Lockout in press founded by Gandhi

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, MAY 14. The 71-year-old Navjivan Press, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, is in trouble. The management has declared a lockout following agitation by the employees and its managing trustee said there was no pressing reason to reopen the press in the near future.

The 135-strong workforce were on agitation to press their demand for a special Rs. 5,000 per head as `earthquake relief' to get their houses damaged in the Republic Day earthquake repaired. The management claimed they had resorted to illegal work-to-rule but it was denied by the employees' union.

The employees had been agitating for the past three weeks or so but denied that they had resorted to any extreme measure to necessitate a lock-out. Terming the lockout `illegal,' the Navjivan Trust Kamdar Mandal president, Mr. Jitendra Barot, claimed that the management had failed to give the necessary notice before declaring the lock-out last week-end.

The management, however, maintained that several attempts were made during the last three weeks for a compromise but the employees refused to co-operate. The due notice for lock- out was issued on May 9 but the employees ignored it and continued their agitation. The management claimed that as against the production capacity of printing about 20,000 copies a day, the workers, by resorting to work-to-rule, reduced the production level at 15,000 copies.

According to the management, since a wage revision of the employees under a settlement award was due by August, no fresh demand placing additional financial burden could be entertained at this stage.

The management had repaired the staff quarters and the press premises damaged in the earthquake at a cost of Rs. seven lakhs and the employees' demand for an earthquake relief was untenable.

The employees union, however, claimed that some portions of the damaged press was still to be repaired and was threatening the safety of the workers.

The managing trustee, Mr. Jitendra Desai, who is also the vice- chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith, another institution founded by the father of the nation, said the Navjivan Press was being run only for the sake of the employees so that they were not rendered jobless.

The Navjivan Press was founded in 1930 by the Mahatma for publication of the pro-freedom movement journals and documents and his own periodicals. After independence, the press was publishing only books and letters authored by the Mahatma.

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