By B. Sivaraman
The Centre for Sustainable
Management of the Azim Premji University, Bangalore has brought out a unique
report titled State of Working India 2018, the first of an intended annual
series. At first sight, it might look
paradoxical and surprising that when we get very little quality research output
from thousands of state-run universities and other research centres, a
corporate university should take the lead in coming out with an excellent
report throwing light on contemporary labour conditions and the state of labour
rights.
Especially so, when the nature
of work itself is undergoing far-reaching changes and the Modi regime has
turned topsy-turvey the hitherto existing 70-year-old Nehruvian industrial
relations regime in the country with a spate of labour reforms. This pioneering
venture has come as a pleasant surprise, thanks mainly to the professional
caliber of the research team the Azim Premji University has put together and
the kind of academic autonomy they obviously enjoy.
The 170-page main report might
look slim but it is barely a summary of 19 other background research papers
commissioned exclusively for this annual summary. These reports range from a
detailed study of Gurgaon-Manesar-Dharuhera-Bawal-Tapukara-Neemrana belt to
studies on handloom and rural workers in West Bengal, on Bangalore garment workers
to Rajasthanquarry workers, and on domestic and craft workers. There is also a
very good study on women workers, bringing out the gender bias dimension. Also
included are theoretical studies on informalisation, changes in the organised
manufacturing, on the unemployment crisis, the relative decline of workers’
share in the total capital outlay, the dominance of small industries
structurally and the problems of labour organising in them, the emergence of a
skilled labour pool for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and even a policy
proposal for green jobs in India.
To cite one example there is
very good study of the Gurgaon-Manesar-Dharuhera-Bawal-Tapukara-Neemrana
industrial belt spread across Haryana and Rajasthan. The authors Amit Akash, an
independent researcher and trade union activist, and Nayanjyoti, a PhD research
scholar in DU, call this industrial cluster a major destination of capital and a model of integration of Indian economy
with the global production networks across a wide spectrum of industries
ranging from high-tech IT/ITES to tech-intensive automobile multinationals to
labour-intensive garment units. They also add: “But along with industrial
growth, this development story has its own underbelly – labour – with crises of
jobs, poor working conditions, informalization of regular work, capital-labour
conflicts (sometimes of irreconcilable nature) and dismantling of collective
bargaining mechanism, pro-capital mediating institutions and labour law
enforcement processes”.
Based on primary survey work
of qualitative nature of over 6 months from September 2017 to March 2018 with
the respondents mainly being workers of different segments of industries and
plant-level TU leaders and activists of the belt, the researchers explore the
challenges before the collective bargaining mechanism due to structural changes
in production and labour process andchanges at the level of policy and
institutions. The meticulous and unprecedented case studies are listed in
separate sections for Maruti Suzuki Manesar plant, Honda Motorcycles and
Scooters plant in Tapukara, Omax Auto and Rico Auto plants in Daruhera, Automax
plant in Binola, and four others.
They also trace the history of
capital-labour conflict and the consequent restructuring of production and labour
process over 2011 to 2018. We get a very rare and minute empirical account of
the workplace changes plant by plant in press shop, welding section and
assembly line etc., based on which the authors track the changes in the
production regime, especially in the labour process, adoption of new
technologies and the increasing
disposability of workers as a result.
The main report and all the
background papers are available freely on the Internet, and the readers should
treat them as an integral set as some of the background studies are far richer
in data and analysis not all of which could obviously be accommodated in the
main report.
Can they sustain and improve
upon the high quality research year after year? When queried about this the
Chief of the Centre for Sustainable Employment and lead author of the report
Prof.Amit Basole admits that it is an onerous challenge. But he is quite
hopeful pointing to the high commitment and enthusiasm of a big pool of
researchers scattered across numerous research centres, some 30 of whom have
already been roped in for the first report.
Any maiden venture is bound to
have its gaps. The greater stress on workers’ composition, especially on
under-representation of Dalits, tribals and women in the workforce, in the main
report, unlike the background papers which devoted greater space for industrial
disputes, labour organising and other movemental dimensions, made one wonder
whether this centre, like TISS, would emerge as a think tank for corporate NGO
and CSR work.
Though a private university,
any academic centre might have its limitations in coming out openly against the
government policies. Still, absence of any scrutiny of last five years of
labour reforms of Modi is a big disappointment. When asked about this, Prof.
Amit Basole reassured that they have plans in the coming years to cover these,
and greater focus would be there on labour relations and movements. He also
hinted that they are timing a shorter 2019 report to come out before elections,
which probably would outline the labour agenda, and a more elaborate volume
covering these issues has been planned for 2020.
When it was pointed to him
that one would have expected a section on IT workers and other tech workers in
this report, especially as it was coming from a labour research think tank
based in Bangalore, and also an analysis of the distinct category of gig
economy, despite its greater focus on informal economy, Mr.Basole lamented the
absence of data in both cases but expected to come up with good results in the
coming years, as they have commissioned some qualitative case studies.
Similarly, though many
grassroots labour activists and local TU leaders like Amit Aakash have been
involved in the preparation, formal inputs from the trade unions—which could
have documented their thinking and experiences on contemporary challenges, is
missing. Mr.Basole again reassured that they would develop a more interactive
and productive interface with the organised labour movement.(IPA Service)
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