The entire working class is with me8217;

I am not new to this area and its problems. In 1995, I had contested from the same seat, and though I was raw, I still managed to get 10,000 votes. From aworker at Khatau mills to a trade union leader, I have risen from the ranks and have suffered the same problems as others in this area.

The Sewri constituency is dominated by workers from textile mills, cooperatives and government bodies. As RMMS leader and leader of Mahindra amp; Mahindra, Johnson amp; Johnson and other unions, I have fought for their rights over the years. I had stalled the demolition of a large number of slums at Dhobi Ghat with the cooperation of the then Housing Minister Chhagan Bhujbal. The entire working class supports me and I am confident of being elected.

What will be your agenda for mill workers if you win?

Research is on at the Ambedkar Institute of Labour Studies to ascertain what the workers really feel about the closed mills issue. But first priority will be to work towards the revival of sick units and get the necessary financial support from the government. If this is not possible everywhere, we will go for sale of the mill land in a totally democratic manner.

Acommittee will be formed presided over by a retired judge and representatives of workers, government and the management. Open tenders will be called for, and the proceeds obtained from the sale will be used by the owners within the industry and nowhere else. Rehabilitation schemes on the lines of National Textile Corporation NTC will be implemented. Small-scale industries will be set up in the city or villages for mill workers who are jobless.

The RMMS has been accused of using its musclepower to create a rift between textile workers. What has it achieved for them?

We are a recognised union, our work is legal and therefore goes unnoticed acirc;euro;ldquo; we don8217;t believe in spilling out on the streets. The mill issue is not as simple as it is seems. Lopsided policies of the government over the years has brought this about.

In Bhiwandi, 4 lakh people work in powerlooms. The industry is thriving there and in western parts of Maharashtra because most of the owners don8217;t pay water and electricity charges. Textilemills consume a lot of water and electricity and such thefts are common in rural areas. High costs have discouraged Mumbai8217;s mill owners from trying to revive the units. Khatau mills recently got the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction8217;s nod for reopening only because the owner was interested.

The Bowling Company set up at the Phoenix mill compound has raised a controversy. What is your stand on the issue?

The Bowling Company is not the only problem. Did you know that a close relative of a ruling party politician in the State has rented 50,000 square feet of land on the same premises for commercial use? The issue has been kept under wraps because of the elections. Policy makers and owners are not interested in reviving mills, but we are trying to convince them to run mills ourselves on a cooperative basis.

I have entered this field at a very late stage when the entire industry is getting killed. Many workers are opting for Voluntary Retirement Scheme. They would rather take whateveris available and get out, which has weakened our movement. Overnight, 1,200 workers opted for VRS without consulting us.

We support VRS subject to modernisation of the mill, not closure. And while rival unions have aggravated the problem, workers should realise that spilling out on the streets and infighting only causes us to play into the hands of the management, which is exactly what they want.