Textile Workers Struggle

Chapter 1- Textile mill workers struggle in Mumbai
Textile industry workers unions are the pioneer of the trade union movement in the India. Textile trade unions in Mumbai (then Bombay) are one of the earlier unions with relatively articulated workers. The earliest trade unions in India were formed in the textile industry. Bombay textile worker was once regarded as the vanguard of the Indian labour movement.
Practice of shutting the work in the mills as a medium of protest or strike in Bombay’s textile mills was seen even before the emergence of registered trade unions or legislations monitoring the negotiating process between workers and employers. Author Rajni Bakshi in her book ‘The long haul’ gives the reason for the pre-union strikes. She argues in ‘The Long Haul’ that the strikes played out before the formation of the workers’ union were mainly due to ‘tradition of indigenous shop-floor level organisations ‘among the workers.
Meena Menon in her article , ‘The Mills that made Bombay’ ,published in ‘The Indian Express’ on 8th September 2013 underlines the socio-economic impact of emergence of textile mills in Mumbai and also the history of the city developing around the activities of mill workers . She says in the same article that Mill workers were the first migrants to Mumbai coming from their native villages and adjusting to the adverse and chaotic city life. They played an important role in evolving social institutions and associations and participating in political battles and also contributing to the culture of the city with different ways of entertainment including plays, music, verses educating the city. They influenced Mumbai’s economy, politics, culture and space in innumerable ways. Meena Menon in this article c...

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...eficit in textile industry. They wanted to close the mills and open them up for other developments. Because of the failure of 1982 strike, workers’ union became weak. Mill owners shut down 10 mills.
Nandini Bakshi, while underlining the similarities between 1928 strike and 1982 strike uses a perspective of Georges Kristopher Lieten .She mentions that Lieten says : “More important therefore in the final unsuccessful petering out of the strike was the massive repression and attitude of the Congress and the Indian bourgeoisie.” in 1929 the political elite supported actions taken by the MOA to cope with the communists.
Further ,while comparing it with mill workers strike in 1982 ,Just as in 1982-83 the mill owners and supportive political leaders would call for a war on the Datta Samant as the main issue of the strike, ignoring the demands and true issues involved.