are

urban based, highly educated and with a consumerist culture. This certainly had an

impact on the industrial relations climate in the organisation.

The overall relationship between the union and management in Company C

was cordial. Some of the workers emphasised on co-operation and a safe distance

from political parties in order to maintain peace at the workplace. Management

tended to neutralise the influence of the militant u,nion workers by promoting them or

by subcontracting work to them. There were several reasons attributed to the

deteriorating clout of the unions, like: globalization, decline of communism, high rate

of unemployment, promotion policy of the company, educated workers in the union,

and the unions turning into service organisations. Union members felt that the

attitudes of workers had changed and they were indifferent to unionism and were

really driven by money and self-interest. They joined the union so that they were not

victimised. For the workers, union leaders failed in providing a broader vision to the

working class interests and showed a compromising tendency even on the issue where

protection of worker's rights were concerned.

The workers of Company C echoed similar views expressed by Ramanujan

(1983 :X-112) who compares the trade union to the honeybee and the industry to the

flower. " ... The flower has honey and the industry profits. The honeybee collects the

honey without damaging the flower. The relationship between labour and

management is like that of a family where differences are resolved through co­

operation. Employers should share information with the workers and ensure co­

partnership in management. Strikes or lock outs should not be the objective of union

. or management and demands should be settled amicably .... ". Blauner (1967: l79-

182) lends support to this view whilst describing the lifestyle and working conditions

of chemical workers. The blue-collar workers in the chemical industry are

organization men. They are provided with career permanency, regular promotions,

company benefits, like the white-collar workers. Their work is similar to that of

office employees. They identify themselves with the company and are dependent on

the benevolent prosperous company. They are lukewa.rm to unions and loyal to

employers. This is typical of Company C workers.

240

On the other hand, the two main unions in MBPT were the Transport and

Dock Workers Union (Bombay) (IDWU) and the Bombay Port Trust Employees

Union (BPTEU), have a long histOlY of militancy. Between 1941-1980, there were

three all India strikes. During the 1980's, two more all India strikes were held due to

the breakdown in wage negotiations. In MBPT, strikes, lasting for a day or two were

considered normal and most of the annual reports mentioned that the industrial

relations situation in the Port was peaceful in spite of such occurrences. The loss of

mandays was sometimes as high as 4,59,216 yet the annual report of the l\.IIBPT

would state that the industrial relations were peaceful and the relations with union

leaders cordial. Strikes and stoppages of work were for several reasons. These could

be against privatisation, for wage revision, rotation of mazdoors, demand for

overtime, increase in manning scale, observation of 'demands day', against the

contract system, and so on. However, the power of trade unions has recently been

declining. Technology appears to have a final say in the matter. Venkata Ratnam

(1997:464) states that there is a shift from the manual to mechanical and modem

ways of cargo-handling process. This has resulted in the shift in control from labour

to management. Previously, the management depended on the skills, knowledge, and

resources of the gang. This made the workers solidaristic and integrated with the

unions, which in tum lead to a strong control over the work force. These features

made them highly strike prone. Modem cargo handling technology has reduced the

co-operative work efforts and eroded the numerical strength among the dock workers.

The role of physical labour has declined and modem ports are becoming white

collared. This has resulted in shift of control from labour to management. Further, in

the Mumbai Port Trust the strength of union representation is only two out of 14 or 16

trustees; in Dock Labour Boards proportionate representation is given to the union

representatives. Membership in these bodies gives access to information on major

aspects of working of the port trust while numerically; the participation of union

representatives in the port trust is nominal. Besides this, the voluntary retirement

scheme, ban on recruitment, movement towards a single cargo handling agency and

the construction of Nhava Sheva; have resulted in decline of the union power. The

unions in the past played key role in the decasualization of the workforce, recruitment

of sons of employees, promotions in jobs and providing job security to their

241

members. Today, ho,vever, the workers are :lisintel esteo in the u!!!on activity and

they perceive them as service organisations. Only the fear of losing the jobs or

temptation for higher wages brought workers closer to their unions. No other

ideological relationships appeared to influence their attitude towards their uuions.

The process of globalisation has also given the dock unions a testing time.

They are sandwiched between the cause of their members and the changing

organisational setup of MBPT. Hence, in the name of shortage of regular dock

workers, Port authorities, freely give 'No Objection Certificates' to consignees of

cargo to employ contract labour for loading/unloading their cargo. Some union

leaders are themselves involved in the supply of CO)1tract labour. Nonetheless, some

contract workers are unionized but the wages of contract workers are about 40% to

50% lower than the wages of regular workers. So far as the non-unionized workers

are concerned, there is no protection to their wages and no other benefits accrue to

them. This conflict between the core and the periphery has plagued the process of

'industrialism' in India. It is also relevant in the context of present organisations.

The ethnic factors also depleted the power of unions especially in the MBPT.

The work force stood more divided on Maharashtrian and non-Maharashtrain lines.

The decasualization of General Purpose Mazdoor (GPM) workers also brought to fore

the competition for jobs amongst the Maharashtrian and non-Maharashtrian workers.

This division between them widened further when the scrap levy was to be distributed

and the GPM workers were to be transferred to the senior workers pool. In the

opinion of the GPM workers it was a Maharashtrian Union leader who stalled the

disbursement of this levy due to the GPM workers and their transfer to the senior

workers pool was also stalled due to ethnic divisions within the union. In 1989, the

TDWU made another plea for the decasualization of 800 workers involved in the

handling of bulk cargo. One of the union members known to espouse the

'Maharashtrian cause' was said to have left out all the Tamilian workers from the list

put forward for the decasualisation. Interestingly, even the Maharashtrians workers

themselves were divided between the workers from the "ghettos" and those from the

Konkan region. These prejudices were so strong that they divided the two unions (in

the l\IIBPT) on ethnic lines.

242

5. To sum up, the Indian experience of forming of today's industrial workforce

is an inter-mixture of various processes. We began with the mixed economy model.

This resulted in certain lahour laws being enacted and the public sector being

projected as a model employer. The public sector brought into being a rational

bureaucratic structure. However, the numerous pressures as stated above rarely

allowed the structure to function in a rational manner. Recruitment of labour had

various restrictions and therefore, in the final analysis the management had very little

to choose from. Issues related to region, caste, family ties and political factors played

an important role in the recruitment of workers. It was expected that the spread of

education will provide a thrust to rationality but this has certainly not been so simple.

Today we have a new breed of workers who are educated and have high earnings but

their education has not necessarily reduced ethnic tendencies in their work culture.

Prejudices and restriction on inter-caste or inter-religious marriages are very strong.

In fact even unions are divided on ethnic lines. Thus, the very medium such as unions

to achieve a class based society has become a field for inter-ethnic dynamism.

Ethnicity does seem to retard the class formation. The management also plays an

important role in providing impetus to ethnic tendencies through its promotion

policies. In Company C, the management played the ethnic card to increase its hold

over the workers management control and cut out the union's power.

Besides the ethnic forces operating against unions, the union power has also

been affected due to the fast shrinking public sector and large parts of the private

sector nullifying the union factor. The survival in the world of mergers and closures

has brought serious consequences to workers' unity and militancy. Non-unionised

employees are now considered as postmodem employees: responsible, flexible,

motivated by performance-related pay, committed to quality, and integrated into the

culture of the organisation. The blue collars worker, though very much the mainstay

of the Indian economy is slowly becoming a relic in the world of knowledge workers.

Today is the age of knowledge workers. The reason for the knowledge workers

having no unions is that knowledge and professional workers bargain individually,

they are young mobile, and independent and opportunities are available on a globaJ

level. The existence of open systems, direct and free communication, informal work

environment, and attrar.tive compen~ation and facilities provided to the employee' 5

donot necessitate the formation of the union.

The fast changing socio-political milieu in the country also influences its

industrial worker. Decay of political values has corrupted the system with its all

pervasive effects. The management through the 'money' power lures Union leaders.

In the process many workers representatives have turned into the bookers between

employers and employees. On behavioural front, industrial workers are influenced

by regional, religious and caste politics. They stand divided into 'interest groups'.

The politics of "Hindutva" and caste has affected their behaviour - so affects the

considerations of their (and their children's) survival in an over-saturated labour

market. Their immediate interests overpower their 'ideological' interests.

The shaping of industrial workers in India, therefore, hardly follows the logic of

industrialism'- as understood in the context of Western Societies. It presents an

inter-mix of'modern' industrial values and traditional Indian values.

As observed by some scholars like Sheth (1968), Sharma (1974), Singer (1960), this

in no way presents a set back to 'industrialisation' rather it supports the view that

'approach to industrialisation' may not be an unilateral process (in the Western

context) but an 'adaptation' suiting the socio cultural milieu of the recipient society.