Solidarity with Voltas Employees Federation

The New Trade Union Initiative hails the extraordinary perseverance and determination of the members of All India Voltas Employees Federation to stand up against the Voltas management’s recruitment policy and fight against the contract labour system for more than 100 days now by sitting on a relay hunger strike at the Company’s corporate office at Chinchpokli in Mumbai since 1 March 2011.

We support the federation’s demand to bring a change in the recruitment pattern of the company along with disbursal of bonus for the year 2009-10 and putting a stop to the Voltas management’s victimization of the federation’s office bearers and other members.

It is appalling that over the past few years, Voltas Limited, a Tata enterprise, has gradually changed its workforce composition by recruiting only temporary and contract workers, and thereby limiting the number of permanent employees. This is undermining of collective bargaining in the workplace. Voltas’s policy of recruiting contract workers through companies like Team Lease and Kelly in the general staff functions of the company has resulted in more than half of the employees falling under the category of temporary and contract workers. It is deplorable that Voltas keeps these workers outside the category of regular employment and exploit them in return.

We also applaud the federation’s role in supporting the struggle of contract workers by demanding their legal right of equal wages for equal work. NTUI condemns this unequal treatment towards contract workers and upholds the right of equal pay for equal work and the right to security of tenure as regular worker. We condemn use of these discriminatory practices by the Voltas management which is a mechanism to divide workers and in particular to marginalise contract workers.

Voltas management actions are not just deceitful and shameful but they are in gross violation of the law in so far as their stated position is that they are willing to withdraw their punitive action against federation office bearers only if the union withdraws it demands.
NTUI is also in support of the federation’s demand for the payment of bonus and ex gratia. The failure of the Voltas management to pay these monies despite an agreement shows its lack of willingness to engage in collective bargaining in good faith.

The struggle of All India Voltas Employees Federation gives confidence and inspiration to workers from across industries and sectors to fight against the contract labour system. We salute them and all workers for organising such a large and sustained struggle. We stand in solidarity with them in their fight for dignity, justice, democracy, and in defence of labour rights.