Diwali bonus8217; for unpaid Raghuvanshi Mill workers

MUMBAI, Nov 5: Around 650 workers of Raghuvanshi Mills, unpaid for the past four months will be receiving a Diwali largesse from unexpect...

MUMBAI, Nov 5: Around 650 workers of Raghuvanshi Mills, unpaid for the past four months will be receiving a Diwali largesse from unexpected quarters. Around 22 companies that have their offices in the premises of the mill at Senapati Bapat Marg today agreed to give them the dues towards electricity and water charges that was to have been handed over to the mill owners.

The decision of granting the workers this money was taken by the Raghuvanshi Tenants Association in a meeting with the Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti, when hundreds of workers closed the gates at 7.30 am today protesting the non payment of dues. The owner of Raghuvanshi Mills, M L Thakkar has left this country since the last few months.

However, since this was blocking the offices of the 22 companies that worked from the premises, the association had a brief meeting with the president of the GKSS, Gayatri Singh when it was decided that around Rs 4.5 lakh that was to have been given to the mill owners towards the payment for electricity andwater, would be divided among the workers instead, towards Diwali expenses. Each worker is expected to get at least Rs 800 to Rs 1,000. At the mill premises 8211; where workers have been coming every three shifts every day for the past four months 8211; there is not much enthusiasm at this largesse.

Workers know that this is no bonus, but a loan given to them to be deducted once the salaries are given. In fact, earlier too, the tenants association had given them a similar payment. 8220;What the association does is throw these bits at us so that they can continue with their work,8221; said a worker, 8220;but then we don8217;t have any option8221;.

With the mill addresses at Senapati Bapat Marg increasingly morphing themselves into high profile elitist residential areas and leisure joints, it is the mill worker who finds himself as the castaway. Interestingly, the mill management of Raghuvanshi Mills had agreed to hand over the working of the mill to the workers. But there has been no action towards this intent.