The workers of Voltas in Mumbai are on the path of struggle. Voltas is a profit making company belong to the Tata Group. The workers of Voltas have been fighting for revision of their wages and have put forward a charter of demands.
The workers of Voltas in Mumbai are on the path of struggle. Voltas is a profit making company belong to the Tata Group. The workers of Voltas have been fighting for revision of their wages and have put forward a charter of demands.
On April 9, 2011, from 6.30 pm, nearly three hundred workers of the company, gathered outside Blue Hill Hotel on the outskirts of Thane. This posh Hotel was the venue for a “Gala” dinner party organized by the Management and called “Employee Nite”. The workers of the Voltas Employees Union carried carrying placards and distributed leaflets asking how the management could call it "Employee night" when the workers had decided to boycott the function. The workers braved a heavy and intimidating police presence but made sure that the dinner tasted bad for the management.
The workers had decided to boycott the function to protest against the management's refusal to sign a new wage agreement. They were protesting against the huge “performance linked awards” given to the management staff on the one hand while not revising the salary of the workers on the other hand. They were also protesting against the suspension of the activists of the Union by the management as well as the terror tactics of the management for calling in the police inside the company premises.
The management’s anti worker attitude is making the workers to take steps to force the management to settle their demands. MEL fully supports the just demands of the workers of Voltas and calls on them to maintain their unity.