SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2255suspected of belonging to an upper caste private army, the Ranvir Sena, killed 5low-caste persons, including a woman and a child, in Rajebigha village, Bihar. Thekillings reportedly were perpetrated because the assailants suspected that the villagershad voted against a candidate favored by the upper caste community in Februarystate assembly elections in Bihar (see Section 3). Police occasionally have arrestedRanvir Sena members after similar incidents in Bihar. However, generallymembers of the Ranvir Sena who are arrested were released on bail shortly thereafter,and none were convicted during the year in connection with attacks on lowcastevillagers. According to HRW, police make little effort to prevent such killings,despite the fact that the Ranvir Sena often publicly announces its intentions daysbefore each attack; allegedly, police also fail to provide protection for villagers in theaftermath of such attacks. On October 22, the NHRC directed the Tamil Nadu governmentto pay about $10,990 (500,000 rupees) to 36 Dalit women and children. TheCommission found police wrongly attacked and beat the women and children afterentering their Ogalur village, Perambalur district, on November 30, 1998. TheNHRC further found that police illegally detained the victims for 18 days. In issuingthe order, NHRC chairman justice J.S. Verma wrote, ‘‘the present case is an instanceof lawlessness on the part of the police even in discharging their duties.’’Section 6. Worker Rightsa. The Right of Association.—The Constitution provides for the right of association.Workers may establish and join unions of their own choosing without prior authorization.More than 400 million persons make up the country’s active work force.Some 30 million of these workers are employed in the formal sector. The rest areoverwhelmingly are agricultural workers and, to a lesser extent, urban nonindustriallaborers. While some trade unions represent agricultural workers and informalsector workers, most of the country’s estimated 13 to 15 million union members arepart of the 30 million member formal sector. Of these 13 to 15 million unionizedworkers, some 80 percent are members of unions affiliated with one of the 5 majortrade union centrals. All major trade union centrals are affiliated to a greater orlesser extent with particular political parties. Central unions have stressed theirindependence and in some cases are attempting to sever previously tight party control.Trade unions often exercise the right to strike, but public sector unions are requiredto give at least 14 days notice prior to striking. Some states have laws requiringworkers in certain nonpublic sector industries to give notice of a plannedstrike.The Essential Services Maintenance Act allows the Government to ban strikesand requires conciliation or arbitration in specified ‘‘essential’’ industries. Legalmechanisms exist for challenging the assertion that a given dispute falls within thescope of this act. However, the essential services never have been defined in law.The act thus is subject to varying interpretations from state to state. TheMaharashtra government passed a law in February 1999 banning strikes in essentialservices, including transport services, milk supply services, the electricity department,and hospitals. The Industrial Disputes Act prohibits retribution by employersagainst employees involved in legal strike actions. This prohibition is observedin practice.The Kerala High Court declared in July 1997 that all general strikes (bandhs)were illegal and all organizers of protests would be liable for losses caused by shutdowns.Later in the year, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict drawing attentionto the difference between a complete closedown of all activities (bandh), and a generalstrike (hartal). While it is likely that the ruling was introduced in relation topolitical strikes, unions stated that it remained a potential threat to their activities.Other court rulings during 1997 also declared strikes illegal and made strikingworkers pay damages because consumers and the public suffered during strikes.According to Ministry of Labor statistics, as of June there had been 127 strikesand lockouts throughout the country during the year, involving 39,265 workers. Inall, 63,000 ‘‘person-days’’ were lost due to strikes and 900,000 ‘‘person-days’’ werelost due to lockouts during this period. For example, in February over 100,000 workersof a colliery in Andhra Pradesh went on a 13-day strike demanding better wagesand other benefits. The company later agreed to some of the workers’ demands. Inaddition, during the year approximately 80,000 workers went on strike for about 2weeks in Uttar Pradesh to protest the government’s plans to reorganize the stateelectricity board along corporate lines. The government succeeded in reorganizingthe electicity board along corporate lines despite the workers’ protest.When abuses, such as intimidation or suppression of legitimate trade union activities,are perpetrated against nationally organized or other large-scale unions orunionized workers, the authorities generally respond by prosecuting and punishingVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1