Labour trouble halts BSE trading

When contacted, BSE sources say the delay has been caused by exchange’s staff union, whose members switched off the various network equipment in the morning. The staffers also prevented others from entering the premises. As a result, trading could start at only 11.00 am instead of 10.00 am.

“I lost precious orders as the employees prevented me from going inside the exchange,” said Pawan Dharnidharka, a BSE member. Trading started after the stock brokers and exchange officials called in the police to intervene.

Later, Anand Rathi, President of the BSE, said the staff union was agitating over its wage agreement, which has been under negotiation since August last year. Members of the union, consisting of 350 employees, are in various cadres consisting of sweepers at the lower end of the scale and special assistants at the upper end. Their salaries range from a gross figure of around Rs 19,500 at the bottom to Rs 26,000 at the upper level. Besides, housing loans at a cheaper rate are also available for the employees.

“Despite high salaries being paid to the exchange’s employees, they are still agitating over the wages,” Rathi said.

As per the new wage negotiations, the hike varies from Rs 2000 to Rs 3800 but the employees demand more. Currently the employees work for only seven hours while the union has agreed to work for longer hours. “During negotiations, union leaders had agreed to an increase in the number of working hours, reduction in holidays and leave,” Rathi said. “But they have refused to sign the agreement and on February 12, this year they served notice for a strike to be held on February 28, which was subsequently abandoned due to inadequate support,” he claimed.

The union has also served a notice for `work to rule’. Rathi said that the strike indulged in by the union members today was illegal as the matter has been referred to the Maharashtra government for conciliation – under labour laws a strike cannot be resorted to when conciliation proceedings are on.

“We have arranged for heavy police security and we assure that any further disruption in trading would not take place as we were taken by surprise today,” he said. The exchange is planning to institute an enquiry into the incidents on Tuesday, while suitable legal action will be taken against those found responsible for the disruption, he said.

Incidentally, the union members have also threatened various vendors – such as Hughes Software Systems, Voltas and CMC – against undertaking maintenance work on the systems in the exchange premises.