The Hindu : Lock-out causing more loss than strikes: Ravindranath

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Lock-out causing more loss than strikes: Ravindranath

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 21. Studies have shown that losses on account of strikes by employees was less than that on account of lock out of factories by owners, thereby disproving the anti-worker propaganda now on in the country, the CITU State president, K.N. Ravindranath, has said.

In an article based on studies about production and manday loss on account of strikes and lock out, released for publication here today, Mr. Ravindranath said the study findings were significant as they showed how unfounded the campaign against strikes was.

A very significant finding of the studies was that the number of workers involved in strikes was on the rise.

However, loss of production on account of this was much less than that on account of lock out because the strikes were for short periods.

Lock out, on the contrary, were for longer periods and this resulted in heavy losses. The CITU leader said the studies, conducted by C. P. Chandrasekhar, professor of economics, Jawharlal Nehru University, also showed that the wage component of each manday was on the decline since 1998-'99.

Coming as they did at a time when trade unions and workers were facing attacks from employers and the Government, the findings had special significance, he added.

Mr. Ravindranath said the study findings also pointed to certain positive changes in the style of functioning of the working class movement in the country.

The major change was that workers had begun to shift their focus from individual industrial units to common issues of concern to the entire working class.

They have begun to realise the need to fight policies that landed their industrial units in crisis rather than for immediate economic gains.

The second positive change was the larger unity being displayed by trade unions in the country.

The countrywide strike February 24 was a proof for this. Almost all the major trade unions in the country had come together to call the strike, which was intended to raise the concerns of the working class about the globalisation, liberalisation policies being pursued by the Central Government.

This showed that the Indian trade union movement had matured. Although these positive changes were welcome, one could not also lose sight of certain negative trends. One of these was the lack of firmness on the part of the leadership of certain trade unions.

Their vacillation was not, however, being shared by their rank and file who were determined fight for the larger cause of the working people and to formulate alternative policies to those being implemented by the Indian employer class in association with their foreign counterparts, Mr. Ravindranath said.

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