Cement industry, unions gear up for fresh wage pact

The last wage settlement in 2014 fetched an increase of Rs 6,000 per month in the basic wage of an unskilled worker. Along with variable DA and bonus and other allowances, the total increase came to Rs 9,500 to Rs 10,000 per month.

The implication is that over 1.5 lakh employees in the core industry of cement manufacturing, have been brought on par with other ‘affluent’ industries. An unskilled permanent worker at the end of last settlement (31 March 2018) was drawing Rs 36,000 per month, including the bonus component. This is a stark contrast to 1989, when an unskilled worker was getting Rs 2,700 per month at the entry level. 

“The cement industry has been facing tough challenges since 2011 or so, as all regions in the country were not as prosperous as perceived – this as 25 per cent limestone is available in old Andhra while there are no units at all in West Bengal, except for grinding units. But not a single dispute has been faced in the last 20-odd years,” Srinivasan said, explaining the ‘purposeful’ nature of the far-sighted national settlement.  

On Friday, he will once again showcase his negotiating skills, a tactical role that he embraced in 1992. 

The new wage settlement is expected to cover 20-25 member companies having 100 units and employing over one lakh workers. Since the 1990’s, when the cement industry was totally de-controlled, he has successfully negotiated on behalf of the cement industry, each time concluding a four-year wage pact on a national level. 

His stint as Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) President for five terms from 1991 to 1994 and 2004 to 2006, have not only earned the trust and faith of the labour fraternity, but he continues to be the central figure for skillfully managing the wage settlement aspect. 

For over 25 years now, Srinivasan has been instrumental in amicably concluding six wage pacts – 1992, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014 – on a national scale, negotiating with major unions such as INTUC, AITUC, CITY, HMS, BMS and LPF of the DMK.  

Noting that the cement industry capacity has surged from 20-25 million tonnes to its current level of 400 MT, he said such wage settlements allowed industrial relations officials to focus on operations more effectively rather than spend time on resolving issues on a daily case-to-case basis.  

Apart from domestic companies, MNCs like Holcim too had followed the agreements in toto. 

According to Srinivasan, even those which were not part of the CMA, were found to be in resonance with the wage settlement packages. This only reflected the power of collective bargaining, he sought to point out. The increments only showed the cement industry as a “benevolent employer,” Srinivasan said.