The controversy over the new wage agreement of Tata Steel has deepened in Jamshedpur. Former union officials have accused the current leadership of ignoring the interests of NS grade employees, weak bargaining and not giving expected increase in allowances.
Jamshedpur: Former officials of Tata Workers Union have raised serious questions on the current leadership regarding the new wage agreement of Tata Steel. They allege that the interests of NS grade employees have been ignored in the agreement and due to lack of effective negotiations with the management, the employees could not get the expected benefits.
Former officials raised questions on the agreement
The discussion of dissatisfaction among the employees regarding the new grade (salary) agreement of Tata Steel has intensified. Former Vice President of Tata Workers Union RC Jha and former Deputy President Arvind Pandey criticized the working style of the current union leadership and said that the agreement could not live up to the expectations of the employees. They claim that the interests of employees, especially those in the NS grade, were not given adequate priority.
Both the leaders say that through better strategy and effective negotiations, more benefits could have been provided to the employees, but this could not happen.
Leadership accused of mutual politics and weak bargaining
Former vice president RC Jha alleged that the union leadership remained embroiled in internal politics and factionalism, due to which the wage settlement could not be effectively negotiated with the management. According to him, the leadership’s entire focus remained on internal issues of the organization rather than on the interests of the employees.
He said the wage settlement could have been more beneficial to workers if key issues had been negotiated vigorously. RC Jha also claimed that dissatisfaction among the employees is increasing due to the current agreement, which may affect the functioning of the union in future.
Objection also expressed on allowances and new conditions
Former Deputy President Arvind Pandey said that the expected increase in allowances given to NS grade employees was not made. He alleged that the new conditions related to Technical Progress Report (TPR) could prove to be harmful for the employees, whereas earlier this system was applicable without additional conditions.
He also said that the increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) did not meet the expectations of the employees and the union was not successful in bargaining better with the management. According to him, this has increased frustration among the employees.
Discussion of dissatisfaction among employees, union’s side yet to come
Former officials say that many employees are not satisfied with the provisions related to salary increase and allowances and dissatisfaction on this issue may increase further in future. He believes that due to lack of agreement as per the expectations of the employees, the discussion within the organization has intensified.
However, in this matter, there has been no official response to these allegations from the current leadership of Tata Workers Union. In such a situation, a clear picture of the entire matter will emerge only after both sides come forward regarding the dispute.
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