EDITORIAL
Should
it be risked?
Although one
partner Bhim Singh says that disbanding SOG is
not written in the Common Minimum Programme of
the ruling coalition, it is written all over the
PDP if not the rest of the coalition. The
Congress too has given signals that tell of the
same 'promise' though not in those very words.
And the other factions from the valley are all
for it. So winding up SOG is very much on the
cards. You may not call it, 'disbanding', or
'winding up' or any other graphic
phrases-remember the recall of army from the
border alert was only a 'redeployment'. After all
what is there in a name or in words, howso
telling! As the Chief Minister said the other
day, the time of words is past and it is all
action now. In any case, the people have heard
enough words and are craving for action now. So
far so good. But the import and implication of
action has to be gone into thoroughly. It would
be a sorry Government that would have to find an
alternative wing within half a year. And a
sorrier one if it would be caught in the cleft of
its own words and actions.
As it is there is
a modicum of resentment against the SOG in the
valley, which also happens to be the Chief
Minister's constituency. That resentment is
against some highhanded means employed by them.
Other misdemeanors have coloured the attitudes
towards the Special Operations Group. But the
fact remains that it is the real force that is
active against the terrorists and has very
concrete accomplishments to its credit. Whatever
promises the poll time has extracted from the
freewheeling politicians, terrorism is a reality
of this State. This terrorism is all sponsored
and is predating on the people and peace of this
State. It is not the valley alone that is in the
vice grip of the terrorists but much of Jammu too
is pervaded by the marauders. While the
terrorists showed no let up in the Jammu
division, they laid low in the valley in the
aftermath of the election results. They have
begun their activities in a big way as soon as
the new Government took oath. There are any
number of instances where the terrorists are
forcing whole villages to sport beards, to shout
slogans and to show support for them in other
ways. All that is to deaden the intelligence
network the security force, especially the SOG,
has put in place.
Accordingly, their
main target here is this active branch of the
police, which is giving them a real hard time.
Observers believe that the lull that followed the
announcement of the election results was utilized
by the terrorists to consolidate their positions,
to build their stocks and to dig in for a fiercer
fight. As they say, when elephants rut grass is
undeservedly crushed. Many people have suffered
in the barrage between the terrorists and
security. But these people have also built the
peace, or whatever of it there is, with their
lives. It was not fair to play up those feelings
at the hustings, but it was done. It may be
exaggeration to say that what little movement
there is, is because of the SOG, but they have a
larger than appreciated role in bringing
terrorists under a semblance of control. Of
course, every highhandedness of the force must be
disallowed and disapproved. There are reports of
missing youth in the valley that are said to have
been picked up for questioning. Then the cases of
custodial deaths have also been highlighted in
rather a big way. Many of these may prove to be
mere accusations just the way hundreds of other
complaints against the security forces have
turned out to be.
Most of those
plaints have been found to have been got lodged
at the behest- often under the force of guns-- of
the terrorists to discredit the security forces
and to build pressure against them. There,
however are said to be some concrete cases of
custodial deaths. These deaths, numbering less
than a few dozen cases need to be accounted for
and the culprits brought to book, because the
security must not deviate from its dharma. Yet it
must not be forgotten that for every so-called
custodial death there are about a hundred deaths
caused by the terrorists. They are youths, women
often young, unmarried women, and children who
were done to death by the terrorists. Many of
them were killed in broad daylight or were lead
out of their homes at gunpoints and shot within
the hearing range of their friends and relatives.
The total number of 'custodial deaths' over the
past twelve years are said to be around 300, most
of which may turn out to be only accusations.
During this period, thirteen thousand men, women
and youths were killed by the terrorists of whom
the people in the valley are well aware. The
people protested against each of these killings
but they were silenced with threat of further
killings.
In other cases the
families just gave up the protest and plaint. The
classical cases here are first the killing of
Moulvi Farooq and the latest the assassination of
Abdul Gani Lone. In between, the whole of
thirteen thousand were killed, helpless,
succor-less. Many more would have died had the
special group not got active. Many more would
still be killed, in broad daylight, within the
hearing of their families yet would not be
counted. Of course, that is not to justify any
unnecessary deaths at the hands of the security
forces including police. But it does show the
depth of the situation, the devastation that has
been caused, the homes and families that have
been ravaged by the terrorists. It also shows,
what risks are involved, if a lightness of
approach comes to visit the security angles. For,
it is the common people, the helpless succor-less
people who suffer there. The leaders get
protections and covers, and may not visit the
areas at all if going gets too tough. The
unprotected people are easy pawns in the games of
politics, but should not be. Nor does this State
deserve flagrant experimentation of devious
theories. Administration and protection of people
is a grave business. It is a hard duty that must
be taken very seriously.
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Minimum
wages need for better compliance
By Aarti
For the
past 2 years Shantha (all names changed)
a construction worker gets a paltry Rs 15
for every day her contractor provides her
with work. Rajini, possessing knowledge
of typewriting and shorthand but unable
to secure a regular job is employed
through a contractor in a private firm
where she is paid at the rate of Rs 50
per day. These above are not solitary
cases but harsh realities of exploitation
the working class seem to undergo despite
the existence of a plethora of laws meant
for their protection and welfare.
According
to NSSO 55th Round estimates 397 million
as employed (out of a total population of
1004.10 million) in 1999-2000 against 374
million employed (out of a total
population of 895.05 million) in 1993-94.
Notably, there has been a reduction in
regular employment and self-employed
which is substantiated by the Census 2001
that shows that the average annual rate
of growth of marginal workers at 12.1 per
cent is much higher than the main workers
pegged at 0.08 per cent during the period
1991-2001. Working women, according to
reports constitute 14.8 per cent of the
total workforce in the organised sector
and hold 7.5 per cent jobs in the Central
Government but they form a sizeable
majority in the unorganized sector.
The
decision of the Union Government to raise
the minimum floor level wage by five
rupees, that is from Rs 45 to Rs 50 per
day, at the national level effective1st
September this year would benefit
hundreds of thousands of wage earners in
45 and 1232 scheduled employments in the
Central and State sphere respectively.
But what is important is that it is
effectively implemented.
The
concept of fixing a national floor level
minimum wage was evolved following the
recommendations of the National
Commission on Rural Labour (1991).
Initially the national floor level
minimum wage was fixed at Rs 35 in 1996
that was increased to Rs 40 in 1998 and
subsequently to Rs 45 in 1999.
The
groundwork for the enactment of a
legislation aimed at providing minimum
wages to the working class is attributed
to the initiatives of K.G.R.Choudhary in
1920 who mooted for the setting up of a
Board for determination of minimum wages
in each industry. In 1928, the
International Labour Conference adopted
the resolution (Convention No.26 and
Recommendation No. 30) pertaining to wage
fixing machinery in trades or parts of
trades. Consequent to the Indian Labour
Conference considering a draft bill in
1945 and the Standing Labour Committee
recommending in 1946 for the enactment of
a separate legislation for the
unorganised sector including working
hours, minimum wages and paid holidays,
the Minimum Wages Bill was introduced in
the Central Legislative Assembly on April
11, 1946 which provided for fixation of
minimum wages in certain employments.
Passed in 1946 and enforced effective
March 15, 1948, the Minimum Wages Act is
one of earliest labour legislations
enacted in 1948 to secure the welfare of
workmen and prevent exploitation of
labour. Under the Act, the appropriate
(Central/State) Government is required to
fix the minimum wage in respect of only
those scheduled employments where the
number of employees is 1000 or more.
These employments include agricultural
and mining activities, construction,
maintenance of roads, runways and
buildings, stone breaking/crushing,
mining activities, security services etc.
Following the recommendations of the
Indian Labour Conference of 1957, the
norms considered to fix the minimum wage
includes three consumption units per
earner, a minimum food requirement of
2700 calories per average adult, cloth
requirement of 72 yards per annum per
family, rent corresponding to the minimum
area provided for under the
Government’s Industrial Housing
Scheme and fuel, lighting apart from
other miscellaneous expenditure items
which is to constitute 20 per cent of the
total minimum wage. The Supreme Court
came to the aid of workers drawing
minimum wages and the landmark 1982
judgment popularly known as the Asiad
Workers case (Peoples’ Union for
Democratic Rights Vs. Union of India, AIR
1982 SC 1473) has held a person who
provides service to another for less than
the minimum wage, renders forced service.
"Article 23 of the Constitution
strikes at forced labour in whatever form
it may manifest itself, because it is
violative of human dignity and is
contrary to basic human values... Where a
person provides labour or service to
another for a remuneration which is less
than the minimum wage, the labour or
service provided by him clearly falls
within the scope and ambit of
‘forced labour’ under Article
23. The word ‘force’ must
therefore be construed to include not
only physical or economic circumstances
which leaves no choice of alternatives to
a person in want and compels him to
provide labour or service, even though
the remuneration received for it is less
than the minimum wage. Traffic in human
beings and begar and other similar forms
of forced labour are prohibited and any
contraventions of this provision shall be
an offence punishable in accordance with
the law".
The Apex
Court further noted that "the rule
of law does not mean that the protection
of the law must be available only to a
fortunate few or that the law should be
allowed to be prostituted by the vested
interests for protecting and upholding
the status quo under the guise of
enforcement of their civil and political
rights. The poor too have civil and
political rights and rule of law is meant
for them also, though today it exists
only on paper and not in reality. If the
sugar barons and the alcohol kings have
the fundamental right to carry on their
business and to fatten their purses by
exploiting the consuming public, have the
chamars belonging to the lowest strata of
society no fundamental right to earn an
honest living through their sweat and
toil?"
To protect
the minimum wages against inflation, as
recommended by the Labour Ministers’
Conference of 1988, it has been linked to
rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The Variable Dearness Allowance, (VDA) as
a component of minimum wage (revised
bi-annually April and October) is in
existence in all the Central Government
and notified scheduled employments in 22
States/Union Territories. Even as the
minimum wages may differ from every State
and employment, it is essentially meant
to ensure the physical needs of the
worker, his family’s subsistence
including their educational and medical
requirements. The minimum wages for
unskilled workers in the Central sphere
varies from Rs. 54.27 to Rs. 129.93
(including VDA) and for agricultural
workers from Rs.86.63 to Rs 129.93 per
day. In case of States/UTs, it varies
from Rs.19.25 to Rs.165.78 (including
VDA) and from Rs.19.25 to Rs 102 for
agricultural workers.
Though the
reported decision of the Government to
simplify the Minimum Wages Act is timely,
with only 45 categories in the Central
sphere figuring in the list of Scheduled
Employments against 1,232 in the State,
there has been demands from several
quarters for bringing more employments
within the purview of the Minimum Wages
Act by including them in the list of
Scheduled Employments. While the proposal
to offer incentives for voluntary
compliance and slap stringent penalties
for non-compliance has to be supplemented
with religious efforts of both the
Central and State Governments to ensure
the implementation of the law, special
awareness campaigns across the country
among workers and employers regarding
their rights and obligations as envisaged
in the Minimum Wages Act can go a long
way to achieve the desired results.
With
reports of a vast majority of the workers
in the unorganised sector not getting the
stipulated minimum wages and the
employment status of many labourers
seldom regularised despite working for
many years it is a appalling that such
individuals fall easy prey for being
casually hired and fired. What is
required is the creation of awareness
that if an individual is being paid less
than the statutory minimum wages, she/he
can get justice by moving the High Court
or the Supreme Court (as it a violation
of Fundamental Right under Article 23)
and/or approaching the Labour Court of
the area.
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Exporting
without growth
By
Bharat Jhunjhunwala
Surely,
exports should be an important element of
our growth strategy. They are indicators
of our global competitiveness. It is also
true that countries like China have
increased their exports in a big way.
China's share of world trade increased
from 1.6% to 6.1% in the last fifteen
years. But has it led to growth?
There are
strong reasons to doubt the same.
According to the World Development Report
2003, China's income in 2001 was $1159
Billion. In 1981 it was $264 Billion. A
simple calculation based on these two
figures shows that the average rate of
growth in these years was only 7.7%; and
not 10%-plus as claimed. There are many
indications that China's growth has been
concentrated in the Eastern coastal
areas. The vast interior continues to be
enmeshed in poverty. Some reports
indicate that malnutrition in rural areas
is increasing. In our own country we had
princely grandeur along with poverty of
the masses. China's situation appears to
be not much different.
The fact
is that the FDI-led export strategy
followed by China need not create
incomes. MNCs can invest, used cheap
domestic labour and export the product.
But the linkage with the domestic economy
may be little. Such FDI can create
islands where labour comes and works. The
profits can be retained by the MNCs and
repatriated to their home countries. The
host countries merely become suppliers of
cheap labour. And wages never beget
growth. High value of exports does not
mean high incomes. There is a wind power
plant near Phalodi in Jodhpur. One can
see the windmill blades whirling day and
night. But no one in the area seems to
know much about it. The machines have
come from the city. The operators have
come from the city. They live in quarters
that have been built in the compound. The
power is transmitted to the city. There
is no interaction with the local people
except supply of a few unskilled workers
for menial jobs. Such plants can be
established rapidly. The machinery is
well tested at other locations. Only some
pillars have to be constructed and the
power can be generated right away. Such
'industrialization' may be good for the
cities but has little value for the
people of the area.
The
production of wood furniture, on the
other hand, has many linkages. The
farmers supply wood. Local carpenter are
employed. Lathes and drill machines are
purchased from local suppliers. The
purchasers come and stay in local hotels.
Such production takes much time to
establish. Local suppliers of wood have
to be trained to provide the right
quality. Carpenters have to be trained to
handle modern machines and read the
designs. Advertisements have to be placed
to attract purchasers. The value of wood
furniture that is produced may be less;
it has low investment and technology and
is slow in starting yet it is highly
beneficial to the local people. Such
industry has strong linkages with the
local economy. The wind power project has
large investment and high technology but
does not lead to the development of the
area. It should be realized that 'growth'
requires investment, which comes, in the
main, from profits, not wages. The share
of wages in production has been declining
anyway. Thus, if an MNC invests and
employs cheap labour the net payment to
the domestic economy is small though the
value of exports is large. That does not
lead to growth.
The
high-tech nature of the exports does not
appear to help much either. In the World
Investment Report 2002, UNCTAD accepts
that "specialization in
labour-intensive segments, even of
high-technology exports, may in some ways
be undesirable as it may provide meager
spillovers to the local economy."
UNCTAD warns that depending on MNCs faces
the danger that "local value-added
may not be increased and affiliates may
not embed themselves in the local economy
by building linkages to the domestic
entrepreneurial community."
UNCTAD
points out that there is an additional
danger of MNCs suddenly relocating their
production due to factors that are beyond
the control of the host economy such as
market access due to preferential trade
agreements or incentives offered by other
countries.
UNCTAD has
mentioned six countries as 'winner
countries', which have successfully
followed the FDI-led approach. These
countries have been able to attract large
amounts of export-oriented FDI. But has
it resulted in high growth rates? The
average annual growth rate in the
nineties of four of six of these
countries has actually been lower than
that of India. These are Hungary, Mexico,
Costa Rica and Korea. The fifth country
Ireland is culturally and geographically
close to the Industrial countries. It
cannot be compared to other developing
countries. China is the sixth. Its growth
rates are doubtful. The 'winners' have
won in exports but that has not given
them incomes.
Our
approach has been slower but domestic
entrepreneurs have led it. The linkages
of our exports with the rest of the
economy are deep. We have exported more
wood furniture and less high-tech
products. Truly, our rate of growth of
exports has been slow. Our share of world
trade has barely increased from 0.8% to
1.0% in the last fifteen years. But even
this small increase has been accompanied
with a reasonably high rate of growth.
China has nearly double of our savings
rate, six times of our exports and seven
times of the FDI that we have got, yet
the growth rate is only marginally higher
than ours.
The fact
that the share of MNCs in the exports of
these countries is large only means that
the domestic linkages are weak. According
to UNCTAD, the share of exports by
foreign affiliates in
technology-intensive industries in China
was 81% in 2000. Costa Rica's top 20
foreign affiliates accounted for one-half
of the country's exports. MNCs generated
four-fifths of Hungary's exports. 90% of
Kenya's flower production, mostly for
exports, is controlled by foreign
affiliates. Such preponderance of FDI has
led to a big jump in exports while the
host economies derive few benefits. Such
FDI has created islands that are isolated
from the rest of the economy. The profits
are controlled and reinvested by the MNCs
according to their own global
compulsions. The host countries become
mere suppliers of cheap labour with
little income accruing to them and little
growth having taken place. The FDI-led
export strategy has not delivered.
The
FDI-led export strategy should not
distract us. We should instead bolster
our domestic companies. FDI accounts for
only 19% of India's software exports.
India has also increased its presence in
services such as call centers with our
own entrepreneurship. Our strength lies
in the fact that the profits made by our
companies are largely reinvested within
the country. The raw materials are
procured from within the country. The
skilled workers are Indians. This will
lead to long-term growth. Therefore, we
should continue on our slow but steady
strategy of exports that are made on our
own strengths even if it takes longer to
conquer the world.
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In
search of proliferation-resistant
reactors
By
Lalitha Vaidyanathan
World
nuclear community has begun research in
designing and developing ''proliferation
resistant'' civilian power reactors which
will have technological features that
would reduce access to or the production
of weapon-usable nuclear materials.
Scientists
and engineers at several nuclear research
centres around the world are looking for
the characteristics of innovative power
reactors and fuel cycles with respect to
prevention of proliferation.
Political,
legal and commercial frameworks under
which such innovative reactors and fuel
cycles might be introduced and made
available are also being worked out
simultaneously, according to nuclear
experts.
In order
to systematically promote such
innovations, the International Atomic
Energy Agency had floated International
Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors
and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) two years back
and several designs have already come up
for scrutiny of the nuclear experts
including India's Advanced Heavy Water
Reactor (AHWR).
AHWR's
detailed project report (DPR) will be
circulated for peer review for the next
couple of years, Atomic Energy Commission
Chairman, Dr Anil Kakodkar said.
Additional
endorsement came at a UN General Assembly
resolution in December 2001, that again
emphasised, ''the unique role the agency
can play in developing user requirements
and in addressing safeguards, safety and
environmental questions for innovative
reactors and their fuel cycles.''
The
resolution also stressed ''the need for
international collaboration in the
development of such innovative nuclear
technology.''
As on
August 2002, countries or entities that
became members of INPRO were Argentina,
Brazil, India, Canada, China, Germany,
Republic of Korea, Russian Federation
(CIS), Spain, Switzerland, the
Netherlands, Turkey and the European
Union, according to IAEA experts.
About 16
cost-free experts have been dominated by
their respective governments or
international organisations, they said.
The
characteristic features of the innovative
reactors include both intrinsic and
extrinsic barriers, Juergen Kupitz, Head
of Nuclear Technology Development
Division of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), said.
As part of
intrinsic barrier, the nuclear community
was interested in reactors with longer
core life of fuel and higher burn-up in
the reactors which would facilitate
decreased frequency of refuelling
procedure, Kupitz, who is a also a
proponent of nuclear energy for the
developing countries.
Currently,
the refuelling is done once a year in
most of the reactors around the globe and
''we are aiming at five to 20 year gap
for refuelling to reduce the possible
proliferation. For this, proposals for
new innovations in reactor technology are
invited from all over the world,'' he
said.
''However,
inspection of plants in those countries
which have signed non-proliferation
treaty would continue even after such
long refuelling period is achieved,'' he
said.
The
extrinsic barrier include maintaining
safeguard, NPT and safety, he added.
Talking
about IAEA's international project on
Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel
Cycles, he said, '' we have invited all
interested member countries to combine
their efforts in considering the issues
of the fuel cycle, in particular by
examining proliferation -resistant
technology''.
Besides
IAEA, 'Generation IV', a nuclear NGO in
US, has so far selected six such new
innovations including a high temperature
reactor, a gas-cooled fast reactor, and a
molten salt reactor, he added.
Kupitz
said, the objective of INPRO was to
support the safe, sustainable, economic
and proliferation resistant use of
nuclear technology to meet the global
energy need of the 21st century.
The
activities of INPRO are being carried out
in two phases in phase one selection of
criteria, developmental methodologies,
guidelines for the comparison of
different concepts and approaches.
Phase two
will include examination of innovative
nuclear energy technologies made
available by the member states against
the criteria and requirements.
''The
examination will be coordinated by the
Agency and performed with participation
of Member States on the basis of the user
requirements and methodologies
established in phase one,'' Kupitz said.
Y S
Bassurin of IAEA said, the agency had
convened a workshop last year on 'user
requirements for non-proliferation' where
requirements of proliferation resistant
reactors were chalked out with 13 member
countries, governmental and
non-governmental organisations.
''The IAEA
and member states, through verification
arrangements, current IAEA safeguard
practices, methods and procedures, could
jointly provide credible assurance that
such innovation and the associated
nuclear materials and fuel cycle remain
committed to peaceful use'', Bassurin
added.
Indian
programme related to innovative nuclear
reactor technology is mainly the R and D
road map for thorium utilisation and
closed fuel cycle based third stage
Indian nuclear programme, according to R
K Sinha, head Reactor Design and
Development Group of Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre.
He
informed the experts at the recently held
symposium of the Indian Nuclear Society
that the three major deliverables of this
technology road map are -Advanced Heavy
Water Reactor (AHWR), Compact High
Temperature Reactor (CHTR) and
Accelerator Driven System (ADS).
For each
of these deliverables, several enabling
technologies are required to be developed
by BARC and most of these technologies
are candidates for international
cooperative research and development,
Sinha said.
There are
many more designs being developed at BARC
and are at different stages of
finalisation, BARC sources said.
PTI
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