Recently, the Times of India and Indian Express published from Bombay, carried big adverti-sements issued by the management of Hotel Bombay International. The ads informed the public that the Union in the hotel was indulging in “dadagiri” and “bullyism”, and threatening to go on strike.
According to the capitalists, the workers have been stealing food from the kitchen, treating friends and family to free food in the dining room, having meals with customers, refusing to wear uniforms, loitering all over the hotel the list is almost endless. In addi-tion to these examples of “dadagiri”, there are two more. These two charges are: demonstrating when the management appointed some new employees without consulting the union, and instigating the sweepers to go on a day’s strike, causing “great inconvenience to our customers”.
But never mind, the management assures the well-fed and the wealthy who constitute their “customers”, “we promise that within 15 days we shall give you the most peaceful atmosphere that… you can find in any hotel.”
And how do they hope to achieve this “peaceful atmosphere” ? By requesting the Police Commissioner, the Labour Commissioner and the govern-ment, who protect the class interests of the capitalists, to come to their help.
The whole advertisement is one big lie to fool the public. For example, the capitalists claim that the lowest-paid sweeper in the hotel gets a total of Rs. 1,600 per month. This lie was remuneration of other than a manager of a five star hotel. According to him “the monthly salary quoted in the advertisement cannot be considered correct.” (Indian Express, February 15.)
As for the other allegations, the workers have denied each and every one of them. The general secretary of the union, Com. K. Achuthan, in a letter to the Maharashtra home minister, Bhai Vaidya (dated February 11) has stated that the alleged strike threat and “dadagari” are lies manufactured by the management. He has also explained several facts that have been carefully kept hidden by the capitalists.
The letter states that until January this year, the atmosphere in the hotel was quite peaceful. An agree-ment was signed early this year to settle problems relating to promotions, recruitments, wage and other benefits. The Union also helped in extending the hotel’s business by cooperating in the opening of a snack-bar, kabab corner, ice-cream parlour, etc. How-ever, a fortnight after opening these new departments, the management closed them down without warning, thus throwing several workers out of their jobs. This led to an industrial dispute. Instead of solving it. the capitalists appointed a new manager to impose stricter “discipline as a result of which one permanent emp-loyee was suspended and 20 temporary workers sacked. Workers were being abused and harassed for no reason and the hotel began to resemble a prison. Police, goondas, etc. were brought in by the manager “to create terror among the workers. On February 2, prohibitory orders were declared, curbing all trade union activity in the hotel premises.
The letter ends by calling for the lifting of this anti-labour order so that the workers can enjoy the right to fight for their demands.
This whole incident reveals the close collabora-tion between the capitalists and the government of the ruling classes. The management is allowed to curb the rights of workers by using the police machi-nery. All it has to do is to manufacture some lies, which the police are only too ready to believe.
What the workers should realise is that such repressive tactics by the capitalists and their govern-ment cannot be fought by appeals to ministers, who
are only representatives of the ruling class. Only a conscious, militant, organised struggle by workers can safeguard the interests of the oppressed and the exploited in this country.
–February 20