Contract workers in the cement industry in Chhattisgarh are up in arms against their severe exploitation by the big cement monopoly companies in the region. Led by the Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh, affiliated to the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, these workers, many of whom are peasant women, have been organizing 12 hour and 48 hour long strikes, tool-downs, rasta roko agitations, demonstrations and processions, over the last 4 years, to draw attention to their miserable plight.

The cement industry is quite widespread in the mineral-rich Raipur-Bilaspur belt of Chhattisgarh. Big cement companies such as Ultratech, Grasim, Century, Ambuja and Lafarge have come up with huge capacities in this belt. In this they have received massive concessions from the Government of Chhattisgarh, which claimed that these private companies would ‘help in creating employment and contribute to the welfare of the people of the state’. HOLCIM, a Swiss based multinational has now launched its operations there, after acquiring 14 cement plants in India, including ACC and Ambuja Cements. Over the years, these big cement companies have grown many times richer by exploitation of the rich natural mineral resources of the region, while the workers and local people have been reduced to poverty and extremely difficult conditions. Land has been forcibly acquired from the farmers, against their will, depriving them of their only means of livelihood, with not even a pretense of rehabilitation. In the factories, labour laws are violated with impunity.

Contract labour is rampant in this region. Even the Cement Wage Board agreement in force in the Indian cement industry, which is the result of negotiations between the All India Cement Manufacturers Association and a group of central trade unions in the cement industry, is violated. According to this agreement, contract labour is prohibited in the entire production process in the cement industry all over India, and even in the limited areas in which it is permitted - such as the loading and unloading of raw materials, contract labour are to paid at the same wage rate as regular employees. However in these big cement corporations in Chhattisgarh, the workers are not paid even the minimum wages and are forced for more than 8 hours at a stretch. Retrenchment of workers, including those who were given jobs in lieu of their land being acquired for the company, is a regular and frequent feature, as the company managers utilize the cheapest labour possible to maximize their profits.

What has particularly incensed the workers is a fact that has recently come to light, that few major companies have formed a cartel in order to hike up the prices of cement and further intensify the exploitation of the workers. Holcim, Lafarge, Century, and Ultratech have got together to form the Chhattisgarh Cement Manufacturers Association (CCMA). In order to facilitate greater exploitation of the workers and deny them any rights, this Association has challenged the very jurisdiction of the State Government, questioning a petition before the MP High Court in 1960, that resulted in bringing the cement industry under the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations (MPIR) Act. It is reported that these companies are using their money power and influence to pressurize the concerned officers of the Central government to advance their case.

The cement workers in Chhattisgarh are valiantly carrying on their struggle, demanding implementation of minimum wages, a 8 hour working day, reinstatement of retrenched workers, development works such as construction of roads and tanks as well as a fund for restoration of the environment. Mazdoor Ekta Lehar/People’s Voice expresses its full support for the cause of the cement workers of Chhattisgarh and wishes them success in their struggle.