Maruti's Thirteen
In the recent past we have seen the pronouncement of "double" life-term punishment (?) for the eight Pricol workers. Now it is life-term for the thirteen young workers of Maruti Manesar factory. Twelve of them members of the leading committee of Maruti workers union and one a dalit worker whose insult and suspension and subsequent high-handed posture of the management of not to budge an inch on the issue resulted in the outburst on that fateful day of 18thJuly 2012. Yes, the capitalists have been brazenly asking not only for life-imprisonment but even the noose for the Maruti worker leaders. They are hell-bent to crush and stifle any voice of dissent of the workers against their continuing attacks. Hence the planned targeting of the union committee.
The court, or in other words the state, has also acted in an unfazed manner while handing out the punishment of life-imprisonment on behalf of the capitalists. All this in spite of contradictory description of facts or even big loopholes in evidences. Otherwise how do you view a trial in which witnesses name accused workers only in alphabetic order---like one witness from A to F, another G to L, and so on? Then some of them were not able to identify the workers according to the names they declared or others who identified were unable to depict the role of crime played by them. Even the Forensic report clearly states that the HR Manager died due to asphyxiation and the injuries on him were not the cause of his death. The police claimed to have recovered the tools used purportedly as weapons six days after the outburst from the residences of the accused workers, as if they had been kept in their residences to be picked up by the police as incriminating evidences. Even the lone company official who was present at the place of the manager's death did not give any statement on the manner of death of the HR Manager. Thus even with gaping loopholes and lack of proper evidence, in the trial, the state branded the workers as murderers. Time and again we see even history-sheeters, rapists, looting and exploiting capitalists, traders or politicians use influences to distort and bypass laws and become scot-free. But the workers, especially those fighting and raising their voices against the unbridled oppression of the capitalists are the common target. The capitalist class and the state have made it a point that they must be unsparingly framed and convicted. What else can be a glaring display of that than such facts like the Punjab and Haryana High Court's observation during the hearing and rejection of a bail application for some among the then 148 Maruti workers kept for years in jail. The Court said that if bail is given the foreign investors will be annoyed affecting the investment climate. This reveals clearly how the state and capitalists are acting in tandem. The ruling system is behaving openly as an unapologetic, shameless servant of capital!
And it is not simply the handiwork of some particular anti-worker government in power or some single capitalist but of the capitalist class and every branch of the state machinery----the labour courts, the criminal courts, administration, government, police ---all acting together. On pronouncement of the punishment while the capitalist associations welcome such actions as punishment for misdeeds of a few, but at the same time their country-wide body of associations raise concern for repeated unrest of workers in different regions and factories from 2008. They themselves admit that it has been just not in Maruti, but is been seen to occur in different industrial regions of the country. Thus while they admit that the capital and labour relation is producing outbursts and revolts from workers, not just in one Maruti, but still they try hard to conceal this social phenomena and its causes that is leading to such eruptions recurrently. They, the capitalists and the state, the ruling parties, are very much aware that they are tearing down whatever semblance of rights and laws existed in favour of workers till now. Still they intentionally overlook and remain mum about the cause of such eruptions in this capitalist dominated society. On the contrary, they try to portray each unrest as due to some unlawful murderous workers, while in the same breath they forget their role of increasing unbridled exploitation and oppression when they pressurize and force the government for more and more curtailment of workers' rights (INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION - PAST TRENDS AND LESSONS FOR FUTURE - ALL INDIA ORGANISATION OF EMPLOYERS). Thus the whole system of rule, cover-up the deep malaise of this society that loots, exploits and then brands the workers as criminals. This was seen repeatedly in case of the Maruti workers. They very well know that the Maruti incident of 18th July 2012, did not occur suddenly out of the blue. They themselves admit in their documents that unrests in different factories are growing, and the issues are not simply wages and benefits or union rivalry but more basic demands like union recognition, opposition to contractualisation of workers etc...(Ibid). Thus in this Maruti incident 546 workers got unilaterally retrenched, 148 workers have been kept in jail for 4 years and more and now suddenly 13 has been given life, 117 acquitted. There has been no intervention of the government or labour departments for reinstatement of workers in spite of repeated appeals and protests by the workers and their families during these 4 years. Rather prohibition of democratic rights of meetings, rallies, banning protests and assemblies were their continued response to muffle all voices of protest. They do not feel it necessary to answer that how will those 117 acquitted get back or be recompensed for their 4 years in jail without being convicted? No accountability for-- loss of jobs without conviction or still being stamped and black-listed? So it's amply clear that the capitalist class and the state together are determined to trample and crush any voice of dissent and protest of the workers. They want to project this to be an example of what should happen to protests by the workers. It is this exploitative capitalist system that wanted this to happen and is now getting it done.
The question remains that how do they so brashly dare to continue with such inhuman, blatant acts of assault on democratic rights involving hundreds of workers, their families, in front of the lakhs and lakhs of other workers and the masses of the country? The answer is, the overall lull in the mass workers movement, the lull in the struggle for democracy and also against the exploitation and oppression of capital is providing them the opportunity. They are able to stifle such revolts occurring isolatedly, sometime somewhere in Maruti or Honda, at another time somewhere else in Pricol etc..... Thus they are bent on and are also able to do so without much hindrance or hesitation due to the existing absence of any unity in workers resistance. They are able to put the blame on the workers, punish and torture them.
The capitalists and the state know very well that amidst unbridled exploitation and uncertainty in lives of all workers everywhere, there is dissent everywhere. And outbursts and reactions of workers against this is imminent. But they are also desperately bound to keep their profit earning machine, to keep the exploitation of workers running unopposed. The state, the ruling parties of all hues and colours are openly on their side, ready to give them all support. So as they are desperate to continue with it for the profit of capital, in the same way they are also desperate to stifle each and every revolt coming in its path.
But the other side to it is that strange uneasy calm, the silence and passivity of the workers, seems to be breaking. Even in a situation of multiplying attacks of the capitalist-state combine, with exploitation and lack of rights becoming unbearable, the workers are rising up in revolts. Although these revolts against the brutal attacks of capital are still occurring in isolated factories, in different corners of the countries and still fewer in number, but they are being seen. Along with this, the silence and indifference among the workers in the industrial areas is giving way to gradually increasing solidarity between these struggles in different factories. Facing the powerful capitalist and state combine, through these struggles, an urge for unity, not only in their respective factories but for a bigger unity cutting across factories and even regions is seen to be emerging. The intensity of capitalist attacks and the states blatantly supportive role is exposing before the lakhs of workers the capitalist rule of oppression and exploitation. Even though somewhat in an empirical, rudimentary way their experiences of struggle are awakening the workers to the reality of this rule. More and more workers are being brought by these attacks into the arena of struggle - Honda, Ricoh, Daikin, Bellsonica, Omaxe...
The boss of Maruti R C Bhargava had said during the Maruti workers struggle episode that it is "class war", meaning it is a war of not just Maruti but of the capitalist class as a whole. Several years back another top management representative of Maruti, Jagdish Khattar referring to his role in crushing of the Maruti Gurgaon factory workers struggle during 2000-2002 said if they hadn't crushed the struggle, it would spread inflaming other factories and become a bigger danger for the capitalists. Hence what he did was just not for Maruti's interest but in the interests of all the capitalists. The pronouncement of life-imprisonment of the 13 is another such act by them to teach all the workers of this country in the interest of the capitalist class. What should the workers, particularly at this moment the struggling workers in the forefront, say in reply to it? Accept the life imprisonment of Maruti and Pricol workers with indifference and helplessness? Accept willingly that the rights of formation of unions, the right to struggle, be snatched away, the retrenchment of leaders and workers (contract and permanent) be allowed at the whims of company managements? Already the workers protests in solidarity in different regions are showing that they are not willing to accept all these hands down. There are reports of solidarities to the Maruti union's 13 not only from different corners of the country but even abroad. The only real alternative if any, before the workers is giving an appropriate rebuttal to such attacks of capitalist-state combine. And that means an appropriate reply to the class-war of the capitalists by an equally stubborn class war of the workers---the working-class, and the toiling sections.
To achieve that the conscious representatives among the struggling workers must realize that this requires building up a new unity of the workers out of the present fragmented, inactive condition. Newer and newer groups of fighting workers are being aroused out of their passivity by the attacks of the capitalists themselves. The capitalists by their very actions like this life-imprisonment are shaking up the workers into awakening. The objective sharpening of this contradiction between labour and capital has started pushing the workers of different factories into struggles. And this time the workers who are rising in struggles, albeit still quite few and far from their total numbers and strength, they are realizing the tremendous odds of struggle fighting isolatedly from their factories against the powerful combination of the capitalists and the state. The struggling workers forced by the present circumstances are learning that the old ways of the established leaders' influence and negotiation is not working any more. They are learning that united efforts of more and more workers, permanent, contract, casual, of their factory are able to build the pressure on the management, but that is also not sufficient. From this is emerging an urge for a bigger unity, cutting across factories, regions. Hence the struggling workers have started reaching out to each other in solidarity. The fighting army of the working class must be raised uniting such forces from every factory and industrial area. Every blatant attack like this on the Maruti leaders must be exposed with all the facts of repeated trampling of workers' rights everywhere. Thus the process of unity must be further speeded up so that the workers can prepare for a fitting reply. The obstacles in the way of such unity must be removed. Hence while rebuilding that unity of workers on a proper footing in different areas, across the country, it is essential to remember that the old, established Trade Unions and their electoral parties have kept the workers divided as their blind followers. Unity of the workers in their different factories, unity of the working class of this country, for a befitting reply - that is the need of the hour. The workers from bitter experiences, even sometimes failure in their struggles, are showing signs of becoming conscious of its possibilities and problems to an extent.
Unity also means uniting into a class equipped with proper direction and penetration to fight against the attacks of the capitalist class everywhere and bringing into realization that this war may start at Maruti or Pricol's gate or workplace but it is a part of a bigger revolt against the prevailing attacks due to the capitalist policies backed by the state. It is not just an isolated struggle of a factory any more for winning over some monetary sops and benefits as the old established trade unions teach. It is part of a bigger revolt that the capitalists and the government fear may tumble their apple-cart. And it is this bigger revolt that must be prepared for by the workers to proceed towards ending these attacks. The front-ranking workers who have emerged through recent struggles are in the process of understanding this bitterly through their experiences. That must be the direction of their struggle, their preparation for a new united working-class. These struggling workers must proceed to forge such a unity. That will be the real reply for the Maruti's thirteen or Pricol's eight (although now two workers, six have been acquitted by High Court), or many other torments and tortures that the workers all over the country are becoming victims of, remaining isolated and helpless.
The conscious representatives of the present-day struggles and the pro-worker organisations trying to be with these struggles, with an intention to help in paving the way for their further advancement, must also act consciously helping in proper emergence of such a unity. A unity which the struggling workers can together not only protect solidly but nurture and develop further, become equipped for this. Even those organisations who sincerely think in revival of the working class struggle as in contrast to those involved in reformist, revisionist politics in the name of the working-class, must be conscious that once again newer divisions among the struggling workers are not created that hampers advancement towards working-class unity. They must on the contrary assume such a role that ensures that the workers are able to achieve bigger and bigger unity cutting across factories, regions and discarding all divisions.
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