FTII struggle – Strike Ends, Protest Continues

23 November 2015 Maharashtra, Youth Speak

The protest banners held by two former FTII students at the recent International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa goes to show that their struggle is far from over. It was a prolonged battle that was debated to the core and got the attention from the whole country. 139 day strike was called off by the FTII students on 28th October after nearly five round of talks with Information and Broadcasting State Minister Rajyawardhan Rathod, but did not bring any outcomes favorable to the students. Students were only assured that ministry will think of their demands and that nothing can be forced on the ministry by the students.

After Narendra Modi led BJP govt came to power in May’14, Hindutva forces have become emboldened with its mouthpieces making outrageous and unconstitutional statements one after another. Many people close to BJP or its ideology were appointed on important posts in the administration which was highly criticized. In IIT-Madras, Ambedkar-Periyar study circle was banned. The ban was removed after protests and a huge social media uproar from all over the country. One of the many struggles which rose unexpectedly against this ardent Hindutva ideology was the FTII students struggle.

On 12th June, 2015, central I&B Ministry appointed Gajendra Chauhan as Chairman of FTII, Pune for next three years. When students tried to find out his contribution to the film industry, they found him to be a B grade movie actor, small time TV star and little skill set to head the prestigious institute. What they also found was Gajendra Chauhan is a member of BJP since 2005, belonging to Modi supporters’ camp in BJP. They had to take a call whether to tolerate his appointment in silence and let institute be a home for Saffron ideology or to fight for a progressive institute open to all and door to worldwide cinema.

Students came together and decided to challenge his appointment. They also raised questions over the capabilities of the four members of the institute’s Governing Council who were related to BJP or its other wings, with some of them having held important posts. The students decided to strike with demands for canceling the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan, electing the Chairman of the institute in a democratic way, dissolving the Governing Council and giving 50% participation to alumni’s of FTII in electing the Governing Council members. Thus began their infamous strike.

In the beginning, the struggle was wide spread with many from Bollywood including actors, directors, music directors and people from different art forms supporting the students strike and demands. When the Govt. realized the weakness of its position, it along with media started to defame the students as alcoholics, drug addicts, regular failures in academics and some illegally using campus. This criticism came as a shock for the students protesting in a democratic way for their just demands.

They managed to hit back and put their stand in a stronger way in front of the people making vile accusations against them. Arun Jaitley, Cabinet I&B minister rejected demands of the committee which met him on behalf of the students, which included Rasool Pookutty (an Oscar award winning sound designer). With the struggle gaining more support, RSS mouthpiece – Organizer stepped in accusing the students of being anti-Hindus. Subramanian ‘Susu’ Swamy in his characteristic way accused students of being Naxalites. This showed Govt. was not ready to bear even a little opposition to its agenda. On 50th day of struggle, Rahul Gandhi visited the campus and supported students demands. This constituted a ray of hope amongst students and they decided to take their struggle to Delhi at the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. Activists and people in solidarity with students protested all over the country. New Socialist Alternative also protested at Pune and Bangalore in solidarity with the students.

Continuous pressure from the govt. to end their stike, unbearable criticism from media, threats of physical attacks against them have taught the students as to what lengths the ‘state’ machinery can go to bring down their protests. The police arrested five students at midnight on fake charges of detaining institute’s director, Prashnath Pathrabe on campus. The students were released by the court the next day on bail. The struggle was difficult to continue because the current Govt. was elected with a majority in parliament. Many socially aware people and even youngsters fell to the propaganda made by Govt. and media of defaming the students. It made the struggle tougher for the students. The students have even explained their hardships and all their feelings in a letter addressed to I&B ministers, which is present on their Facebook page- FTII Wisdom Tree.

The struggle also has also taught students many important lessons. It taught them what fighting together is and what it means to take on the whole Govt. machinery/system. This most prolonged struggle in the history of the institute has really tested their resolves to the limits. The immense support from all over the country and internationally must have been surprising as well as enthusiastic for the students.

There can be a debate on the strategies adopted by the students. Award-winning filmmaker and supporter of the struggle, Jahnu Barua said, “Students should have first begun their protest with a series of dialogues. If that failed, they should have resorted to calling the strike.” There can be different views on what stand the students should have taken on different stages of the struggle. But, what is more important is to understand what this struggle has taught us and what lies ahead for the different struggles against this communal govt. This struggle is definitely going to impact on the way Govt. takes decisions and also on how it deals with such struggles in the future.

It can also be said that FTII students struggle was one of the factors that led many of the prominent personalities in the country to return their national/state awards granted to them by various governments in the past. This comes in the wake of Modi’s silence on the Dadri lynching over beef issue, burning of two Dalit children in Haryana and many controversial statements by BJP MPs and ministers. This combined together to play a key role for the BJP’s loss in the recent Bihar state assembly elections.

Now, the students have decided to continue the struggle in a democratic way with new forms of protests. New Socialist Alternative stands in solidarity with the students struggle until the institute is in a position to deliver excellence to its future batches, which is, in short, what students demand.

B. Youvraj

Pune

Protest

TCS Layoffs & Uncertainty in the Indian IT sector

23 January 2015 News, Special Exploitation Zones

“IT stands for India tomorrow & BT stands for Bharat Tomorrow” was proclaimed by Atal B Vajpayee, former BJP Prime Minister of India. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India rephrased the above sentences in 2013 in London and said “IT is India today. BT is not biotechnology, it is Bharat Today. IT and IT equals IT. That means information technology and Indian talent is India tomorrow.”

These rhetoric quotes helped him get applause from the audience; however, today, workers in Information Technology industry are experiencing uncertainty because of a layoff program initiated by the top management in the industry. The following article is regarding the layoff issue in IT Industry, especially in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and written by Raj (name changed), an IT industry employee.

The issue got attention after the press release on December 10th from TCS regarding work force optimization. Though they released the statement regarding work force optimization, many consider this as a lay off statement. The worker’s worries aggravated when some of the senior employees with experience of 10 years and more were asked to leave TCS, and the worries turned into a panic as news about nearly 25000-35000 people may be asked to leave TCS within next three months. It is approximately 10 % of TCS workforce. Because of the high numbers, it got attention in the press and the social media. TCS refutes the claim of mass layoff and stated that involuntary exits would be around 1% – 2%.

The total workforce of TCS is little above 3 Lakh. Even 1% – 2 % means numbers will be around 3000-6000 workers. It is also a huge number as one in 50-100 employees are asked to leave the company involuntarily.

Untimely lay off program

The affected employees will be left in a precarious position as layoff is being implemented in the last quarter of the financial year. The job prospects will be very less in this quarter compared to other quarters. The company’s planned its layoff program to near perfection as this is being implemented at a time when the appraisal process is happening and many employees will be forced not to speak up against the management as this will affect their promotions, salary hike etc.

Not an Open Process at all!

The decisions were taken behind the closed door without announcing the exact criteria for termination of job. The most affected people will be women employees as they would have taken more leaves because of maternity, children, etc., and their performance appraisal will not be on par with men in the company down the years. TCS employs nearly one lakh women employees which account almost 70% of total women workforce across TATA group.

However, in a sign that shows that women IT workers are not willing to bow down without a fight, one of TCS women employee challenged TCS in a petition at the Madras High Court. TCS has now revoked the termination notice citing pregnancy of the petitioner and that it goes against company’s ethical policy. As for the rest, such grand-sounding ‘Tata Ethics’ do not apply!

Profit driven not performance driven

Tata Consultancy Services is considered as the crown in the TATA group. The market capitalization (the current market value) of TCS is closely $79 billion. The promoters i.e., Tata sons and institutional investors hold 73% and 21 % of shares respectively. The company’s share holders worth tripled between 2010 and 2014. Their net worth increased from 15,016.62 crores to 44,051.88 crores.

TCS net profit is nearly Rs. 1660 crores per month in this financial year 2014-15. Considering 3 lakh employees working in TCS, the profit per employee per month is nearly 53,000 rupees. It indicates that one TCS worker already generated 4,50,000 rupees as profit in latest nine months. The profit or productivity per employee increased from 4.6 lakhs per annum in 2013 to 6.3 lakhs in 2014. From this, it clearly indicates that the motive behind layoff is profit not performance (more work/ productivity from less amount of labour).

Movement Against Layoff

The layoff is going on not only in TCS, but also continuing in other companies namely Cisco, IBM and HP. Yahoo already sacked nearly 2000 employees earlier this year. In order to prevent lay off and to protect the worker rights, many organizations, mainly Forum for IT Employees (F.I.T.E.), Young Tamil Nadu Movement (YTM) are trying to organize IT workers and protest against TCS.

They have started a face book page We are against TCS LayOff to raise issues such as unionization, ways to protect the jobs through legal means and to fight against the layoff. Predictably, not to be totally sidelined, CPI(M) linked CITU, the CPI-linked AITUC and Congress-linked INTUC have also stepped to show their half baked support.

Unfair labour laws in Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

In the Indian constitution under Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV), Article 43 A states that ” The State shall take steps, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to secure the participation of workers in the management of undertakings, establishments or other organizations engaged in any industry”. In real practices neither the central nor the state governments have taken any such steps to ensure participation of workers in management decisions of any industry or implement labour laws.

The centre and state governments are promoting Special Economic Zones to woo IT players to set up their companies in their state. Apart from land, electricity and tax incentives to the industrialist, the major incentives they provide to these MNC are the modifications in the labour laws. For example, the economic activity within a SEZ is considered as a ‘public utility service’ under which Indian law makes strikes entirely illegal!

The BJP led central government advertising and promoting “Make in India” where IT services is one of the five core sectors. However, the central government is silent regarding the layoff of IT workers in TCS, one of the leading IT service company in the country. No effort from government side to prevent the mass lay off happening in TCS.

It shows the actual concerns behind “Make in India” campaigns are about industrialist/ investments and not the actual makers i.e., workers themselves!.

New Socialist Alternative (CWI-India) has participated in protests organized by FITE in Bangalore. We have also spoken on the need for democratic unionization of IT workers in many of our campaign leaflets. This is the only way forward for the IT workers to fight for better working conditions and also to win the fundamental rights of Trade Unions to organise in their workplaces and strike if need be.

Only this way can the IT youth can gel their social weight within the society and strive along with other radical sections who are fighting to establish a system of social equality, with out any form of oppression based on class, caste, gender,sexuality nationality, language and religion. i.e., Democratic Socialism.

Editors
Socialism.in

Security of security guards at stake at S.P. Pune University!

23 December 2016 Maharashtra

Pune University is one of the most prestigious universities in India. Around a year ago, it was renamed. The name of the legendary social reformer, Savitribai Phule, was added. Savitribai Phule, who sacrificed her whole life for uplifting of women, underprivileged and oppressed castes through education and radical social empowerment activities, but does the university administration really follow the path of Savirtibai Phule?

Let’s have a look at an ongoing struggle in the university. Like any other organisation, university also has a force of security guards. The security guards belong to oppressed castes, mostly Dalits. Most of these guards are working in university since last 10 to 15 years but on a contract basis. Every year or after a specified period of time when the contract is over, the contract is renewed and given to a new (third party) agency. But, the plight of the security guards remain the same irrespective of the agency. This has been happening over the years. But, what has actually happened this year? This time, when the contract was about to get over on 1st December, security guards were expecting to get accommodated in the new contract as usual. However, this has not happened. The new agency has put new security norms for security guards regarding one’s height and similar criteria. Thus, near about 65 to 70 workers were made ineligible for the post of security guards according to these new norms. At the same time, some workers not fulfilling these norms were accommodated when they bribed the contractor etc. Since 1st December, many of these security guards have became jobless and the question of daily bread is hovering over their families.

When comrade Sheetal of New Socialist Alternative, Pune came to know about this issue, she immediately met with the workers and discussed their issue in detail. She realised the need to lead these workers as they were totally depressed and not united to fight against this unjust move. Comrade Sheetal arranged several meetings with workers and urged them on the need to unite and fight for their rights. Also, in one of our branch meetings, it was decided to take this struggle forward. Since 8th December, workers have been protesting in the university. University administration initially neglected the protests. But, we stood firm with the workers and started shouting slogans, singing protest songs, arranged rallies in the university premises etc. This forced the university administration to start discussion with workers and the leading organisations.

Apart from New Socialist Alternative, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Kamagar Sena (belonging to the sectarian, right wing MNS) have also joined the struggle. Since 8th December till date, the university administration has tried to divide the workers and leading organisations, police have threatened workers. But, despite our serious political differences with other leading political groups involved in the protest, we together with the workers have been able to overcome the odds and the struggle is still on.

At first, Vice-Chancellor and university administration tried to stay aside saying this is not their issue and it is solely contractors wish whom to enrol. But, in one of the meetings with Vice-Chancellor comrade Youvraj of New Socialist Alternative, Pune strongly opposed this stand of Vice-Chancellor and answered him that the university is a Public institution, not a private company and the university administration cannot run away from performing their duties. During 2-3 meetings with the Vice- Chancellor, the leadership has forced him to look into the issue. As regards to the powers a Vice- chancellor has over employing the security guards directly, they can easily employ them for a specified duration and the whole contract thing can be looked in detail later. This is the official stand of ‘Guard Board’- State Government’s organisation that takes care of these processes. But, Vice- Chancellor wishes to run away from everything. For one of the ‘scheduled’ talks at around 5 PM one day, the Vice-Chancellor avoided to discuss the issue. The workers and leading organisations sat outside his office until 9:30 PM at night. After an agitated protest, he agreed to talk the next day.

Since the 1st day, many political organisations, student organisations from university and outside university have supported this struggle. New Socialist Alternative, Pune thinks this struggle not being solely related to workers but also concerning the youth today as ‘Contract’ system is going to exploit them when they will be a part of the market. With this attitude, we have taken this struggle among students of university and appealed them to support the struggle.

It has been more than 15 days already, but the university administration is still following the old tactics of dividing and threatening workers and leadership. They asked women security guards to end the struggle as they will be enrolled first and then male security guards’ enrolment will be looked into later. All the workers and New Socialist Alternative, Pune have demanded that all of them must be enrolled at the same time. New Socialist Alternative, Pune is determined to take this struggle to an end and is stressing the need of taking this struggle to a next level amongst workers and the leadership. From 23rd December, striking workers are going to go on an aggressive protest in front of Vice-Chancellor’s building. All the supporting organisations are going to be part of this agitation.

Our Demands

1) The agitating security guards must be enrolled with immediate effect in order that they can earn wages to survive for now.

2) All the security guards working on contract basis should be enrolled on a permanent basis.

3) Put an end to Contract system.

Sheetal Alhat & Manohar Yadav

New Socialist Alternative, Pune

Belgium: In Solidarity With JNU

7 March 2016 News

A demonstration was organized in Antwerp on 4th March in solidarity with the protesting students of JNU and the jailed student activist leaders in India. People from multiple ethnicities and backgrounds, from Indians, Pakistanis, Kashmiris, Sri Lankans to Belgians, demonstrated against repression of students and their democratic voices by the right-wing BJP-led government in India. The comrades participated in the protest in spite of heavy rains in Belgium. The protest was supported by LSP, Tamil Solidarity, and progressive Kashmiris.

The repression of students in JNU by the communal forces of the BJP-RSS is a continuation of the BJP-RSS attack on secular, progressive and democratic elements in the country. The jailing of JNU students was preceded just weeks earlier by the murder by suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula by the HCU administration at the behest of the HRD ministry. The past 20 months of the BJP government has seen protests from people all over India – farmers (against land ordinance bill and continuing agrarian crisis), workers (against neoliberal policies), students (against cuts in education and crushing of dissent), and secular forces (against communal attacks).

On the pretext of a 10-member meeting organized by students on the judicial killing of Kashmiri Afzal Guru in 2013, and the basis of what later turned out to be a doctored video, the government unleashed police forces on JNU to arrest students Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khaled and others, terming them as anti-nationals. Right-wing goons beat Kanhaiya Kumar in court premises while the police was watching, in front of national media. The incident has backfired for the ruling establishment with a huge oupouring of support for students in across India and abroad.

The protesters demanded for:

No to the persecution of the students of JNU in general, student leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and others in particular! No to the rise of right-wing hate crimes against India’s oppressed castes! No to violence against Indians who are not Hindu! No to the attacks on democratic rights in India!
For the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and all oppressed nationalities!
For unity of workers and oppressed, women and men, irrespective of origin and religious background. Together we are stronger against all forms of oppression!

Vinay Chandra

For more photos, please check this link

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TCS Layoffs & Uncertainty in the Indian IT sector

Security of security guards at stake at S.P. Pune University!

Belgium: In Solidarity With JNU