Letters: Weak defence

This refers to the debate “Do union payoffs help the worker’s cause?” (November 16). Sonu Gujjar’s defence for deserting the cause of his trade union reminds me of another iconic leader who took an entirely different path. Shankar Guha Niyogi, a young graduate, was sacked for trade union activities. He wandered around, learnt the local language, married a local woman and formed a new union to take up the cause of workers in the Bhilai-Rajhara belt. He won many benefits for workers, became a thorn in the flesh of local industrialists and was killed. Gujjar, tempted by the lure of money and the sense of history of Maruti Suzuki India, created trouble for the management and took away hefty money to end the strife — no doubt, for the time being.

It is the emergence of such purchasable men that has proved to be the stumbling blocks for resolving employee problems and the consolidation of good management practices. Also, as D L Sachdeva points out, it is the trust deficit that is at root of industrial relations problems. Initiative for trust has to come from a responsible management, matched by a responsive union. Both Maruti and Sonu Gujjar failed in this.

Y G Chouksey, Pune

Readers should write to:
The Editor, Business Standard,
Nehru House,
4, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
New Delhi 110 002,
Fax: (011) 23720201;
letters@bsmail.in
All letters should have a postal address and telephone number