How It Started

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On 23 October 1981, hundreds of textile workers of Standard Mills marched to the residence of a former INTUC leader, Datta Samant, pleading him to take over leadership. On 30 October, Datta Samant announced the formation of a new union for textile workers, the Maharashtra Girni Kamgar Union(MGKU) and urged the mill owners to announce a new agreement to avoid indefinite strike. The membership of MGKU went up to an impressive figure of 1,75,000. This massive mobilization of industrial workers led to the commencement of a historic and protracted strike in January 1982

Contd..
18 January 1982 marks the commencement of an unparalleled strike of textile workers in Bombay.

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In a year-and-a-half long strike about 250,000 workers of 60 mills participated.

Taking advantage of the provisions of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act (BIRA) of 1946, the Bombay Mill Owners Association was negotiating only with a monopoly trade union, Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS). RMMS leadership complied with the wishes of mill owners and ignoring the grievances of workers. Lack of trust in RMMS became more concrete because of the announcement of a bonus agreement, on 20 October 1981. As per this agreement bonus would be offered in the range of 8.33 to 17per cent and the rate of the bonus was left to the paying capacity of the mills. The dissatisfaction of the workers led to spontaneous protests the next day, including a sit down Dharna

Datta Samant An Unsung Hero

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Dr. Datta Samant, and popularly referred to as Doctorsaheb,1933-January 16, 1997) AnIndianpolitician and trade union leader, who is most famous for leading 2-3 lac textile millworkers in the city The most influential personality in the Bombay textile strike who commanded a broad-based popularity among the working class. Samant grew as a prominent INTUC (Indian National trade Union ) leader and turned increasingly radical in his political conviction sand activism He was tagged militant leader and so was his union Posed as political threat to other politicians Datta Samant was assassinated by unidentified men in 1997

Rs 10,000 reward to trace Datta Samant murderer after 5 yrs Convict Vijay Thopte, who was serving a life term in Yerwada Jail, Pune went absconding after he jumped parole in 2005

Demands made.
Rise in wages. Improvement in conditions of Employment. Regularization of the jobs of Badli workers.

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Provision of allowances towards leave travel and house rent.

Demand to scrap the Bombay Industrial Act. De-recognize the monopoly official union status of RMMS

The Bombay Industrial Act

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In the preamble of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, important objects of the passing of the Act are given. In the preamble it is state, An Act to regulate the relations of employers and employees to make provision for settlement of industrial disputes and to provide for certain other purposes.
Whereas it is expedient to provide for the regulations of the relations of the employers and employees in certain matters, to consolidate and amend the law relating to the settlement of industrial disputes and to provide for certain other purposes.

Aftermath

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Most of the industry moved away from Mumbai, after decades of being plagued by rising costs and union militancy. The closure of textile mills across the city left tens of thousands of mill workers unemployed. This lockout only increased the determination of the strikers, and nearly two-thirds of them left Bombay for their villages. India which was a major exporter now depends on imports. It brought a drastic change in the textile industry. The mills have transformed to become malls and discothque. Seven mill structures were granted heritage protection status by the Government of Maharashtra. Phoenix mill which is now a shopping mall.

Why the strike failed .

Estimated 200,000-300,000 mill workers walked out, forcing the entire industry of the city to be shut down for over a year. Samant demanded that along with wage hikes, the government should scrap the Bombay Industrial Act, 1947and de-recognize the RMMS as the only official union of the city industry. While fighting for greater pay and better conditions for workers, Samant and his allies also sought to capitalize and establish their power on the trade union scene in Mumbai. Disunity between political parties ex. Shiv Sena

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The Great Mumbai Textile Strike... 25 Years On

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Lakhs of families suffered as a consequence of the strike and Mumbai was never the same for us," says Salvi. "The workers lost and the managements won. Many workers committed suicide. Many went to their native places and never returned. Many children went hungry for days and God didn't do anything. ."The workers at China Mill accepted the management's terms and took voluntary retirement in 2001, 19 years after the strike began. The mill was run by Standard Industries, part of the Mafatlal group before it wound up operations. It was reported that the Dosti group bought China Mill for Rs 53 crore (Rs 530 million). The group plans to build five 20-storey residential towers and a shopping arcade on 500,000 square feet of land. Mumbai's first textile mill, Bombay Spinning Mill, was set up in 1854 in response to the British demand for cotton textiles. In those days, Britain imported cotton from the United States but when the civil War broke out in America, the supplies stopped. This resulted in a boom for the Indian textile industry. Until 1980, Mumbai's textile mills employed 300,000 people. Today, about 25,000 people work in the mills, which have not been shut down. The decline came because of stiff competition from other countries and because many mills refused to upgrade their technology. The 18-month mill strike, one of the longest in India's labour history, was the death knell for the struggling industry. A majority of the mills shut down after the prolonged strike Once called Manchester of the East for its textile industry, the face of Mumbai changed forever after the strike.

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