A strong feeling of insecurity has gripped more than 3,000 workers and their families following alleged threats from the management of Gokak Mills at Gokak Falls, a division of Forbes Gokak Limited, to close some of its units.
Left with little option and after failing to have their demands met by the management and also lack of response from the leaders of the existing union controlled by sitting MLA Ramesh L. Jarkiholi of the Congress, the workers formed a new union named as Mahashakti Javali Karmikara Sangh under the leadership of Bhimshi L. Jarkiholi, a BJP leader and the former’s brother. The workers have planned to stage a strong protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Belagavi on Tuesday to pressure the State government to intervene and ensure that the management gave up its moves to close the mills.
According to Mr. Bhimshi, production at Gokak Mills had come down by almost 70% and the management had threatened to close Mill No.1 of the total nine units. The ISO 9002 certified company, established in 1885, is engaged in manufacturing of yarn, dyed yarn, canvas and yarn-based knitwear. The management was citing losses in some mills to close them down instead of taking corrective measures. The company had not settled the bonus of workers for the past nine years, he alleged.
Recently, the workers had staged a protest and also approached Mr. Ramesh to intervene, in vain. The new union represents 3,321 workers, said Mr.Bhimshi, adding that all these workers along with their family members would participate in the protest.
Ashok Pujari’s allegations
Another BJP leader, Ashok Pujari, took the initiative to make common cause with the workers and led a delegation of union leaders to the Deputy Commissioner’s office, requesting for the government’s intervention.
Mr. Pujari said, without naming Mr. Ramesh and his brother Satish L. Jarkiholi, Small Scale Industries Minister and district in-charge, that the elected members of Gokak were ‘indifferent’ to the workers’ woes. The company had brought down the number of workers from 12,000 in the past to about 3,000. The management was resorting to arm-twisting methods to extract work from the workers but failed to provide wages and benefits as per the Labour Act, he alleged. The management had been threatening a “lockout” every time the workers protested against their exploitation, he further alleged.
