that this distinction between a person and his post or role was a matter worth remembering.
Six months of go-slow, deducted salaries and that too deposited in the court and since the court was proceeding on at its own speed, the Workers of the company got tired. As workers had resumed after failed strike of 52 days in 1965, and had said a good bye to Maharashtra Workers’ Union in the past, same story was repeated on 3 December 1979, when workers gave in writing that they are discontinuing their go-slow agitation and resuming work. The productive work started. They gave up Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha in 1979. I had kept the workers posted through Unichem Bulletin about the loss of production suffered by the company from time to time.
Workers got tired of unending court case by RJ. They changed their Union and came under the leadership of a young internal leader by secret ballot held on the premises of the company. New Union thus got the first round of legitimacy in its pocket. Legal representation remained with Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha under Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Unfair Labour Practices Act. The Company made an agreement with the new representative Union for the production lost during go-slow and payment of deducted amount to be made to workers.
When the workers filled up the production gap company made Payment to the workers. At that moment the workers of Unichem did something that made history. RJ had given Rs 150,000 as advance to many workers as individual advance. In other words the Union had invested that amount in its Unichem Unit. Normally such monies are recovered from the payment of difference as and when the union makes the agreement with management. Here was a peculiar situation. The union that gave the money to workers was no more having their allegiance, and another
competing union was making the agreement. Those workers were free to default on the advance received by them.
I called meeting of the workers of the old Union and the new union committee and a condition was agreed that the advance amount paid by the old union will be deducted from individual workers’ Payment and repaid in lump sum to the old union. I deducted the amount and paid recovered amount by cheque to the old union. The workers agreed on their own volition to take such deduction. It was done with consent. All investment made by RJ's Union was returned to his union in full. He got his investment back and the workers had already left him.
Generally once the union is changed the workers do not bother about the old union. I had a fight with that old union, that ended in parting and I never had to deal with Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha afterwards, but my
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