Will History Repeat Itself as a Tragedy in Bengal?

The official slogan of “industrialization” that emanated from the corridors of power at the fag end of the Left Front Government which dug the grave for the 34 years of Left Front hegemony, has now resurrected again. Now, the present Chief Minister of Bengal, Ms Mamata Banerjee, has embarked upon the road of industrialising Bengal, desperately trying to erase the “anti-industrial” image she earned when she was in her high-noon of political opposition. Irony, per se!

In a press conference, with all senior bureaucrats around, she declared, "all the work on social plane have been completed. Now, the government's aim is to develop industry, generate employment and build infrastructure."

She stated that 4.5 lakh crore was invested in the industry during the last ten years. However, she failed to specify the names of those industries and cleverly avoided to respond to questions on the number of people employed, quantum of wages, nature of work, et al.

She also said that MSMEs received Rs. 3.42 crores out of the total investment to salvage the sagging economy. Again, she did not mention whether those industries were able to revive themselves and the number of people employed in those units. Let's not forget that, on 3 February, the Union Minister of MSMEs, Narayan Rane, informed the Lok Sabha that during FY 21, 67 percent of MSMEs that participated in a survey, were shut down (the number is much bigger, according to the entrepreneurs of the industry), and over 50 percent witnessed a decline of over 25 percent of their revenues in 2020-21. The Minister further stated that 66 percent of those units reported decline in profitability and revenue.

The Chief Minister of Bengal claimed that MSMEs received investment but was oblivious of the fact that 36 percent of units had taken loans but these loans brought only a sigh of relief to some while thousands could not benefit from the scheme and eventually got closed, as reported by Animesh Saxena, the President, Federation of Indian Micro & Small, Medium Enterprises (FIMSME). A substantial number of enterprises never knocked the doors of financial institutions for business loans as they felt that a scarcity of demand in the economy was looming large and it was having a telling effect upon them.

Mamata informed the press that she was aiming at developing domestic industries. What is the state of affairs of domestic industries when she is already at the helm of state power for the third consecutive term? Jute and tea are the two century old, labour intensive, traditional industries in Bengal. Both these industries have a fair share in the state's exchequer. And both these industries are facing a severe crisis.

The 17th meeting of Minimum Wage Advisory Committee on Tea was held on 4 March 2022 at Siliguri. The Principal Secretary of the Labour Department, who chaired the meeting, noted that the tea gardens were suffering from shortage of labour as the wages of tea garden workers were not attractive enough. Consequently, workers are migrating from tea gardens in search of better wages.

The shortage of workforce in Darjeeling Hills is about 32 percent, while it is about 30 per cent in Dooars. This shortfall is resulting in sub-optimal production. Though discussions started on the issue of Minimum Wage fixation in 2015 itself, it is not resolved even after seven years. On the contrary, Tea Garden managements are engaging outstation workers paying wages (sans all other statutory benefits) more than the prevailing wages of tea gardens. As many male workers were becoming uninterested in working in tea gardens, the percentage of female workforce was on the increase.

The Jute industry of the state is facing similar problems for years together. Less wages, hazardous working conditions coupled with extreme uncertainties have led to acute shortage of workforce in this industry too. Mamata Government's anti-strike, no demonstration at workplace policies have only helped employers to unleash unprecedented attack on the working people. Now, in Bengal, the man- days lost due to lockout is 100 percent, while man-days lost due to strike is nil. The increase in basic wage for Jute workers, in the last tripartite agreement in 2015, was only Re 1, which was opposed by all left trade unions.

The Chief Minister is going to hold an All India Trade /Industrial Fair at Kolkata in the month of April, and the PM Modi has agreed to inaugurate the jamboree. Adani - Ambani and many bigwigs of the industry have agreed to participate in this mega event. Addressing the press conference, she presented an unending list of industries and "would be" infrastructure for attracting new investment for the state. The Deocha Pachami coal block, supposed to be the second largest coal block in the world, is the biggest challenge for her, with an investment of more than Rs 30,000 crores. She has openly threatened to crush any opposition that would "destabilise" this anti-people, anti-environmental catastrophic coal project which is gradually gaining momentum in Birbhum district. She further tried to define which movements are legitimate and which are not. She warned the press to behave in a responsible manner, to report "positive news" and highly critical of the press for the coverage of the protest movement following the mysterious killing of student leader Anish Khan. She announced that media will be rewarded if positive news is printed and propagated and for selling Bengal aggressively. It is very clear that the freedom of press will be sacrificed at the altar of industrialisation. In short, media will have to follow the instructions of the state henceforth.

The billion-dollar question of unemployment was not addressed by the Chief Minister. She claimed that the proposed industrialisation would generate millions of jobs, but never answered the question as to why lakhs and lakhs of state government posts are lying vacant in various government departments/ semi-government departments/ autonomous bodies and why, following the footsteps of Modi government, she abolished more than 5.5 lakh posts in government offices. During COVID times, within a span of two years, 2.5 lakh posts of primary school teachers remained vacant. About 1 lakh 39 thousand posts of Group-D employees have not been filled even as Kolkata is witnessing everyday movement on the issue, which is mercilessly being suppressed by the state government.

Behind the facade of rapid strides towards industrialisation lies the Mamata government's reckless move towards complete informalisation of employment. She has come out with an offer to engage graduates in govt jobs for a monthly wage of five thousand rupees for a fixed term. Even as 45,000 and 75,000 posts are still lying vacant in Kolkata and Bengal police respectively, civic police are engaged in huge numbers. The post-COVID scenario has brought a regressive, alarming change in Indian job market with a whopping increase in Informal workforce in all sectors. These workers are often engaged in hazardous jobs with far less wages, sans all social security benefits.

An important article, "Who cares for labour" by Krishna Ram and Shivani Yadav in Economic & Political Weekly, Feb.12, captured the profile and precarity of informal workforce in India. It pointed out that the SC & OBC workers together constituted around 60 - 80 per cent of the total workforce who did not get the minimum wage in 2018-19 in almost all states. The states of Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal together constitute 70 percent of the workers who did not get the minimum wages.

The article also mentions 32 percent (22 million) of all urban informal workers are not getting even the bare minimum wage. Across all social categories, a substantially larger proportion of Dalit / adivasi workers is unable to earn even the bare minimum daily wage fixed for the unskilled workers. The SC and ST workers account for a higher percentage of people getting less than minimum wages in almost all industries as proportionate to their employment share in those industries. Further, SC/ST and OBC workers on an average earn lower wages as compared to the OC (other category) workers.

It is clear that huge number of adivasis evicted from their hearth and home will be engaged as labourers with extremely low wages in Mamata's dream project of Deocha Pacchami coal block.

While presenting the Budget 2022, the Finance Minister's speech revolved around the two words - "jobs" and "employment". However, she deliberately skipped the words "workers" and "labourers". The essential theme of the budget conveyed the hackneyed message – “large scale budgetary provisions for capital investment will facilitate higher GDP growth, which eventually will bring more jobs and employment, thereby increasing income of the poor”. This bankrupt ‘trickle-down’ theory only proliferated inequities globally and India too, and is once again being peddled to serve the interests of a handful of cronies.

In order to face the rising anger and dissidence in the ranks of the working class and to offer a gift to the corporate class, the Chief Minister Mamata, has decided to implement her opponent Modi’s Labour Codes in Bengal too, by formulating mandatory state rules.

Surprisingly, Mamata, the vociferous opponent of Modi, is treading the same trajectory that rejected any real economic narrative by presenting a mirage of employment for the state of West Bengal. To fulfil her dream, she is all set to launch an onslaught against the freedom of press and against all democratic movements in the state. One can safely proclaim that the history is to be repeated in Bengal, for the second time, as a tragedy!