More than one thousand voters, mostly workers living in the sprawling campus of Hindustan Motors — manufacturer of the Ambassador car — in Hooghly district of West Bengal, have decided to boycott the 2016 Assembly polls. On Monday afternoon, the workers and their family members filed a petition with the Returning Officer [RO] of the Uttarpara constituency, where the factory is located, listing their grievances. This is the first organised boycott call given by legitimate voters in this election. Why are the workers of country’s erstwhile leading car manufacturer so upset? Photos and text: Suvojit Bagchi
The Hindustan Motors plant in Uttarpara constituency in Hooghly district is now covered with thickets. The plant, owned by the C.K. Birla Group, used to manufacture country’s first indigenous car, Ambassador but suspended work from May 2014. The decision pushed nearly 400 workers to an uncertain future and compelled them to boycott the 2016 elections.
On Monday, under their newly constituted apolitical union, Save Factory and Workers Association, the workers petitioned the Returning Officer of Uttarpara Constituency to “kill voting rights” if their grievances could not be addressed by April 30, when the constituency will go to poll.
The grievances are many. “The company has snapped the water and electricity line. My son, who is going to appear for Higher Secondary examination, can not study at night as he has a migraine and the heat is unbearable,” said Sushma Sharma [first from right] of block A-9 of worker’s quarters. After much agitation the lines were restored, albeit for an hour of power and water supply in 24 hours.
Mukul Sharma [second from left] is a B.Tech student, Suman Giri [third from left] is in his second year of B. Com and Sanjay Giri [first from right] is studying Humanities. They said that many of their friends have left studies following the closure. “Every one came under huge financial stress. Many had to join work and lack of water or power made basic education a luxury,” said Mukul.
The worker's blocks looks like ghost colonies much like the residential blocks in Detroit, Michigan a few years ago. Detroit’s automobile industry collapsed after failing to face the global competition. Ambassadors, which controlled 75 per cent of Indian market three decades years back, suffered similar fate following the launch of Maruti's family car in the early ’80s.“The management could not modernise the production and made us suffer, the plant was shut down for a management dispute,” laughed Prem Bahadur, who joined the plant in the early ’90s.
The toilet doors of the workers quarters are broken, taps are dry, plasters peeling off and filth is everywhere. “It is risky to live in these buildings,” says Indu Devi, a resident. The company, the residents alleged, is trying to push them out of the campus to develop real estate. “We came here in the 1980s from Bihar and most of us have little or no land back home…where do we go now,” asked Omprakash Giri, who suffered a paralytic attack about a year ago.
Standing with an Ambassador car in the backdrop, the workers said that their dues have not been cleared by the company. “The company does not pay our dues, the salary or arrears, and if we work outside, they threaten to take legal action alleging that we are doing two jobs. But no one asks how we feed our children,” said Debasish Mitra [left]. None of the workers received arrears or salary for the last six months, disbursed by US $1.6 billion-worth C.K. Birla Group.
“My father took VRS (voluntary retirement) and is yet to receive the money and I had to take up a job in beauty parlour after dropping out,” said Anita Das [on left]. She, however, is unsure whether to vote or not.
Perhaps for people like Anita, political parties have filled up many walls inside the dilapidated campus of Hindustan Motors. “However, they never ever came to talk us to address our issues and thus there is no point in voting,” said Bijay Kumar Singh while listing the unions of all the major trade unions who dodged the workers.
The plant manager Asim Basu, however, refused to answer any of the allegations mainly directed against the company. “If they have boycotted polls, it is their issue. Anybody can make an allegation. I will not be able to comment,” he told The Hindu on phone. Confirming that he has received the petition, the RO of Uttarpara Nilanjan Mondal said that he “expects” voters to vote on April 30.
