VADODARA, July 21: Vadodara cemented its long-standing ties with trade-unionism when 72-year-old Keshavbhai Thakker was chosen as the vice-president of the majority Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh.Born in Vadodara, where he was the founding member of the national BMS in 1955, Thakker was also instrumental in the creation of the State unit, to which the union's national general secretary Hasubhai Dave also belongs.The newest Central trade union's eminence happily coincides with the Central rule of the political party of its affiliation. Thakker was thus able to expound on the BJP's views of Swadeshi and emphasise the need to withdraw from the World Trade Organisation at the 86th International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva recently.Liberalisation, he says, is a veil under which developed countries could exploit developing countries. ``Industrialise the nation, nationalise the labour and labourise the industry'' is the motto he firmly believes in.Contrary to other central trade unions, however, Thakker defends the government policy on the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations. However, he says pay commissions would be unnecessary if the government controlled the price index.``The Hindu concept of maximum production with least consumption is the only solution to the economic demands,'' he says, adding that production was for the good of society and not just the moneyed classes.``The managements should learn from Hindu spiritualism to look into the human angle'', he says, adding management methods could help build better and stronger industry-labour relations.On the activities of the Sangh, he says, it promotes the cause of labour as well as industry in the interest of the nation. Along with others, the union had set up a co-operative jute mill in Calcutta to salvage the unit and the employed labour, he informs Express Newsline, adding proudly, ``We have shown the model path.''He claims they were instrumental in regularising some contract labour in IPCL. Settlement in a couple of factories in the state has also strengthened the BMS here, he adds.``Our membership has reached 40 lakhs,'' he says, hopeful it will increase further. He says they had called for a round table conference to promote technology that was labour-intensive rather than capital-intensive.Thakker, who began his career in Sarabhai Chemicals as a supervisor, says he joined the Rashtriya Swayayam Sevak Sangh a decade before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and claims to have been a founder-member of the Jan Sangh in 1951.Thakker contested three State assembly elections from Vadodara on Jan Sangh tickets in 1957, 1962 and 1967. Interestingly, he polled 11,000 votes against Fatehsinh Rao Gaekwad in the Sayajigunj constituency. Top
