Ordnance factory workers' indefinite strike fizzles out

MoD tells Parliament that strike threat received but not strike notice

The strike was threatened to protest “the arbitrary and biased decision taken by the present government, in violation of all previous written assurances and agreement, to splinter the 41 OFs into seven non-viable corporations,” according to a press statement issued on July 8 by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) workers’ unions.

In a statement tabled in Parliament on Monday, the MoD explained: “The OFB employees’ Federations and Associations have opposed the government decision to corporatise OFB. The employees’ federations have intimated, vide letter dated June 29, that they would serve strike notice on July 8 and would commence indefinite strike from July 26. However, no such notice has been received till date.”

The government has provided details to Parliament of the OFB’s corporatisation plan. The 12 major OFs that produce ammunition and explosives will be grouped into a single defence public sector undertaking (DPSU). Another five OFs that manufacture vehicles will be grouped into a second DPSU. Another five that manufacture weapons and equipment will form a third.

Eight more OFs will come together to form an “ancillaries” group that will manufacture metals and steel. Three more OFs will form an “opto-electronics” group and a single unit — Ordnance Parachute Factory, Kanpur — will form the seventh vertical.

The MoD told Parliament it had adequately addressed apprehensions of OFB employees’ associations about the corporatisation of OFB under the secretary (Defence production).

“It is pertinent to mention that chief labour commissioner (Central) also held discussions with government and OFB federations as part of the conciliation process under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947,” stated the MoD.

“Regular interactions are being held with the stakeholders by the government. The defence minister also held a meeting with the recognised Defence Civilian Employees’ Federations on July 16 and appealed to them to continue discussions with the department,” the MoD said. 

The ministry has taken pains to clarify that the restructuring process underway was not “privatisation” of defence production, but “corporatisation” that was intended to improve efficiency. “To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and unleash new growth potential and innovation in OFs, the government has decided to convert the production units of OFB into seven DPSUs.

Since independence, the OFB has been effectively owned by the MoD. It has functioned directly under the department of defence production (DDP) and is run by a specialist cadre of officers. In contrast, the nine existing DPSUs are part-owned by the public and are administered along the same lines as PSUs.

These include four DPSUs engaged in shipbuilding: Mazagon Dock, Mumbai; Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata; Goa Shipyard and Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam. There are five more DPSUs: Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Electronics, Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Earth Movers, and Mishra Dhatu Nigam.