A number of Trade Unions, Indigenous Human Rights Organisations, Alliance of Mining Affected Communities, Indigenous Women’s Organisations along with labour support organisations have come together to call for a Mazdoor Adhikar Mela from 2 to 4 April 2006 in the Steel City of Bokaro. The Mela specially focuses on Unorganised & Contract Labour from the Industrial belts of the Eastern Region of India. The Mela in itself is a jamboree aimed at empowering the Unorganised & Contract Worker from the Industrial belts of Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgarh, West Bengal and Bihar.
The Mazdoor Adhikar Mela is a new and novel concept in addressing the issue of workers education and empowerment. It is unique as it is being experimented for the first time. It is innovative as it seeks to start from the culture and tradition of the worker and thereby build it as a tool for the transfer of knowledge. It aspires to address a large section of the worker population in as short a time as three days. Since it is being targeted for the Unorganised & Contract labour it will have the advantage of a well focused programme for a section of the working population grossly neglected. It will address the worker in his/her own milieu in the midst of family, community and friends.
Two not often known facts regarding the Unorganised & Contract labour in this Eastern Industrial Region are (1) An overwhelming number of this section of labour are Adivasi (Tribal or Indigenous) Dalit (untouchable caste) and the women among them; (2) They are more often communities who were forced to leave a self-sustainable livelihood by being displaced for the growth of Industry, and thus forced into such servitude
Evolution of the Idea
Seeing the growing abysmal plight of the Unorganised & Contract Labour within the Industrial Belts of the States of Jharkhand, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal, the J.K.M.U.(Jharkhand Krantikari Mazdoor Union), the J.O.H.A.R.(Jharkhandi’’s Organisation for Human Rights) and the J.M.A.C.C.(Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee) and Labour File made a concrete proposal to a number of Trade Unions working with unorganised and contract labour to conduct a ‘Mela’ (Jamboree) in April 2006. Proposal was accepted and other unions were invited to join in organising the programme. The response has been good.
While its organisation base will essentially be the labour associations it is inclusive of all sections of civil society. Presently the platform comprises of Trade Unions, Labour related Organisations, an Indigenous Human Rights Organisation, an Alliance of Communities affected by Mining and other related organisations.
The combination of civil society, Indigenous Peoples and human rights organisation in the process assures it of a deeper penetration within the populations of this region as well as a better impact. The positive aspect of this combination is that even though the Adivasis have been victims of the process of industralisation they are reaching out to the worker population for a mutually beneficial venture. It is precisely for this reason that the theme or mission statement of the Mela is progressive and looks to the future “Let a thousand flowers bloom and a thousand thoughts merge”
Objectives
• Bring Unorganised & Contract Worker’s Rights on the agenda
• Strengthen Linkages among the Unorganised & Contract Workers
• Collectively look for innovative responsiveness – reinventing Worker’s bargaining powers
• To empower the worker through a mass education programme
• To strengthen the dignity and identity of the worker
• To encourage linkages between the worker within the Industry and the Region
• To address the problems of the Unorganised & Contract labour in the Eastern Region of India.
Highlights of the Mela
The Mazdoor Adhikar Mela would be a creative, innovative experiment: where the worker is addressed in his/her own milieu; where their family and children are involved ; where Culture is an important mode of transfer of knowledge.
Around 50,000 participants are expected for the Mela. The participants will be a mix of contract workers, livelihood groups, adivasi, dalit and other subaltern communities. Seminars based on five major themes – Labour, Social Identity and Movements; Labour and Development; Employment, Dignity and Social Security; Right to Livelihood and Natural Resources; Global Offence on Labour – will be organised by different groups who are experts in the sector. Along with informative sessions folk Culture performances will also take place. Labour related film screening and electronic media workshops will be conducted. Child Labour and Gender issues will be given due importance. Sales and Exhibition Stalls for Books, Trade Unions, NGO’s and other interactive activities are also expected in the Mela.