Step Forward for the Workers in their struggle against Privatisation of Modern Foods (India) Limited

The Modern Food Industries Employees Union achieved a major victory when after three years of struggle and sacrifice, the Union Labour Ministry was forced to acknowledge that there was serious problems in the privatisation of MFIL and BALCO, the first PSU’s to be privatised. This acknowledgement came in the form of a Committee being set up last February by the Labour Ministry to investigate the consequences of privatisation on labour.

As was to be expected, the Hindustan Lever management in collaboration with the sold out leaders of the Federations (who had earlier signed a treacherous agreement with HLL for transfer of employees and “VRS”) has been trying its best to sabotage the working of this committee. The Committee was called to the Head Office of MFIL in Delhi and the HLL management deliberately tried to keep the Modern Food Industries Employees Union as well as the mass of workers in the dark about the program of the Committee. The aim was clearly to make the Committee meet handpicked traitors who would give a clean chit to HLL so that the Committee could report to the Labour Ministry that “all was well” with MFIL. However, the Modern Food Industries Employees Union foiled these plans.

Modern Food Industries Employees Union submitted a memorandum to the committee in the Labour Ministry as well as went to the Head Office and demanded a hearing. Leaders from the Lawrence Road Unit, the Fruit Juice Bottling Plant as well as the Faridabad Unit met the Committee and informed them of the anti-worker activities of HLL management in the three years since privatisation. The committee members expressed their shock at these happenings and informed us that it was because of the persistent struggle of the Modern Food Industries Employees Union that the Committee had been set up. They promised that the Committee will visit all the units of Modern Food Industries in Delhi after informing the workers. On this occasion, the Union submitted a several hundred page documentary evidence of the conditions and struggle of the workers of Modern Food Industries (India) Limited. On this occasion, a memorandum was also submitted to the Committee from the Lok Raj Sangathan.