The simmering discontent among sections of contract and temporary labour in and around Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) came to public attention after it erupted into mass protests, which eventually turned violent. But the storm was gathering in the Noida industrial belt, as the workers’ demands were ignored and the peaceful protests hardly elicited any meaningful response from the managements of industrial and other units, or even the government authorities.
The workers were reportedly getting paid as low as Rs 13,000 per month and they demanded that it be increased to Rs 20,000 per month in compliance with the Minimum Wages Act. Other demands included better working conditions, which are allegedly poor in many sweatshops operating in the region.
In recent years, there has been a tendency in the ruling establishment to activate a process that is in sync with its self image of being a tough, no-nonsense, self-righteous regime, one that need not engage with people even if they have some legitimate grievances or demands. The natural impulse seems to be to feel offended that people have grievances and that they want to assert their constitutional rights and seek resolution through fair negotiations.
Usually, it first unleashes its pack of paid or ideologically committed troll army to demonise any protest movement. The pro-government media would then amplify it and lend credence to portrayal of protestors as antisocial or anti-national elements. If the hitherto peaceful protestors were to lose their patience or were driven to adopting more militant tactics, then the State would quell it with brutal force.
Protests are often a consequence of some law that the government would pass, mostly unilaterally without much discussion, debate, and consultation with stakeholders. Several controversial legislations have been bulldozed through the Parliament without getting everyone on board. Once the affected realise its implications, they begin to protest. In this instance, the blame can be laid at the government’s door which thrust the four new Labour Codes on the working class. The government’s publicity machinery sold these codes as welfare-centric and workers believed it naively. DT Next had in the past pointed out that the new codes leaned more towards business interests, often at the cost of workers’ rights.
For reasons best known to the government, the UP administration swung into action and announced an increase of up to Rs 3,000 in wages depending on their skill levels. But in the same breath, it cast aspersions on the protestors and threatened stringent repressive action. As is its wont, the government initiated investigations into the so-called digital conspiracy to incite workers to defame the protest.
As it had done in the past, it raked up the charge of “toolkits” and the government is now attempting to criminalise legitimate methods of organising protests by using WhatsApp groups and social media channels. The Noida administration said that it would take firm action against outsourcing agencies and contractors, including blacklisting and cancellation of their licences, if workers engage in violence or disruptive conduct.
The government should adhere to the country’s democratic traditions by refraining from adopting adversarial postures against its citizens and instead engage with the protestors to find solutions to their genuine and just demands. Moreover, it should recalibrate its policy so that the rights and welfare of workers is not sacrificed at the altar of ‘ease of doing business’.