Friday, June 19, 2009

Shrimati  Prathibha  Patil,
President of India,
Sashtrapathi Bhavan,
New Delhi – 110 001.
Fax: 00 91 11 223017290
Email: pressecy@sansad.nic.in

CC

Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India,
7, Race Course Road
New Delhi – 110011
Ph: 00 91 11 23018939 / 23018668 /  23015470
Fax: 00 01 11 23015603
Email: manmohan@alpha.nic.in / pmosb@pmo.nic.in

Shri. Anand Sharma
Minister of Commerce & Industry
Room No. 45.
Udyog Bhawan,
New Delhi - 110011
Ph: 00 91 11 23010008 / 23011492
Fax:  00 91 11 23019947

Shri Mallikarjun Kharge
Minister of Labour and Employment,
Room No. 119, Shram Shakti Bhawan,
Rafi Marg, New Delhi - 110001
Ph: 00 91 11 23717515 / 23710240 / 23714658
Fax: 00 91 11 23711708

Thiru.  M. Karunanidhi
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,
Secretariat, Chennai – 600 009.
Ph : 00 91 44 25362345
Fax : 00 91 44 2561441
Email : cmcell@sec.tn.gov

Thiru. T.M. Anbarasan
The Minister for Labour,
“Samanthi”
No. B.6. Govt  Estate, Kumarasamy Raja Salai,
Chennai – 600 028.
Phone: 00 91 44  25673126 

Dr T Prabhakara Rao IAS
Department of Labour & Employment
Principal Secretary to the Government
Phone:  25670472 (O), 24482010 (R)  25679739 (Fax)
Email: labsec@tn.gov.in

Dear President Shrimati  Prathibha  Patil,
We are writing to express our deep concern about the violation of labour rights of workers who are members of the Madras Rubber Factory United Workers Union in Tamil Nadu, India. Madras Rubber Factory United Workers Union was registered on 29 December, 2003.

We have received disturbing reports that the Madras Rubber Factory’s management is refusing to recognise the Madras Rubber Factory United Workers Union and interferes in union affairs. Since 2006, a total of 1,400 permanent workers and 3,000 contract workers of the Madras Rubber Factory who are members of this trade union have not been able to collectively bargain for their labour rights. The management has dismissed workers who are active in the trade union affairs, or suspended them or had them transferred from one section to another. Their wages have been reduced and there have been complaints of physical violence and lodging of false criminal charges.

Further in protest of unfair wages, increased workload, unfair dismissal and intimidation by the factory management, the Madras Rubber Factory United Workers Union has been on strike since 09 May, 2009. The Madras Rubber Factory United Workers Union under the International Labour Organisation’s Committee on the Freedom of Association had filed a case against the Madras Rubber Factory for non-compliance of international labour standards such as unfair dismissals and unfair wages in 2006 and followed it up in 2007. In response, the International Labour Organisation on 14 September 2007 issued a list of recommendations necessary to solve this dispute which includes the Government of India to take immediate action on the following:

(a) The Committee had urged the Government of India to conduct an independent inquiry without delay into all alleged acts of anti-union discrimination suffered by the officials and members of the Madras Rubber Factory United Worker’s Union and, if these allegations are found to be true, to provide redress for the damages suffered.  Specifically, the Committee requests the Government of India to ensure that:

* All  workers dismissed for their trade union activities are reinstated in service with all consequent benefits, including full payment of lost  wages subject to substantive evidence and / or information warranting the contrary;
* All workers suspended for their trade union activities are allowed to resume work and are granted all consequent benefits, including arrears of wages;
* All pending disciplinary proceedings initiated on the grounds of trade union membership and activities are dropped;
* False criminal changes against trade union members are dropped and that the concerned workers are compensated;
* Trade union members transferred because of their membership or union activities are allowed to return to their previous workplaces.

The Committee further requests the Government of India to take the necessary measures to ensure that the members of the complainant organisation are not discriminated against in the matter of wages and other benefits.

(b) The Committee had requested the labour and judicial authorities, in order to avoid a denial of justice, to pronounce on the dismissals without delay and emphasised that any further undue delay in the proceedings could in itself justify the reinstatement of these persons in their posts.

( c ) The Committee had urged the Government of India to conduct an independent inquiry without delay into all allegations of interference by the factory management into trade union internal affairs and, if the allegations of the complainant are found to be true, to take all necessary steps to ensure that there are sufficiently dissuasive sanctions imposed so that the management refrains from any further such acts so as to safeguard the independence of any workers’ organisation at the factory.

(d) The Committee had requested the Government of India to actively consider, in full and frank consultations with the social partners, legislative provisions expressly sanctioning violations of trade union rights and providing for sufficiently dissuasive sanctions against acts of anti-union discrimination and interference in trade union internal affairs.

(e) The Committee had urged the Government of India, in consultation with the social partners, to amend the relevant provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act so as to ensure that suspended workers and trade unions may approach the court directly, without being referred by the State Government of Tamil Nadu.

(f) The Committee had requested the Government of India to take appropriate measures to obtain the employer’s recognition of the Madras Rubber Factory United Workers’ Union for collective bargaining purposes. 

(g) The Committee had requested the Government of India to consider laying down objective rules for the designation of the most representative union for collective bargaining purposes, when it is not clear by which union the workers wish to be represented.

(h) The Committee had requested the Government of India to solicit information from the employers’ organisations concerned, as well as those of the enterprise concerned, with a view to having at its disposal their views on the questions at issue.

We urge the Government of India, which is a founding member of the International Labour Organisation and signatory to 42 International Labour Organisations Conventions and Protocols to abide by and immediately execute the International Labour Organisation’s Committee on the Freedom of Association recommendations.

 

We thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD)

 

APWLD is a regional women’s human rights network of 150 members in 23 countries of the Asia Pacific region committed to enabling women to use law as an instrument of social change, equality and development.