The 4th conference of the All India Blue Star Employees’ Federation was held during November 27-29 at Bangalore. Com. K. S. Subrahmanya, President of Blue Star Employees Union, Bangalore, welcomed the delegates.
Com. Shyam Maheshwari, General Secretary, reported on the activities of the Federation. Statement of accounts for the year 1978 and the Secretary’s report were passed unanimously.
Delegates expressed their anger over Blue Star management’s delaying tactics in according recognition to the Federation and in not settling pending issues in Calcutta and other places. It was unanimously deci-ded that appropriate steps should be taken if the management did not change its attitude. The delegates expressed extreme indignation over the way the management is taking advantage of the Apprenticeship Act. They are not filling up the vacancies and are making the apprentices do regular work.
As regards the political situation, the delegates were unanimous in holding that parliamentary democracy can deliver the goods only to capitalists and landlords. Elections, therefore, will only change the individuals. The state machinery will continue to be used for prote-cting the ruling class interests and for oppressing the working class. It is therefore the duty of the working class to educate people about the need for fundamen-tal changes in the economic and political structure and lead the toiling masses in their struggle to achieve these goals.
The impact of BLAST and its useful role in the working class movement came in for high appreciation. Calcutta delegates expressed their desire to bring out a Bengali edition. The Federation has agreed to consi-der the matter. Following, office bearers and managing committee members were unanimously elected Presi-dent: Y. V. Chavan: Vice-President: N. Vasudevan; General Secretary: Shyam Maheshwari: Joint Secret-aries: E. Y. George, G. Lakshmanan, V. Mallikharjuna Rao and Nirmal Singh: Treasurer: V. S. A. Shenoy; Committee Members: K. Unnikrishnan, Narayana Sharma, Nasimuddin, K. R. S. Panicker, V. S. R. K.Prasad, P. N. Lall, S. S. Walke and Y. V. Amin.
DISPUTE SETTLED IN CALCUTTA : For the last two years issues were piling up in the Calcutta office because of the adamant attitude of the Eastern Region Vice-President, Brig. C. V. Advaney (Retd.). The pending issues included, permanency of temporary and casual employees, grades and classification, promotion, ex-gratia bonus for 1976, etc. When talks between the union and management failed the workers started agitation. Soon the management’s provocative actions forced the employees to ‘gherao’ the mana-gers and continue the action for three days. The capitalists sought the help of the courts and secured an injunction order restraining the employees from continuing the ‘gherao’. This led to a work stoppage from January 4.
A few months prior to this the entire staff working in the stores had to go on a 31 day strike in order to get a sweeper made permanent in the company. This comrade had put in more than seven years’ continuous service in the company. Utterly insensi-tive to human feelings, Brig. Advaney (Retd.) did not confirm the sweeper in spite of this strike.
One of the major issues to be settled in the January agitation was the question of this sweeper. As per the settlement reached between the Company’s Chairman who went to Calcutta and the represen-tatives of the Federation, the sweeper got a permanent job in the company. In addition to this, the company had to absorb another four helpers. Employees received monetary gains in the form of ex-gratia. The contract labour system was abolished thus ending an ugly era in Blue Star, Calcutta.