Rash of strikes in India

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 9

Rash of strikes in India

NZPA-Reuter New Delhi India’s trade unions have sprung to life with a rash of strikes after being put virtually out of business during 21 months of internal emergency rule. The most serious, after the settlement on Friday of an 11-day walk-out by Bombay dockworkers, is an oil-refinery strike in the western state of Gujarat. It is now in its second week with no sign of a settlement. Before the Bombay settlement, the combined effect of the two walk-outs had led to fears of a big shortage of petroleum products in the north-west of the country. j At the same time, a month-old strike by bargemen and launch crews at Calcutta has blocked the export of jute goods 'worth more than SIBM and there have been dozens of smaller industrial disputes. Marching workers with clenched fists are back again on the streets of Calcutta, the heart of west Bengal’s industrial belt.

Before the settlement at Bombay, which came after assurances from the Prime Minister (Mr Morarji Desai), the navy had been called in to handle stranded oil tankers and passenger ships. About 75 ships were left idle by the strike, which began on May 10. The Bombay Port Trust Employees’ Union, the smaller of two at the port, had demanded the removal of service conditions that it said were illegally imposed on the workers during the emergency.