People's Democracy

IN a letter addressed to the Director General of the International Labour Office (ILO), M K Pandhe, general secretary, CITU, sought its intervention in ensuring that the rights of the workers including the right to association and collective bargaining are honoured in the Export Processing Zones in India.

Giving instances of the various violations of Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (87) and The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, (98) of the ILO, in the Visakhapatnam Export Processing Zone (VEPZ) in Andhra Pradesh, (under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India) by the management of ‘World Wide Diamond Manufacturing Ltd.’, the CITU sought its immediate intervention.

"Trade Unions are not banned in the Export Processing Zones in India. But trade union activities are not allowed in the VEPZ. The Development Commissioner has personally warned the workers that they might lose their jobs if they join any trade union. There is no grievance redressal mechanism for the workers. The services of the workers are immediately terminated, if they are suspected of participating in any trade union activity. CITU could register the ‘Visakhapatnam Export Processing Workers’ Union’ with great difficulty. The management of the Company refuses to talk to the union.

This is a gross violation of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at work, wherein it has been declared that "all Members, even if they have not ratified the Conventions in question, have an obligation, arising from the very fact of membership in the Organisation, to respect, to promote, and to realise, in good faith and in accordance with the Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights which are the subject of those Conventions", which includes the ‘freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining and the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour.

There are 7 Export Processing Zones in India and in all these, the conditions of the workers are none too different. With the reforms process in progress, the attacks on the workers have been increasing. CITU is organising the workers in the Export Processing Zones to resist these attacks " stated Pandhe in his letter.