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A date in labour history
TOMORROW MARKS another anniversary of a forgotten date in Madras history, a day when the city contributed yet another bit of pioneering action. On February 26, 1946, white collar workers took out a protest procession for the first time in Indian trade union history, when they struck work in support of the Royal Indian Navy ratings' rebellion that began on February 18.
The white collar processionists were members of the Commercial Employees' Association, the first clerical trade union in the country. Organised by K. S. Janakiraman and V. Subramaniam, sishyas of V. Chakkarai Chettiar, one of the fathers of the trade union movement in Madras, the CEA was headed by R. Venkataraman, later to be President of India but then the leader of the TNCC's labour section. The CEA was born at a time when, in the days immediately after World War II, the labour movement had just gathered momentum in Madras. The Madras Corporation Employees' Union was formed and conducted a successful strike. This was followed by Jagadisa Iyer leading a strike by the Non-Gazetted Officers of the Government. Their example was not lost on Subramaniam and Janakiraman. And the CEA came into being.
The February 26 procession was led from Flower Bazaar to Dare House by the then 22-year old Subramaniam. His role in the procession made this Parry & Co. clerk, who had graduated from selling Parry's `Parrot' shoe polish as a 17-year old, a marked man. When he led a strike for better working conditions in Parry's in 1947, he and a few others were dismissed. Their appeal was the first clerical staff case taken up under the Madras Shops & Establishments Act, 1947. Winning the case, all were reinstated, but Subramaniam resigned after rejoining work for a day and spent the rest of his life committed to the trade union movement in the mercantile sector in Madras.
Associated with the CEA in many of its disputes was the legal firm of Row & Reddy. It was V.G. Row who pointed out to Subramaniam the need to educate the working class on their rights, the various legal enactments and court decisions. And it was to do this that Subramaniam started the Madras Book Agency in 1956. The Agency, still going strong, offered publications on labour cases decided by the courts as well as Government notifications. To package much of this information in one publication, Subramaniam started the monthly Digest of Labour Cases in 1960, which he edited till his death nine months ago. But the family's association with Row & Reddy and labour issues continues; a son, S. Vaidyanathan, is a lawyer with the firm.
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