Cold Response To Basu Move

Trade unions at the Manu Chhabria-controlled tyre major Dunlop India are not impressed by the West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu's move to intervene in the company's working, as earlier interventions have till date not brought forth any positive results.

Earlier last week, Basu had approached the union finance minister, P Chidambaram, to intervene in the labour fiasco that Dunlop has found itself entangled in. Basu approached the union finance ministry for the appointment of government nominees on the board of the company.

However, a union source told Business Standard that the demand for the intervention of financial institutions in the company was something the union had for long demanded. "Basu had earlier communicated about the Dunlop issue to the Union finance minister, but we have received no reaction from the Centre" said a union source. It is believed that prior to this, the last time Basu communicated to the finance minister was in the end of 1997.

 

The temporary suspension of work, has led to a flurry of political activities. Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress leader, was slated to have held a meeting yesterday at Sahaganj. The Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has also declared a bandh today, from Tribeni to Chandannagar in protest of the suspension of work.

However, this burst of political activities still fails to give any kind of assurance to the workers. A worker said, "if elections were not round the corner, the reaction of the politicians might not have been the same". It must also be remembered that the Trinamool candidate for elections in that area is Tapan Dasgupta.

Union sources are confident that today's bandh will be successful. Regarding Basu's intervention in the matter, a union source said the policy of the union was to watch and wait. "We should be receiving some kind of reaction from the central government within the next ten days" said the source.

Samar Chakraborti, joint general secretary of INTUC said it was a calculated, well planned, and well executed action of the Dunlop management in declaring a temporary suspension of work just before the meeting with the government. Chakraborti also condemned the government's "ineffectiveness" in dealing with the problem.

"The current crisis has not taken shape overnight. Let there be a proper enquiry on the financial matters relating to the company" said Chakraborti. He further said that INTUC had earlier requested the Union ministers of finance, labour, commerce and industries to look into Dunlop, but till date nothing had been done. "Dunlop cannot be saved unless something forceful is done, but nobody seems really interested" said Chakraborti.