Rights of contract workers at IITK and the saga of David Thomas report

Dear Friends,

For the last several years a group of alumni, Citizens’ Forum (CF), has been involved in the struggle for human rights of contract workers at our alma mater. It has had several discussions with IITK administration and produced two reports on the condition of contract workers – one in 2010 and the other in 2012. Recommendations of these reports are yet to be implemented. We have produced or compiled many other documents which can be reviewed at our website.  We have been left to conclude that the contribution of alumni is not taken seriously by the administration.

In 2012, Institute decided to get its own version of a report on the condition of contract workers and asked Mr. David Thomas, a Distinguished Alumnus Award winner while he was a scholar-in-residence, to prepare one. The report was prepared and submitted to the Institute in November 2012 and was lauded by Director specifically in meetings (including an open house attended by nearly 200 community members). The then DRPG, also exhorted CF to learn from the report.

However even after repeated requests, we could not get a copy of the report that we were expected to learn from. Finally in June 2013, CF was able to obtain a copy through the long and arduous RTI process involving an appeal. At that time we were informed that the report had been rejected because its “implementation may not be in the best interest of the institution.”  The author of the report, Mr. David Thomas, was not even informed of the fate of the report nor was he invited to discuss his recommendations. CF has contacted Mr. Thomas for comments and our correspondence can be seen at https://sites.google.com/site/iitkcfdevelopment/our-efforts/protests/2013-dt-report.

We are appalled by Institute’s lack of transparency and accountability in the way it treats its alumni. We believe that alumni should not just be a source of generous donations but ambassadors of their alma mater in every possible way. They should praise it when it is worthy but also hold it accountable when their alma mater becomes an embarrassment.  They deserve respect and proper answers to their demands/questions. Specifically, we wish to highlight the following:

• • Why was a report that an alumnus was asked to prepare, and that was initially embraced by the administration, was later unaccountably, kept secret?

  • Why did a group of alumni have to resort to RTI to obtain a copy of the report? Actual request to release report under RTI was first denied by the Institute.  An appeal had to be filed to finally get the report in June 2013. This revealed the Institute's refusal to follow a policy of transparency, which has been a consistent demand by the alumni.

  • The summary dismissal of the report without any information /consultation sought with the author of the report, Mr. David Thomas (who learnt of its rejection from us) and for no clearly stated reason except that 'it was not in the institute's best interests'. This shows complete lack of accountability the Institute exhibits even towards its coveted alumni constituency.

  • If the Institute can exhibit such complete lack of accountability when it comes to its alumni, what can be expected with regard to other constituencies including contract workers? The workers provide service ‘in the best interests of institute’and it should at least reciprocate not disregard the interests of workers. Please note that the report essentially asks the institute to fulfill its responsibilities to the contract workers, ensuring dignity of work for them as necessary constituents of the Institute community. How is this against the Institute's best interests?

We would like to invite you to share your views on this matter, by responding to this e-mail.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you. We will compile your comments and share them with IITK administrators.  Mr. Thomas has kindly agreed to provide any explanations about his report if required. We will be happy to coordinate your comments or questions with him.

All the related communications above are archived at: https://sites.google.com/site/iitkcfdevelopment/our-efforts/protests/2013-dt-report.

If you are wondering as to how you can help our cause, we welcome you to join us at CF, an informal group working for dignity of labour at IITK. To learn more about us or for more information click: https://sites.google.com/site/iitkcfdevelopment/about-us.

You may also contact us at citizensforum.at.iitk@gmail.com .

Sincerely,

Citizens’ Forum

A Group of Alumni for the Dignity of Labor at IIT Kanpur