The Great Steel Migration

They came in droves to set up India’s first steel plant at Sakchi, a region sparsely populated by Santhals. Convoys of Oxcarts brought in construction material while people came on horse back, motor cars and by all available means of transport. Unskilled labour for construction and production work came from local tribes, skilled artisans were recruited from Bombay, Calcutta and faraway from Punjab and from railway workshops across the country while skilled technicians and managers were brought from abroad. Financed by Indian Capital and built by Indian Workers the steel dream for economically empowered India began to take shape.

Tata Workers” Union is one of the earliest trade unions in India. Its history dates back to March 1920. Formerly known as ”Labour Association”, the trade union at Jamshedpur, as elsewhere, was born out of workers” suffering and sacrifices caused by a prolonged strike which ultimately resulted in the increase of wages, introduction of fringe benefits like Provident Fund and, above all, recognition of the Labour Association. An Advisory Joint Committee with representatives from Labour and Management was formed as a precursor to the concept of workers” participation in management, which was to become in later years a remarkable success in Tata Steel.

There was, however, a serious setback in 1922 when the Union launched a strike for securing certain basic demands like security of service, better service conditions, etc. the strike failed. The Management promptly withdrew its recognition and discharged the General Secretary of the Union from service. The labour at Jamshedpur soon drew all-India leaders like C.F. Andrews, C.R. Das, and Motilal Nehru into the field. A conciliation committee with C.R. Das as Chairman was formed to break the deadlock. It failed. Mahatma Gandhi was persuaded by Andrews to intervene. Gandhiji visited Jamshedpur in 1925 and through his good offices a settlement was reached. The recognition of the Union was restored and its General Secretary reinstated. As C.F. Andrews was abroad, Subhas Chandra Bose was inducted into the organization as 3rd President. Thus, this Union had the unique privilege of association of all the political stalwarts of the day. But, unfortunately, trade union rivalry also ran high during this period.

Consolidation of the Movement

With the appearance of Prof. Abdul Bari on the scene in 1936, the movement took deep roots. A psychological thrust was given to the movement when he changed the name of the Labour Association to “Tata Workers” Union”. The unity and maturity that he brought about among the Tisco workers were so strong that they survived all political onslaughts with perfect confidence. Under his dynamic leadership the Union launched its struggle for a thorough revision of the wage structure, introduction of the incentive bonus scheme, etc. through the efforts of Prof. Bari, the Bihar Labour Enquiry Committee was constituted with Dr. Rajendra Prasad as Chairman, and Prof. Bari as one of the members. The Report submitted by this august body in 1940 constituted the first authentic document on labour situation in Bihar in general and at Jamshedpur in particular.

After a prolonged struggle for a decade and repeated strike threats in 1945 and 1946, an Agreement was signed in February 1948 by the Union and the Management which not only secured higher wages and better working conditions but also, what is more significant, stipulated the formation of joint committees with equal representation to ensure better understanding and settlement of disputes by negotiations. But, before the advent of this new era of conciliation in place of conflict, our beloved leader and great patriot, Prof. Bari, died under tragic circumstances on 28th March 1947.

Era of Constructive Trade Union Movement

Shri Michael John, who took over the President ship of the Union after Prof. Bari”s death, was the architect of this new era. Sri John as President and Sri V. G. Gopal as General Secretary, both of whom came from the working class, provided a formidable and harmonious leadership which could secure maximum gains to the workers with minimum sufferings, a phenomenon rarely evidenced anywhere else.

A shining example of this new era and new outlook was the famous Agreement of 1956 which has been hailed as the ”magna carta” of the working class and reckoned as a landmark in the history of the trade union movement in India. Besides the usual benefits it secured for the workers by way of higher wages, more houses, improved medical facilities, etc., the Agreement laid down a three-tier programme of closer association of employees with management. Another feature of this Agreement was the introduction of a streamlined grievance procedure, which aimed at redressing individual grievances in the shortest possible time at the lowest possible level. A provision of far-reaching importance incorporated in the Agreement was to the effect that there should be no retrenchment as a result of any rationalization scheme in Tisco. Further, redundant labour shall be provided with training and retraining facilities and absorbed in suitable jobs without any monetary loss.