[nfbmi-talk] fighting for right in india

[joe harcz Comcast]

>From India. Note in India the NFB is a governmental organization and is not to be confused with the NFB here in the States.

 

Joe

 

 

Blind workers protest against retrenchment by the National Federation of the Blind. Later the protesters submitted a charter of demands to the General Secretary

of the Federation. Photo: Special Arrangement.

 

Undaunted by the darkness that they struggle with on a daily basis, several dozen visually challenged workers of a disposable plate manufacturing unit run

by the National Federation of the Blind at Mundka have decided not to cave in to the management's decision to place them on a production-linked incentive-based

wage structure instead of a fixed pay structure.

 

On Thursday, they held each other's hands -- calloused hands that expertly shape disposable thaali, dona, and chow mein plates overcoming their disability

and help earn their livelihoods -- and walked to the Pushp Vihar office of the Federation in protest against the NGO which represents their community.

(Reported inThe Hinduon Friday).

 

The workers, numbering over 100, who had massed under the banner of Blind Workers' Union, alleged that they were subjected to exploitation and poor working

conditions and according to the new terms that the management imposed on them through an office order on November 9, wanted their productivity to match

those of workers with normal eyesight.

 

However, the NFB said that it was incurring a loss running the production units due to the economic downturn and was running short of funds. Hence, they

felt the need to place the workers on a production-based wage structure. NFB office-bearers said the NGO has received no aid from the Government since

2002 on the ground that they were flush with funds, but now the situation had changed. The workers claimed that according to the new structure whereby

they would be paid Rs.22 per 1,000 dona plates, Rs.49 for 1,000 thaali plates and Rs.27 per 1,000 chow mein plates, the maximum they would earn a month

was nearly Rs.2,600 despite increasing their productivity almost 1.5 times and working on holidays too, compared to around Rs.3,300 per month they made

according to the fixed pay structure.

 

The union also demanded that the workers be paid minimum wages prevalent in Delhi for wage labourers. [The minimum wages in Delhi for unskilled workers

is Rs.6,422 per month, for semi-skilled workers is Rs.7,098 per month, and for skilled workers it is Rs.7,410.]

 

The workers, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, pointed to the air-conditioned office of the NFB and said: “If they don't have

funds, why can't they turn off those ACs. We work under such pathetic conditions. They have not even installed a ceiling fan for us. In summer it gets

so hot. Look at our fingers. Sometimes our hands get caught in the machines and cause bruises and they expect us to work at the rate of workers with normal

eyesight.”

 

NFB North Zone vice-president Inder Singh, a visually challenged person himself, said the choice for the NGO was between shutting down the production unit

completely and continuing to run it under the new scheme to cut down on losses. NFB North Zone secretary Chandraveer said unions were politicising the

issue and leading the workers to their downfall. He also alleged that the protesting workers were not working efficiently earlier due to the fixed pay

structure.

 

Mr. Singh remarked that the unions were not backing the NFB's attempts to get reservation for visually challenged persons in government jobs and fighting

discrimination that such persons faced in workplaces. He said the NFB had also stopped its cultural and sports programmes as part of cost-cutting, and

was now focusing on educational loans, as this was found to be very beneficial.

 

The Blind Workers' Union also claimed the support of workers at the Faridabad production unit of the NFB. The union alleged that the Federation's “motto

of ‘letting the blind lead the blind' was being replaced by ‘let the blind exploit their poorer blind brethren'”.

 

Keywords:

Blind workers,

Working conditions,

Protest rally

 

 

 

The Hindu : Cities / Delhi : Blind workers protest against new wage structure

 

 

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article2662268.ece