The news of
delivery boys of Flipkart and Myntra going on strike did not surprise anybody.
There is a very large number of young men employed as delivery boys by the e-tailers,
and they need to. The number in Thane alone, I am informed, far exceeds 10,000.
If they guarantee a 24 hour delivery of orders they need to employ such a large
number.
Flipkart and Myntra
made the news for this wrong reason. Flipkart had made news repeatedly for their
HR policies – how they increased maternity and paternity leave, the lucrative
ESOPs which made managers millionaires caught public imagination. What makes so
‘caring’ an organisation to not worry about the working conditions of its
lowest rung of employees?
Because contract
workers are persona non-grata! I mean they are not, but that is how they
are treated. Simple. They are employed so that Flipkart saves costs. In any
case, the official stance would be that it is the responsibility of the
contractor to provide basic amenities while Flipkart will drive cost reduction.
Does it remind
you of Bangladesh tragedy? Yes. Flipkart’s attitude is nothing original, it is
copied and internalised from Walmart’s and many other in the Garments industry.
We know that unscrupulous
employers will behave this way, and there has to be a watch-dog. Who is that?
Obviously the Government, its Labour Department. This department which earned
notoriety for ‘organised’ raids on factories not too long ago, is confused
about its role. Should they support the e-tailors, and the industry? And what
does that mean? They seemed to be confused about their role to the extent that compliance
with labour laws is left to the sweet will of the employer in several cases.
And now let us
look at the unions. This is the statement that appeared in Press. “We have told
them that we as a political union will not interfere in the meeting. However if
they do not resolve the issue, we will have to step in.” Sanjay Gole of the
labour Wing of MNS. [Indian Express]. Let us check what the demands of delivery
boys are? We turn to Press again. 'The striking workers have given the
company a list of demands, including seeking access to proper washrooms and
getting a weekly off on Sundays.' [Businessline]. In some cases it is about
weekly off itself. Press reports also say that while Gole was meeting Flipkart
officials, delivery boys gathered in front of Flipkart office – the crowd grew so
large that the Company had to call police to control. That is a pointer to simmering volcano.
The point is that
why does Gole say that ‘We have told them that we as a political union will
not interfere in the meeting.’ Is that the role of a union to which workers
go for redressal of their grievances? Support of a union is required precisely because
workers as a group cannot match the force of management. We have to appreciate
that management has hierarchy where compliance with the decision is absolute
necessity. That is not the case with a crowd of workers. So they can’t match
the might of Flipkart.
Now we have, not
just the State Government which is confused about its role, but we also have
MNS Union.
And they are
joined by Flipkart plus Myntra. The Employers.
I searched if I
can read Flipkart’s HR policy on internet. Blame it on my poor search skills, I
could not find it. In this world where everything is in the open space, people
can read your policies provided, of course, if you dare to put it on your
website like many MNCs do. It does not take great intelligence to understand
that publishing policies on the website makes managers accountable; who likes
that?
A great organisation cannot think
about its employees alone. Even within that employee group, there are sub-sets.
Flipkart is accused of differentially and preferentially treating IITians and
IIM graduates. Not an uncommon phenomenon in Indian industry. [Read Forbes piece here]
The caste system is prevalent in Indian Industry in its new avatar. But a
global organisation must think about its indirectly engaged people, or
contractors’ employees. Basic minimum facilities must be provided. Walmart and
its peers in Garments industry learnt this lesson the hard way in Bangladesh episode.
Here we come to a
difficult question: What is meant by ‘basic minimum facilities?’ That is a
value loaded question! When you say ‘basic minimum’ you also have to make up your
mind about what is basic minimum facilities to human beings. It calls for
searching answers in your world of experience; it gets determined by your
sensibilities and values.
That’s a tough
call [really?] in corporate life. You can’t expect that of a customer focused
organisation which unfortunately and wrongly allows corporate managers to take
their eyes off employees.
Such incidents
make me feel that the union militancy will rise again – but I may be wrong, if
Gole’s statement is any indication.
Vivek S
Patwardhan