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| BHOPAL THURSDAY 19TH DECEMBER 2002 |
Women survivors of the December '84 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal today celebrated their recent victory in their long struggle for a dignified life for the survivors. For the last twelve years these women working at the government run Stationery Production Center have been fighting a legal battle for regularization of jobs. Yesterday the Bhopal Labour Court gave a decision that directs the State Government to appoint the women survivors employed at the center to the permanent posts of Junior Binder with effect from April 29, 1998. The Court has also directed that the women workers be paid arrears due to them. According to the court, the decision was to be implemented within one month. The main issues of this legal battle, that took the women to two courts and one tribunal, are regularization of jobs, and equal pay and benefits for equal work. Women at the Stationery Production Center have been producing office stationery for the last 16 years and yet they continue to be treated as unskilled temporary workers. While regular workers in the Government Printing Press doing similar work get about Rs. 5000 per month, women survivors employed at the center are paid the minimum government rate of Rs. 1965 per month. Gas affected women workers get no medical leave, no maternity leave and no earned leave. On 27th November1990, the women's trade union initiated legal action against their employer, the Government Press and other agencies of the state government in the Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur. Seven years later, in September 1997, the Adminsitrative Tribunal directed them to the State High Court without giving a decision on the issues raised in the petition. The State High Court deliberated over the issues for two years, gave no decision, and directed the petitioners to go to the Labour Court. The recent decision in the Bhopal Labour Court is in response to a petition filed on March 13, 2000. The women members of the trade union Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh danced and sang in a victory march that started at the Central Library at 11 AM and went through the centre of the old city to gas affected communities. "The decision of the Labour Court exposes the illegal and inhuman actions of the state government and its discrimination against the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster," said Mrs. Rashida Bi, President of the trade union. " This is a victory of the people thought to be the most powerless against heartless officials." Says Mrs. Champa Devi Shukla, Secretary of the trade union, " This year has been a year of victories for us. Earlier this year we have pressured the Central Government to drop plans of distributing the balance of compensation funds among residents of unaffected municipal wards and to resume efforts to extradite Warren Anderson, former Chairman of Union Carbide. We have handed over brooms to officials of Dow Chemicals in five different countries, and samples of contaminated soil and water to Dow India." The leaders expressed confidence that their trail of victories will continue till the guilty of the disaster that has killed over 20, 000 are punished and the survivors gain their right to a dignified, disease free life. Mrs. Rashida Bi,
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