Employee Relationship Management
Employee Relationship Management Assignment – 1 Trade Union In Jharkhand Jharkhand Krantikaari Mazdoor Union – JKMU Submitted by P. Lokeshwari S. Shahana Devi Jharkhand Krantikaari Mazdoor Union In July JKMU organised a union of 220 contract workers in a newly established private steel factory owned by Electro Steel Casting Ltd. 40 kms from Bokaro. All 500 workers employed in the plant are local workers. 100 workers’ services were terminated for participating in union formation activities. JKMU organised a dharna and blockades with the help of local villagers and forced management to reinstate all workers.
The Deputy Labour Commissioner also put pressure on management to take back the workers or else the factory license would be cancelled. The newly formed union held meetings with the ALC on 2nd & 10th July and submitted demand notice to management. In April-May in Bokaro Power Supply Co. Pvt. Ltd. (a joint venture between SAIL and DVC) JKMU has a union of 500 contract workers. There are multiple unions in the plant, but the JKMU union members in the helper category who had been struggling for a year for implementation of minimum wages and other benefits finally boycotted payment for 10 days.
The action ended with implementation of their demands by the contractor and payment of minimum wages was done in the presence of management and union representatives. The Jharkhand Krantikaari Mazdoor Union (JKMU) has been struggling for many years demanding permanent status for all workers on contract in perennial jobs in the Bokaro Steel Plant. The JKMU has been made a member of the Jharkhand State Contract Labour Advisory Board and the Jharkhand State Engineering Industries Wage Board. This is a rare incident as it is usually accepted that only central trade unions are made members of such state level boards.
More than 90% of contract workers in the power sector are today members of JKMU. Recent Struggles : 1. In Bokaro steel plant, contract and casual workers are not given quarters and had been living in slums. High Court has now given orders for encroachment, which would then lead to the demolition of these structures. SP and other district officials were gheraoed by workers. JKMU had given a strike notice in 16-17 May 2011. Meetings were held everywhere and contract workers were mobilised in huge numbers. An application was also submitted simultaneously to the Regional Labour Commissioner (RLC) for rehabilitation of these workers.
RLC asked for quarters to be built and management finally accepted the demands for building permanent structures. 2. In July 2009 JKMU organised a union of 220 contract workers in a newly established private steel factory owned by Electro Steel Casting Ltd. In this unit 100 workers were terminated for participating in union activities. JKMU organised a dharna and several blockades with the help of local villagers and forced the management to reinstate all workers. The union could also force the Deputy Labour Commissioner exercise his power on the management to reinstate the workers with the threat to cancel the factory license.
