* "adv sudha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *
*EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH CHHATTISGARH WORKERS.* *PROTEST SWISS CEMENT MNC HOLCIM'S EXPLOITATION OF CONTRACT lABOUR* Dear friends, About a year ago we had requested you to send emails to Holcim protesting its gross violations of Indian labour law in Chhattisgarh. Many of you had responded promptly and the adverse publicity resulted in the Deputy Head Corporate Communications Mr Peter Gysel coming to Chhattisgarh and along with the local managements of ACC (Jamul) and Ambuja (Rawan) (now both acquired by Holcim), and holding a meeting with the workers and peasants affected by both plants. In that meeting held on 8th July 2008 at Rawan, there was a huge gulf between the management and the peple. Management showed a sanitised power point presentation showing the "charity" it has done in the surrounding rural areas which is just like throwing some crumbs from the huge profits it has gathered since 2005; On the other hand there was a strong statement of demands by workers and peasants representatives protesting against the violation of labour laws and that land losers had still not got permanent employment in the company. In the circumstances, certain minimum demands on which there was agreement were in principle conceded. Mr Toshniwal of Ambuja categorically stated that all cases of violation of minimum wages brought to his notice would be promptly dealt with. Similarly Mr Karmakar of ACC promised that the practise of "single overtime" (i.e non-payment of overtime at double the rate of regular wages) would definitely be rectified. But the Holcim management, even after a dialogue at the topmost level are continuing gross violations of labour laws with impunity, and are shamelessly flouting even the minimum demands they had committed themselves to fulfil. This is even after the long drawn militant struggle of contract workers of ACC has resulted in an Award from the Industrial Court declaring the contracts as sham and bogus and directing regularization of 573 workers. In fact one of the workers of Ambuja Cement who had exposed the misdeeeds of the Holcim management in the high level meeting, Mr Narayan Lehre, has been victimised by posting him at a far away place. We therefore request you to express your condemnation of the adamant attitude of the Multinational Holcim and also protest against the State of Chhattisgarh for its failure to keep this MNC within the four cormers of the law. A draft of a possible statement which you could modify as you feel appropriate is as below: "HOLCIM HAS ACQUIRED THE TOP CEMENT COMPANIES OF INDIA WHICH ACCOUNT FOR 12.5% OF ITS INTERNATIONAL SALES AND PROVIDE IT SUPER PROFITS BASED ON CHEAP RAW MATERIALS AND LABOUR. WE ARE HOWEVER SHOCKED TO KNOW THAT HOLCIM IN ITS UNITS IN CHHATTISGARH VIOLATES INDIAN LABOUR STANDARDS AND LAWS WITH IMPUNITY EVEN AFTER AN ADVERSE AWARD OF THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL.. HOLCIM HAS ALSO STILL NOT PROVIDED PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT TO THOSE FARMERS WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LANDS FOR THE FACTORIES. AND ALL THIS CONTINUES EVEN AFTER THE AFFECTED WORKERS AND PEASANTS HAVE DIRECTLY STATED THEIR GRIEVANCES TO MR. PETER GYSEL, DEPUTY HEAD, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS ON 8TH JULY 2008 AT RAWAN, CHHATTISGARH. IN THIS PARTICULAR MEETING MR. TOSHNIWAL OF HOLCIM (AMBUJA CEMENT, RAWAN) HAD PROMISED TO ENSURE THAT NO WORKER WAS PAID BELOW THE STATUTORY MINIMUM WAGES. AND MR. KARMAKAR OF HOLCIM (ACC, JAMUL) HAD PROMISED THAT OVERTIME WOULD BE PAID AT DOUBLE THE WAGE RATE AS LAID DOWN IN THE FACTORY ACT. EVEN THESE VERY MINOR AND REASONABLE DEMANDS HAVE NOT BEEN MET. HOLCIM PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS IMAGE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. WE URGE YOU TO ENSURE THAT IT LIVES UP TO ITS IMAGE BY: 1.PROHIBITING CONTRACT LABOUR IN ALL CEMENT PROCESSES IN ALL ITS PLANTS IN INDIA AND CHHATTISGARH IN PARTICULAR AS STIPULATED BY THE CEMENT WAGE BOARD . 2. ENSURING THAT ALL CONTRACT LABOUR ARE PAID AT THE SAME RATE AS REGULAR LABOUR i.e AT THE CEMENT WAGE BOARD RATES. 3. PROVIDING PERMANENT JOBS TO ONE MEMBER OF EVERY PEASANT FAMILY THAT HAS LOST ITS LAND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF ITS PLANTS IN CHHATTISGARH AND THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE., AS LAID DOWN IN THE STATE REHABILITATION POLICY. 4.ABIDING BY ALL THE INDIAN LABOUR LAWS." To send an email to Holcim, go to their site www.holcim.com, then to Press and Media, and then to Contact. You can send your message to Corporate Communications and will reach Peter Gysel. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
