As reported in the last issue of People's Voice, workers of Century Mills have been waging a continuous struggle ever since the Mill owners, the Birla Group, closed down the Mills on December 12th 2006. They have been agitating for immediate reopening of Century Mills based on the fact that hundreds of crores of the most modern machinery and equipment were lying idle and rusting away for want of human labour to operate them. They have been opposing the conversion of Textile Mill Lands into swanky commercial and residential complexes throwing hundreds and thousands of workers out of their jobs and homes.

Due to their persistent struggle, the Mill Owners were forced to take back the application for closure of the Mills, which they had filed in February 2007. On April 9th 2007 at a meeting with the Maharashtra State Labour Minister, the government rejected the application of the Mill owners for closure. However as usual, thinking that the workers would not be able to sustain the struggle, the mill owners again filed a fresh application for closure on May 11th 2007. This was challenged by the workers Union, the Sarva Shramik Sanghathana in the Mumbai High Court. At a militant gate meeting on June 4th, attended by hundreds of workers, activists of Communist Ghadar Party of India and the members of Sarva Shramik Sanghathana, the workers decided that they would again take to the streets to fight against the management’s attempts to close the Mill. On June 18th the workers launched an indefinite hunger strike in front of their mill. 25 workers, their wives and even a young college going girl, one of the daughters of the workers, took part in the indefinite strike. This action brought forward the spontaneous support of the people of Mumbai and various parties and organizations of the people came forward to give their support.

In the wake of this struggle, the Maharashtra Labour minister called the workers for a meeting on June 27th. At this meeting with the Maharashtra Labour Minister which was attended by 10 MLAs, the Labour Minister asked the Mill management to settle the workers demand for continued employment till 63 years of age. On the same day the Mumbai High Court, hearing the case filed by the workers’ Union against the mill owners’ application for closure, stayed the application and has asked both the workers and the mill owners to present their cases.

To celebrate these partial victories, the workers organised a victory meeting on July 3rd in front of the Century Mills Gate from 2 pm to 4 pm . At this meeting which was attended by workers and their families, the workers announced with fire crackers their determination to continue their struggle till their demands were conceded. They threatened the Mill owners that they would march to the Annual General Body Meeting of Century Textile Mills and Industries Ltd which is due in early August if their demands were not settled soon.

People's Voice supports the workers in their just struggle and hails their determination to fight on. The workers must be vigilant against attempts to break their unity. It is only by the united actions of the working class that we can force the capitalists to concede our demands. We can not rely on the courts and the government machinery which can be easily manipulated by the money power of the capitalists. This is the lesson which the Indian working class has learned through its bitter experience.