2010-07-09 : The June 15, 2010 Circular and Its Implications

The June 15, 2010 Circular and Its Implications

    On June 15, 2010, the IITK Director issued a circular that contains important change in rules regarding the work conditions of contract workers on campus.  These new rules include the following:

1. The hiring and firing of all contract workers is completely at the discretion of the contractor.  The institute has no concern in this matter.

2. Upkeep of all worker-related records is solely the responsibility of the contractor.  The institute is displeased at inspecting authorities pointing fingers at the institute for shortcomings in maintenance of records.

3. With immediate effect, contractors should STOP maintaining the all-in-one employment card that includes worker’s attendance and payment records, as well as wage slips.   Contractors should only maintain the registers and records as per the law.

4. Contractors may seek guidance and advice from the Labour Advisor in the legal cell in this regard.

Background:

    It is important to understand why this circular has come out at this point in time.  Several events in the past couple of months have put the institute on the defensive, and this circular is clearly an attempt to ensure that all appears well on paper and to provide the Institute with ‘legal’ cover for its activities. Hence it is important that we understand the importance of these events:

1. The VH workers’ issue:  The collective struggle by workers that finally led to the reinstatement of the 16 VH workers who had been fired arbitrarily is one of the main reasons for the issuance of this circular. As we all know, the workers were fired at the insistence of Institute administrators as a way to make way for hiring their own people.  The contractor, in fact, repeatedly asserted that he would take back the old workers if the institute administrators would agree to remove the people they had hired as replacements.  It is therefore clear that the Institute administration is deeply involved in the hiring and firing of contract workers.  However, with this circular, the Institute is officially, on paper, distancing itself from all such hiring / firing decisions.  This is paving the way for future arbitrary firings, not just of the concerned VH workers, but also any other contract workers through pressure being put by Institute administrators on the concerned contractors.

2. Visit by Regional Labour Commissioner:  The RLC’s May 7, 2010 visit to IITK was a direct consequence of the case regarding exploitation of contract workers in IITK that was filed by our Environmental Building saathi in the Labour Commissioner’s office.  During this visit, despite all attempts by the Institute administrators to side-track the RLC, he did visit several work sites and clearly saw all kinds of labour laws being violated at these sites.  IITK, as the Principal Employer, is clearly responsible for such violations and worker exploitation.  This circular is clearly a reaction to this visit as an attempt to place the entire responsibility for all such problems on the contractors while presenting itself as being altogether innocent in the eyes of the law.

3. Protest Petition signed by over 1000 alumni:  The ongoing online petition protesting against the contract labour exploitation has reached the Director repeatedly, each time with increasing number of signatures. The petition demands that the institute fulfill its responsibility as the principal employer by ensuring that all contract workers are given their due rights on campus.  The circular may also be seen as a response to this mounting alumni pressure; it is an attempt to formally disclaim responsibility for the most blatant labour law violations on campus.

Implications of this circular:

    With this circular, the Institute is clearly retracting certain measures that had been taken in the past, at least on paper, to ensure some basic rights of contract workers.  These measures themselves had been the result of the collective struggle of workers along with concerned campus community members which had forced the institute into taking some remedial action as recommended by the chair of its own Minimum Wage Monitoring Committee.

1. Establishment of the Minimum Wage Monitoring Committee (MWMC) in 2000 and the Minimum Wage Payment Office in 2004 were a direct result of the pressure put on the Institute by workers, students and faculty.  The MWMC and its large volunteer base helped to put in place several practices such as issuance of employment cards, wage slips detailing actual payments made by contractors to workers, etc. which attempted to ensure some basic rights of contract workers.

2. The sixteen-page 16 September 2007 Office Order was also a result of pressure mounted on the Institute, this time primarily by the alumni, when within a short span of time, three cases of contract workers losing their life while working on campus came to light.  In this office order the Institute accepted its responsibilities as the Principal Employer and bound itself to following all concerned labour laws.  In this office order, the Institute made specific provisions that:

3.     (a)  All contract workers would be issued an all-in-one employment card that would include the concerned worker’s photograph, and would contain their attendance as well as wage record.

4.     (b)  The firing of any worker before the expiration for which s/he has been hired OR the completion of the project for which s/he has been hired could only take place after due grievance procedures including recommendation of an Institute constituted grievance committee. 

    Of course, none of these provisions promised in the Sept. 16, 2007 office order have ever been implemented. And now, the June 15, 2010 Circular is an attempt to take back these hard won concessions even on paper.  As a result, all kinds of workers who have been working for long years on the campus stand to lose their livelihoods now at the drop of a hat without any reason or prior notice.  One can well imagine the consequences for any contract workers who dare to raise the question of their due rights within the atmosphere of fear created by such arbitrary firing policies.

What We Need to do:

    This Circular clearly shows us that the Institute is constantly taking measures to ensure that the status quo continues with respect to the contract labour situation on campus.  The institute has consolidated its resources in this respect by hiring a ‘Labour Advisor’ to ensure that it does not face undue legal problems as it continues to blatantly disregard its responsibilities as the principal employer.  The institute is clearly prepared for its part in this struggle – what about us?  We need to act also to prepare and strengthen ourselves for the continuing struggle by doing at least the following:

1. Inform all our contract labour saathi about this circular and discuss its implications with them.

2. Continue to build solidarity in every possible way, and at every level, to ensure the collective strength that is the only way to fight against the labour exploitative practices and policies of the Institute.

Hamara Manch Motto:

Mazdoor Hain, Majboor Nahin

Shikshit Honge, Sangatith Honge, Sangharsh Karenge

(We are Workers, not woeful supplicants)

(We’ll educate ourselves, build solidarity, and struggle to build a better

world)

Attachment: June 15 2010 circular in perspective.pdf

(Note: The relevant September 16th Office order can be found here. The document has been edited to correct a typo (june was inadvertently changed to july). )