** My Comments Inline **
* Chop *
I will correct myself "The biggest opposer of computerisation was
PRIMARILY
the left trade unions. Though they were joined off and on by
congress or
independent unions. I sat thru several demonstrations in Calcutta,
when party
cadres would round up workers to attend the local nutcases protest
meeting
against computerisation.
True! Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who argue and
believe that measures to improve productivity gains should only be
when for when unemployment is low. Naive minds can't always understand
externalities. But reducing the creativity of the human mind, and to
only use the body as cattle is a crime I tell you.
Kolkata is a special case. There is money, knowledge and power in
abundance in the city - all that is needed to transform an economy.
While I don't intend to be racist here, the paths of the Maru, the
Bong and the Commie don't cross to bring transformation. The result is
more than visible: Kolkata still continues to live in its unique time-
warp.
why the congress and the JP
packed IBM and other companies?
Because Georgy boy never new an iota of economics. As usual the
poltician,
lacking any ability to analyse, just indulges in his whims and
fancies,
abetted by cronies.
The aim of trade left unions are improve the living conditions of
the
workers and getting their needs met.
Dont make me laugh. Personal experience of living thru the violence
and misery
caused by unionism because they have a complete lack of
understanding (or
atleast their actions show such a lack) of how economics works,
showed me
otherwise. To give you a few examples L & T, the mill strikes, small
industry
unrest in ghatkopar and vikhroli, National Rayon Corp. Ambivli, Amar
Dye
Chem, Century Rayon Kalyan, Several factories in Ambad Nasik, Bush
and
Murphy India, Mukand Iron and steel, Kamani Engineering, Siemens
Kalwa,
Premier automobiles, GKW Bhandup, Godrej etc.
Unions are good, management needs to be kept in check every once in a
while. But the way thing perpetrated in all the above examples were
bad. As they say, too much of anything is bad.
Most of the workers in these companies were amongst the highest paid
and the
perks they enjoyed then arent available to most even now. The mill
strikes
were because unions (some congress, some communist) extorted Rs.5~10
per
employee for the privilege of being allowed onto the mill premises
to earn a
daily wage of Rs.15~30. Most were temps for over 20 years. That is
what
started the fight, worker groups against other worker groups,
sometimes aided
by managements, though more often the managements never new what hit
them.
BTW not joining a union meant death and often joining one meant just
the same.
The commies were relatively better extorting Rs.1~3 per worker since
the
founding of the mills. Initially it was "voluntary" but ofcourse you
got
beaten up - though rarely murdered - if you did not "volunteer" in
this
kafesque world.
JTD, perhaps you meant kafkaesque?
Worker welfare!!! i sure hope you never ever get into one of these
fights to
know what unionism is about. You had better be well trained in the
art of
mayhem to come out alive. There is no welfare just one dog group
getting the
better of another.
Indian Railways probably has the largest unions ever. To make a wild
comparison, the pilots unions have caused lag-jams; but railways -
I've yet to be inconvenienced.
Some companies were handed over to the workers for operating.
Everyone (Metal
box, GKW, Amar Dye, Richardson Cruddas ) of them failed.
Have other trade unions(other than left) supported the
computerization?
Please give some references, I'd like to understand
Only some independent unions in private companies. Most others were
passive
opposers. But the communist led ones (CITU afaik) were the most vocal.
Communist unions at the time were near the end anyway and imo they
just
wanted some cause to try and stay relevant.
In 87 a seminar was run by the ERTL on graphics and the
main focus was X. Most of us were throughly pissed off at this
resource hog
and wondered why the seminar did not focus on assembly graphics
routines
(which everbody used anyway), it being very fast and with a minimal
memory
and disk footprint.
Interesting ...
I was one who sent a stinker letter to the faculty and refused to
pay as it
was a waste of my entire day. HA HA. Hind sight is a very exacting
science,
and was justified in not paying as there was no tech substance
(programming
wise) at all.
Bottom line again. If Government interventions in business is
dangerous, Extra
constitutional rabble rousing are a disaster.
What is the remedy? I am afraid none that i know of, save that
individual
freedom is the only thing that guarantees that the capable will rise
and
create more equitable situations. Curtail these and the capable will
go away.
Individuals and privately held companies believe in creating
monopolies. Forget business, in over 15 years of looking at code -
I've rarely come across projects that are well maintained and
unambiguously documented. But the scene totally changes in Free & Open
Source Software. Why? Because other people are looking...
Given the individual freedom, even a largish group of free individuals
can't change systems and laws perpetrated by companies and
institutions since time immemorial. One needs Governments to interfere
and get the job done.
Evolve, stick together, and most importantly use fabian principles
while lobbying and influencing the polity at every possible
opportunity - that is the only long term solution.
Cheers,
Amol Hatwar
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