As reported in the earlier issues of MEL, Century Mills, which was a modernized and profit making Mill was closed by the owners on December 12 th, 2006. The owners were looking at the huge real estate value of the 40 acres of land on which the Mill was situated, in Central Mumbai. By using coercive methods they forced over 6000 workers to resign from their jobs for miserable sums of money. Both before and after the closure, the workers Union, Sarva Shramik Sangathan, the Communist Ghadar Party of India, Kamgar Ekta Chalwal and Lok Raj Sangathan had organized a number of public meetings in Support of the Century Mill Workers legitimate demands. Due to the persistent work of the Communist Ghadar Party of India as well as of the worker's union, the Sarva Shramik Sangathan, 275 workers had refused to be cowed down by the Mill owners threats and did not resign from the Company’s services. These 275 workers have since December 12 been continuously agitating against the Mill owners, the Aditya Birla Group, one of India’s largest business houses. 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.

However the Mill management applied to the Government. for closure of the Mills in February 2007. The workers led by their Union and supported by the Communist Ghadar Party of India, immediately resorted to a number of protest actions. They put up posters all over Central Mumbai, condemning the Mill management's actions. Hundreds of workers along with their families marched to the residence of BK Birla, one of the owners, in Central Mumbai. The owner bolted from his residence but the workers handed over a show cause notice to his Personal Assistant asking the Mill owners how they dare close the Mill which had been making profits through the blood and sweat of the workers. Next the workers along with their families organized another protest march to the Mayor's Bungalow in Central Mumbai. The Mayor, Subba Raul, was confronted by the angry workers who asked her how the Mumbai Municipal Corporation was giving permission to the Mill owners to close the Mills, throwing the workers out of their jobs and homes.They asked her to immediately cancel the permissions given to the Mill owners to build shopping malls and luxury residential towers on the Mill lands. Seeing the angry mood of the workers, she had to relent and she wrote to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, asking the Government to reexamine its policies regarding the textile mills. Next the workers organized a sit-in hunger strike in front of the Century Mill gate. Hundreds of workers along with their wives and children participated in this day long dharna, even though the police had refused to give permission to the workers for their protest action. At 7 pm, after the women and children were asked to go home, by the workers, the police swooped in and arrested the workers who were continuing the dharna. Before each of these protest actions, the workers had organized a poster campaign in Central Mumbai to inform the working class of its actions. During all this time the workers had also organized a number of marches to the Labour Commissioners office, the courts etc.

Seeing that the workers were unrelenting, the Minister of Labour of the Government of Maharashtra, called a meeting of the workers, their Union, Sarva Shramik Sangathan, as well as the Mill management on April 9 2007. Seeing the militant mood of the workers the Labour Minister informed the Mill management that since 275 workers were still remaining in employment, the government would not be able to give permission to close the Mill. He ordered that the application for closure of Century Mills should be rejected. The management was forced to withdraw the application for closure on April 13 2007.

However the Mill management treacherously gave a fresh application for closure on May 15. At a militant gate meeting on June 4 2007, the workers have decided that if they do not get a satisfactory reply from the Mill owners by June 10 th, they will launch a fresh round of agitations. People's Voice fully supports the just demands of the Century Mill workers and condemns the treacherous Birla management.

Long Live the Heroic Struggle of the Century Mill Workers of Mumbai !