HISTORY OF SSKU

The Trade Union Movement of Hindustan Motors has a very rich heritage of continuous struggles. At the same time it is also replete with a history of ceaseless betrayals perpetrated by the leadership of the Central Trade Unions. In 1959, the workers of this factory waged a long and valiant movement against “lay off”. This movement continued till 1961. But the Workers did not "strike" at that period. In 1970, the Union led by AITUC was the biggest one with Mr. Ranen Sen as its President. At that time, the number of workers in the factory was as large as about 14 to 15 thousand. INTUC on the other hand, was never very strong in the factory. In the decade of 40s of the last century, it was aligned with AITUC. The influence of AITUC, however, gradually declined until it turned into a mere "Paper Union".

In 1973, the workers of Hindmotors were on strike for the first time. It continued for 13 days. The demand was to return the CDBS Tax which was deducted from the workers by the management without their consent. The workers were victorious and got back the money. The next big strike was organized by CITU in1978. It continued for 78 days. Although it started as a protest against the temporary dismissal of some workers, the victory won by the workers was very big. As many as 1600 Badli (Replacement) workers were made permanent. The total number of Badli workers, however, was 3000 at that time. As a result of the strike, 45 Thika (Contractual) workers were also made permanent on the basis of seniority.

During 1980s, there was no workers’ movement worth mentioning. It was in the CITU alone that the workers reposed their hopes and aspirations. Because of this interregnum, the number of workers steadily declined and no new appointments were made. Only a few members of the family of workers who died in harness got appointment on compassionate ground. No lay-off, however, was reported during this period.

Absolute power gives birth to autocracy on one hand and factions on the other. This was once again demonstrated by the fact that in 1990-91, at least 6 factions were in existence within CITU. Particularly noticeable was the fact that at this very time the collusion of the Union leadership with the management started. It was during this period that the language of the leaders began changing their tones. They began to be transformed into a part of the management. In1995, a process to organise the worker separately started within CITU.

In1996, "Karkhana Banchao Committee" was formed as a protest against the machinations of the management. Later on "Sangram Samity" was openly launched in 1996. In its continuity SSKU (Sangrami Sramik Karmachari Union) was formed at a convention in 1998. In a very short time, SSKU was recognised by the Registrar of Trade Unions (R. No.22993). From its very inception, this Union started fighting relentlessly against the management.

Right at the moment of its birth, it declared that it would not take affiliation of any Central Trade Union. Forging ahead on its own instead of bowing to the wishes of bosses of Central Trade Unions was the principal source of strength and creativity in SSKU.