Labour Rights - The Communist Double Talk
Indian Express (on Aug 2, 2005) carried an interesting piece. It was about Mr. Padmakumar - a photographer of Deshabimani (party organ of CPI(M) in Kerala) being sacked. His crime: he commented against idolising the general secretary Prakash Karat in the new screen savers installed in the office computers.
It is not simply about facing dissent and opinions that runs contrary to the power center in an organisation. What is surprising is that no charge memo was issued to Padmakumar or no inquiry conducted against him on record. Rather the CPI(M) state secretariat formed a committee and conducted an official probe (I don't understand whats' official if nothing is put on record). At the end of the probe, he was found to have committed 'grave indiscipline' and was told to quit failing which he would be sacked.
And no, this is not an isolated incident. The same report quotes at least two more persons being booted out in such manner. Appukkuttan, then associate editor (seven years ago) with the newspaper was thrown out 'for reading news reports that went against the party ideologies' (it is altogether a different matter to find out what those are) in Deshabimani's own library. Nothing could be more flimsy than that reason, especially when as an associate editor he was responsible for writing editorials after analysing the issues.
In a recent incident at Kairali TV (party's channel), the CEO Krishnakumar was made to quit in a similar way - no charge memos, no inquiry. It was said that he harassed a female employee, though the said employee never preferred a complaint against Krishnakumar.
In all the three cases the modus operandi is pretty simple. Don't bother about issuing memos/ show-cause notice or about organisational inquiry. So much from an organisation that shouts from the rooftop for the labour rights at the least opportunity.
Had a PSU fired an employee for a valid reason that too after going thro' all the formalities, the Karats, Yechuries and Bhardans of the world would have lovingly jumped at that opportunity and fought for the rights of the workers.
Remember the recent incident in Gurgoan, where CPI(M) participated in the demonstration supporting the workers of Honda, seeking reinstatement of suspended and dismissed employees. It may never register in the brains of communists that management might have resorted to the action for disciplinary reaons after going through all the prescribed norms (unlike the case of Deshabimani).
Honda workers in the least had communists to support them, but their poor counterparts in Deshabimani and Kairali are so unlucky that they have to fight it alone. My best wishes are with Padmakumar, Appukkuttan and Krishnakumar for their fight against the anti-labour attitude of communists.
And after this Padmakumar incident, when quizzed on this, all Mr. Karat had to say was that 'I don't want to talk about Kerala issues'. If that is indeed an issue in Kerala (as though it has nothing to do with CPM) and Mr. Karat doesn't have anything to do with that, I would like to what is that he and his other colleagues in CPI(M) were doing in a Honda issues?
I heard some double talk. Did you say anything Mr. Karat?
It is not simply about facing dissent and opinions that runs contrary to the power center in an organisation. What is surprising is that no charge memo was issued to Padmakumar or no inquiry conducted against him on record. Rather the CPI(M) state secretariat formed a committee and conducted an official probe (I don't understand whats' official if nothing is put on record). At the end of the probe, he was found to have committed 'grave indiscipline' and was told to quit failing which he would be sacked.
And no, this is not an isolated incident. The same report quotes at least two more persons being booted out in such manner. Appukkuttan, then associate editor (seven years ago) with the newspaper was thrown out 'for reading news reports that went against the party ideologies' (it is altogether a different matter to find out what those are) in Deshabimani's own library. Nothing could be more flimsy than that reason, especially when as an associate editor he was responsible for writing editorials after analysing the issues.
In a recent incident at Kairali TV (party's channel), the CEO Krishnakumar was made to quit in a similar way - no charge memos, no inquiry. It was said that he harassed a female employee, though the said employee never preferred a complaint against Krishnakumar.
In all the three cases the modus operandi is pretty simple. Don't bother about issuing memos/ show-cause notice or about organisational inquiry. So much from an organisation that shouts from the rooftop for the labour rights at the least opportunity.
Had a PSU fired an employee for a valid reason that too after going thro' all the formalities, the Karats, Yechuries and Bhardans of the world would have lovingly jumped at that opportunity and fought for the rights of the workers.
Remember the recent incident in Gurgoan, where CPI(M) participated in the demonstration supporting the workers of Honda, seeking reinstatement of suspended and dismissed employees. It may never register in the brains of communists that management might have resorted to the action for disciplinary reaons after going through all the prescribed norms (unlike the case of Deshabimani).
Honda workers in the least had communists to support them, but their poor counterparts in Deshabimani and Kairali are so unlucky that they have to fight it alone. My best wishes are with Padmakumar, Appukkuttan and Krishnakumar for their fight against the anti-labour attitude of communists.
And after this Padmakumar incident, when quizzed on this, all Mr. Karat had to say was that 'I don't want to talk about Kerala issues'. If that is indeed an issue in Kerala (as though it has nothing to do with CPM) and Mr. Karat doesn't have anything to do with that, I would like to what is that he and his other colleagues in CPI(M) were doing in a Honda issues?
I heard some double talk. Did you say anything Mr. Karat?
posted by Baskaran Sankaran @ 03:48
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