TRADE UNIONISM IN JOURNALISM

THE KERALA EXPERIENCE

A thesis submitted to the Mangalore University for the award

of the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

IN

MASS COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM

By

Sathyaseelan C

Senior Editor, Mangalam Publications (I) Pvt Ltd

Kottayam 686006

Research Guide:

Dr. Suchethana Swaroop

Director, Sri Siddhartha Centre for Media Studies

SSIT Campus, Maralur, Tumkur – 572 105

DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM

MANGALORE UNIVERSITY

MANGALAGANGOTHRI – 574 199

January 2011

Dr. Suchethana Swaroop

Director

Sri Siddhartha Centre for Media Studies

SSIT Campus, Maralur, Tumkur – 572 105

Certificate

This is to certify that this thesis, entitled ‘Trade Unionism in Journalism: The Kerala Experience’ is a record of original research work done by Mr. Sathyaseelan C, in the Department of Studies in Mass Communication and Journalism, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, as a full time research scholar during the period of study, 2005-2010 under my guidance and supervision for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communication and Journalism.  This thesis or any part of there of has not been previously submitted for any degree or diploma or other similar titles at this or any other university.

Place: Tumkur

Date:  14-01-2011                                                   Dr. Suchethna Swaroop

Sathyaseelan C.

Research Scholar,

Department of Mass Communication and Journalism,

Mangalagangothri – 574 199

DECLARATION

I, Sathyaseelan C, do hereby declare that this thesis entitled ‘Trade Unionism in Journalism: The Kerala Experience’ submitted to the Mangalore University, for the award of the ‘Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communication and Journalism’ is a record of original and independent research work done by me during 2005- 2010 under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Suchethana Swaroop, Director, Sri Siddhartha Centre for Media Studies, Maralur, Tumkur 572105.  This thesis in whole or part has not been previously submitted for any degree, diploma or other similar degree of this or any other university.

Place: Mangalore

Date:  14-10-2011                                                               Sathyaseelan C.

It is my good fortune to have Dr. Suchethana Swaroop, Director,                            Sri Siddhartha Centre for Media Studies, SSIT Campus, Maralur, Tumkur – 572105 as my Research Guide.  From the time of the choice of the subject to the completion of the work, for his expert and valuable guidance, I owe my gratitude to him.  He has been a constant source of inspiration and of endless help at every stage.

I record here my appreciation and gratitude to Dr. G. P. Shivram, Chairman, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri 574199 for his valuable suggestions and timely help.

The faculty members of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism gave friendly advice and needed encouragement.  I thank them profusely.

Thanks to Dr. John E. Abraham, Research Guide, M. G. University, Kottayam, Dr. Mallaiaha, Deputy Librarian and his staff, Mangalore University. 

I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Mr. Sabu Varghese, Chief Editor, Mangalam Group of Publications, Kottayam, Kerala.

I am indebted to my wife Mrs. Usha Sathyan, Sons Adv. Anoop Sathyan, Mr. Arun Sathyan (Managing Director, Yem solutions, Nagampadom, Kottayam), and my daughter-in-law Mrs. Gopika G. Nair.

Sathyaseelan C.

Chapter-1 INTRODUCTION————————————————————————– 1-11

Chapter-2 TRADE UNION MOVEMENTS IN KERALA: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES            12-41

Chapter-3 JOURNALISTS’ ASSOCIATIONS: HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS—- 42-72

Chapter-4  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY—————————————————— 73-80

Chapter-5 DATA PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION—————————– 81-183

Chapter-6 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS——————– 184-200   BIBLIOGRAPHY                201-207

                         JOURNALS——————————————————————————— 208-209

                         ANNEXURE——————————————————————————— 210-212

Table-1        Age-wise Composition of Respondents…………………………………. 75

Table-2        Sex wise Composition of Respondents…………………………………. 76

Table-3        Education-wise Classification of Respondents……………………….. 76

Table-4        Income-wise Classification………………………………………………… 77

Table-5        Classification of Journalists……………………………………………….. 79

Table-6        Acceptance of Wage Board Recommendations………………………. 81

Table-7        Implementation of Wage Board Recommendations………………….. 81

Table-8        Reasons for Non-Implementation………………………………………… 82

Table-9        Opinion on Contract System of Employment………………………….. 83

Table-10       ILL-Effects of the Contract System……………………………………… 83

Table-11       Merits of the Contract System……………………………………………. 84

Table-12       Membership of Unions………………………………………………………. 86

Table-13       Protective Power of Unions:………………………………………………. 86

Table-14       Acceptance of Trade Union Tactics:…………………………………….. 87

Table-15       Reasonableness of Media Owners:……………………………………… 87

Table-16       Acceptance of Collective Bargaining:……………………………………. 88

Table-17       Ethicality of Unionisation:………………………………………………….. 88

Table-18       Protest against Employers…………………………………………………. 89

Table-19       Justifiability of Demand for Higher Wages……………………………… 89

Table- 20      Co-Operation with Management………………………………………….. 90

Table- 21      Response as To Fudging Accounts  ……………………………………. 90

Table- 22      Medium that Pays Better Wages to Its Employees …………………. 91

Table- 23      Better Paymaster – Private Vs Govt. Organisations…………………. 91

Table- 24      Advantage of Foreign Direct Investment in the Media Sector……… 92

Table-25       Activeness of the State Union of Journalists…………………………. 93

Table-26       Reasons for Inactivity of the Union………………………………………. 93

Table-27       Acceptance of Wage Board Recommendations………………………. 94

Table-28       Level of Implementation of Wage Board Recommendations:………. 95

Table-29       Reasons for Non-Implementation………………………………………… 96

Table- 30      Acceptance of Contract System …………………………………………. 97

Table- 31      ILL – Effects of Contract System………………………………………… 98

Table- 32      Merits of Contract System…………………………………………………. 99

Table-33       Membership of Union……………………………………………………….. 101

Table-34       Unions Protecting Interests of Working Journalists………………….. 103

Table-35       Acceptance of Trade Union Tactics……………………………………… 103

Table-36       Reasonableness of media owners:………………………………………. 104

Table-37       Acceptance of Collective Bargaining:……………………………………. 105

Table-38       Ethicality of Unionisation…………………………………………………… 106

Table-39       Protest against Employers…………………………………………………. 107

Table-40       Justifiability of Demand for Higher Wages……………………………… 107

Table-41       Co-operation with Management…………………………………………… 108

Table-42       Fudging of Account by Management…………………………………….. 109

Table-43       The Media that Pay Better Wages:………………………………………. 110

Table-44       Better Paymaster: Private vs. Government Organisations…………. 110

Table-45       Advantage of FDI in Media Sector……………………………………….. 111

Table-46       Activeness of the State Union of Journalists………………………….. 112

Table-47       Reasons for Union Inactivity …………………………………………….. 113

Table-48       Acceptance of Wage Board Recommendation Sex-Wise Response… 114

Table-49       Implementation Level of Wage Board Recommendations…………… 114

Table-50       Reasons for Non-Implementation………………………………………… 115

Table-51       Opinion on Contract System of Employment………………………….. 115

Table-52       ILL-Effects of the Contract System …………………………………….. 116

Table-53       Membership of Unions………………………………………………………. 117

Table-54       Protective Power of Unions……………………………………………….. 117

Table-55       Acceptance of Trade Union Activities…………………………………… 118

Table-56       Reasonableness of Media Owners………………………………………. 119

Table-57       Acceptance of Collective Bargaining…………………………………….. 119

Table-58       Ethicality of Unionisation…………………………………………………… 120

Table-59       Protest against Employers…………………………………………………. 120

Table-60       Justifiability of Demand for Higher Wages……………………………… 121

Table-61       Co-Operation with Management………………………………………….. 121

Table-62       On Fudging of Accounts …………………………………………………… 122

Table-63       Media That Pay Better Wages ……………………………………………. 122

Table-64       The Sector That Paid Better (Sector)……………………………………. 123

Table-65       Advantage of Foreign Direct Investment in Media Sector…………… 123

Table-66       Activeness of the State Union of Journalists………………………….. 124

Table-67       Reasons for the Inactivity of the Union…………………………………. 124

Table-68       Acceptance of the Wage Board Recommendations………………….. 125

Table-69       Level of Implementation of Wage Board Recommendations ………. 126

Table-70       Reasons for Non-Implementation………………………………………… 128

Table-71       Acceptance of Contract System………………………………………….. 129

Table-72       ILL-Effects of Contract System…………………………………………… 130

Table-73       Benefits of Contract System………………………………………………. 132

Table-74       Union Membership…………………………………………………………… 134

Table-75       Power of Unions to Protect Interests of Working Journalists ……… 135

Table-76       Acceptance of Trade Union Tactics……………………………………… 136

Table-77       Reasonableness of Media Owners………………………………………. 137

Table-78       Acceptance of Collective Bargaining…………………………………….. 138

Table-79       Ethicality of Unionisation…………………………………………………… 139

Table-80       Protest against Employers…………………………………………………. 140

Table-81       Justifiability of Demand for Higher Wages……………………………… 141

Table-82       Co-Operation with Management………………………………………….. 142

Table-83       Fudging of Account by Management…………………………………….. 143

Table-84       The Media that May Pay Better Wages…………………………………. 144

Table-85       Better Paymaster: Private Vs. Government Organisations:………… 145

Table-86       Advantage of FDI in Media Sector……………………………………….. 146

Table-87       Activeness of the State Union of Journalists………………………….. 147

Table-88       Reasons for Inactivity………………………………………………………. 148

Table-89       Acceptance of Wage Board Recommendations………………………. 149

Table-90       Implementation of Wage Board Recommendations………………….. 150

Table-91       Reasons for Non – Implementation………………………………………. 151

Table-92       Opinion on Contract System of Employment………………………….. 152

Table-93       ILL-Effects of Contract System…………………………………………… 153

Table-94       Merits of Contract System…………………………………………………. 154

Table-95       Union Membership…………………………………………………………… 156

Table-96       Union Protecting Interests of Working Journalists……………………. 157

Table-97       Acceptance of Trade Union Tactics……………………………………… 158

Table-98       Reasonableness of Media Owners………………………………………. 159

Table-99       Acceptance of Collective Bargaining…………………………………….. 160

Table-100     Ethicality of Unionisation…………………………………………………… 161

Table-101     Protest against Employers Response…………………………………… 162

Table-102    Co-operation with Management Response…………………………….. 163

Table-103     Fudging of Accounts by Management Response…………………….. 164

Table-104     The Media that Pay Better Wages Response…………………………. 165

Table-105     Better Paymasters Private Vs Government Organisations…………. 166

Table-106     Advantage of FDI in Media Sector……………………………………….. 167

Table-107     Activeness of the State Union of Journalists …………………………. 168

Table-108     Reasons for Union inactivity………………………………………………. 169

Table-109     Acceptance of Wage Board Recommendations………………………. 170

Table-110     Implementation Level of Wage Board Recommendations…………… 170

Table-111     Reasons for Non-Implementation……………………………………….. 171

Table-112     Opinion on Contract System of Employment………………………….. 171

Table-113     ILL Effects of the Contract System …………………………………….. 172

Table-114     Merits of the Contract System……………………………………………. 173

Table-115     Membership of Union……………………………………………………….. 174

Table-116     Protective Power of Unions……………………………………………….. 174

Table-117     Acceptance of Trade Union Activities…………………………………… 175

Table-118     Reasonableness of Media Owners………………………………………. 176

Table-119     Acceptance of Collective Bargaining…………………………………….. 176

Table-120     Ethicality of Unionsation……………………………………………………. 177

Table-121     Protest against Employers…………………………………………………. 177

Table-122     Justifiability of Demand for Higher Wages……………………………… 178

Table-123     Co-operation with Management…………………………………………… 178

Table-124     Fudging of Accounts………………………………………………………… 179

Table -125    Medium that Pays Better Wages…………………………………………. 179

Table-126     The Sector that Paid Better Response………………………………….. 180

Table-127     Advantage of Foreign Direct Investment in Media Sector…………… 180

Table 128     Activeness of the State Union of Journalists………………………….. 181

Table-129     Reasons for Union Inactivity………………………………………………. 181

Fig: 1    Age-wise Composition of Respondents…………………………………………. 45

Fig: 2    Education-wise Classification of Respondents………………………………. 77

Fig: 4    Income-wise Classification………………………………………………………… 78

Fig: 4    Classification of Journalists……………………………………………………….. 79

Fig:5     Reasons for Non-Implementation ……………………………………………….. 82

Fig: 6.   Merits of the Contract System……………………………………………………. 85

Fig: 7    Reasonableness of Media Owners………………………………………………. 87

Fig: 8    Justifiability of Demand for Higher Wages……………………………………… 89

Fig: 8    Advantage of Foreign Direct Investment in the Media Sector……………… 92

Fig: 9    Reasons for Inactivity of the Union………………………………………………. 93

Fig: 10 Level of Implementation of Wage Board Recommendations……………….. 95

Fig: 11 Membership of Union……………………………………………………………….. 102

Fig: 13 Acceptance of Trade Union Tactics……………………………………………… 104

Fig: 14 Acceptance of Collective Bargaining:……………………………………………. 105

Fig: 15 Activeness of the State Union of Journalists………………………………….. 112

Fig: 16 Acceptance of Trade Union Activities…………………………………………… 118

Fig: 17 Acceptances of the Wage Board Recommendations………………………… 125

Fig: 18 Level of Implementation of Wage Board Recommendations ………………. 127

Fig: 19 Power of Unions to Protect Interests of Working Journalists ……………… 135

Fig: 20 Activeness of the State Union of Journalists………………………………….. 147

Fig: 21 Acceptance of Collective Bargaining…………………………………………….. 160

Fig: 22 Activeness of the State Union of Journalists  ………………………………… 168

Fig: 23 Protective Power of Unions……………………………………………………….. 175

Chapter-1

INTRODUCTION

Chapter-2

TRADE UNION MOVEMENTS IN KERALA:

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

Chapter-3

JOURNALISTS’ ASSOCIATIONS: HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Chapter-4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Chapter-5

Chapter-6

Chapter-1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.1.1 Background

Journalism has an important part to play in trade unionism.  Trade unions are usually viewed as an appendix that destabilizes good relations between management and labourers.  This view point has been considerably changed now.  Today trade unions are seen not merely as organisations that favour the management but as institutions that can contribute to the progress of workers as well as to production by affirming the right of the producers to share the benefits of the products. The absence of overt conflict is very much important for industrial peace.  To a great extent, journalism has contributed to this change in the view point.  Now, journalists themselves have formed trade unions and are not only fighting for their rights and privileges but also trying to maintain the freedom of the press at all costs, and place the Fourth Estate in the sanctum sanctorum of a state where it should lawfully and rightly remain in a democratic set up.

People always talk about freedom of the press, especially in a democracy. Does it mean the freedom of the journalist to collect facts and figures without any bias? That alone will not make him free and independent.  He works under a constraint.  He is an employee under a remote control.  The management which has its own vested interests to safe guard impedes and restrains him to a large extent.  Some times, when he works according to his conscience, he is forced to disobey the management and thereby incurs the ire of the management.  That means, he will not be able to practice the fundamental principles of journalism “facts are sacred: comment is free”.  But a collective bargaining and an assembly of journalists can become a force to fight against injustice and also stand sentinel over truth and fight against perverting facts and figures for the benefits of a small coterie of people.  Hence is the need of trade unionism in journalism.  But, trade unionism does not mean shirking one’s duties and responsibilities; on the contrary, calls for more self discipline, self-restraint and dedication.  Every journalist or union worker must realize this and then only trade unionism will be crowned with success.  It calls for more labour and sweat; it calls for a commitment to one’s profession; it calls for sacrifice of an individual’s interests to the larger interests of the society and the nation.  In return, a journalist must get a free and healthy atmosphere to work and it guarantees him the perseverance of his rights and privileges, and finally, a sound financial position to live on and maintain his family.

Kerala, though a tiny state at the extreme end of India, has myriad trade unions and provides examples to different types of industrial relations and trade union activity.  Journalism can play an important role in making the leaders aware of the fact that unions have concentrated only on economic gains and in the process have not been playing their historical role in society.  Unless they are oriented properly, the trade union leaders can never be expected to struggle for a new society free from exploitation.  Union activities cease when the leaders go in the direction of fringe benefits from the establishment.   Journalism has an important part to play, to motivate the labour class, to strive for better life conditions and at the same time, give them a vision of the new society for which they should aim at and aspire for, while making the trade unions aware of the vital role they have to play in taking the proletariat towards a new society instead of working for the integration of the producers with the capitalist system.

Journalists were working at the mercy of press management for a long time without any pay structure and other benefits.  They started bargaining collectively for their rights in 1950 when the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) was established.  In Kerala, the journalists came together under the Kerala Union of Working Journalists in 1968 and it was affiliated to IFWJ.  Till now the KUWJ has been playing an active role among Journalists in Kerala and has many achievements to its credit.

The National Union of Journalists (India) – NUJ is a union of working journalists, with affiliated units in almost all states.

The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) is the other trade union of working journalists in India.

1.1.2 Objectives (General and Specific)

The objectives of the study mainly include:

1.    An overall assessment of trade unionism of working journalists in Kerala till today.

2.    An in depth study of Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and IFWJ.

3.     An analysis of the aims and objectives of KUWJ and IFWJ, to find how much these cherished aims have been realized and attained.

Broadly the study aims at making a comprehensive examination of the problems faced by the journalists.  In Kerala where the local issues and news gather more importance than national and international problems and this compulsion to show the preference, is thrust on them as they have immediate duties and obligations to negotiate.

The study also intends to highlight the contributions of a few pioneer and veteran journalists in Kerala whose achievements are substantial.

It will record the performance and achievements of the working journalist’s unions in embarking upon a movement for the betterment of the working conditions of the journalists.

By and large, the investigation is to perceive the dominant political, social and cultural forces which have worked as the chief influences in forming KUWJ, and evaluate the significant contribution made by the union in various fields especially for the journalists in Kerala and highlight the philanthropic task it has undertaken in the past.

1.1.3 Social Significance

There is a strong interconnection between the media and the people.  In fact, the media reflects the people’s opinions, aspirations and emotions.  It also influences the people in forming legitimate and powerful feelings and gives ample support to them to safeguard their constitutional rights and privileges.  The Fourth Estate is the most powerful agency in a democratic society.  The well being of the media persons and smooth functioning of the journalists are vital in such a context.  Union like KUWJ guarantees the healthy working condition of the journalists in an amicable and cordial atmosphere without any tension between the government and the press and also with the people.  Union attempts to promote and maintain the highest standards of professional conduct and integrity.  This study will give the union leaders and the people to view their activities retrospectively and rectify their mistakes, and pave way for a harmonious relationship between the people and the journalists.  The study will create a new awareness about the working of KUWJ among the people and thereby assure people’s involvement in its activities.

1.1.4 How the Present Research is Different from Other Studies

The study is not just be an assembling of the facts connected with KUWJ.  It is a criticism of its activities and an evaluation of the proposed aims and objectives and achievements.  This objective analysis of the union activities will bring to light, the achievements and also how much it can accomplish in future.  The study is, not only a valuable source of information but also a guide for the posterity.  Studies such as this will bring people’s attention and involvement in the union activities more and thereby ensure better constructional criticism which will ultimately help the union to reach higher levels of achievements.

The research is centered on the activities and objectives of KUWJ but is not focused exclusively on KUWJ alone.  The study compares the activities and objectives of KUWJ with other associations in Kerala.  Kerala is a very fertile ground for union activities.  In fact, there exist more than 100 unions of different types of workers.

Eg:-        Unions in Cashew industry.

Union’s movement in the Plantations.

Coir workers Union.

The thesis compares and contrasts the activities and objectives of KUWJ and with some of the other associations of repute, thereby brings to light not only the merits and demerits of KUWJ but also the other similar unions.

The study also evaluates the activities of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) to which KUWJ is affiliated.  In this regard, the study is a pioneer one, unique in every aspect and the findings certainly have great social significance, for it can become a trend-setter for the future trade union activities.

1.2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

K. Ramachandran Nair in his book ‘The History of Trade Union Movement in Kerala’ presents a detailed analysis of the beginning, development and growth of various trade unions operating with different spheres of Kerala.  Trade unionism emerged as a powerful labour institution in Kerala.  Historical factors played an important part.  In the early stages, trade union leaders inculcated a spirit of class consciousness among the workers to fight against imperialist and colonial forces which ravaged the Indian continent.  In the early stages, the trade union activists met with brutal treatment both from the ruling class and from the feudal lords.  Nair analyses the issues systematically and presents the problems in a rational and realistic manner.  Most trade unions in Kerala are offshoots of either the congress party or the communist party.  Nair states that over politicalisation or trade union poses serious constraints to trade union activities.

A. Sreedhara Menon in his book ‘Kerala and Freedom Struggle’ says that the role of Kerala in India’s freedom movement is not less significant than that of any other state.  According to Menon, the social history of modern Kerala is inextricably inter-twined with its political history.  The social renaissance which took place in the 19^th and 20^th centuries was at once the cause and consequence of the political awakening.  Social change promoted political consciousness among the people.  Menon establishes that the year 1930 turned out to be the annus mirabilis not for India but particularly for Kerala.  K. Velappan led volunteers to break the salt laws at Payyannur and the picketing of toddy shops and boycott of foreign cloth conducted in several places, had its impact on the political and social awakening of Kerala.

K. Ramachandran Nair in his book ‘Industrial Relations in Kerala’ talks about the early phase of trade union movement in Travancore, taking the important centres separately as there are some regional as well as industry specificity in the developments.  The book gives an objective documentation of the growth of the trade union movement in Kerala.

K.C. Govindan in ‘Memories of an Early Trade unionist’  gives a good description of Vadappuram Bava who was a skilled worker and organizer.  He left Darragh Smail and drifted from one factory to another till he was appointed a ‘Mooppan’ in M. L. Janardhanan Pillai’s general supplies Agency.  He worked there till he was dismissed for authoring a provocative social pamphlet.  Bava took the initiative of convening a meeting of like-minded persons and a seven member governing body of a Labour Union was formed.  To Bava the formation of the Labour Union was the fulfillment of a long cherished dream.

R. Prakasam, in his book ‘Keralathile Trade Union Prasthanathinte Charithram’ describes briefly the history of trade unionism in Kerala.  The first coir factory was reported to be established in 1859 by James Darragh (Darragh Smail & Co.) in Alapuzha. Europeans gave the native workers training in weaving.  According to Prakasam, the wage rate in the pre-war period was only four annas a day.  Soon, piece rate was introduced.  Workers used to start from home much before sunrise, reach factory and toil there till dusk.  Moopans (job contractors) recruited the workers and supervised them.  They were like tyrants showing no kindness to workers.  The book gives every detail about the early struggles of the workers and narrates briefly the growth of the trade union movement in Kerala.

Two important books which deal with the Punnappra-Vaylar struggle are ‘Punnappra –Vaylar’ by K. C. George and ‘Punnappra-Vayalar, ‘Jawalikkunna Adhayalangal’ by M. T. Chandrasenan. Punnappra-Vayalar agitation was a very important working class struggle which took place in Cherthala and which had far reaching consequences in Kerala’s political history.  It was also a part of the freedom struggle because it witnessed an uprising of the common people against the despotic ambitions of the Dewan who tried to create anti-communist feelings among the public.  K. C. George and M. T. Chandrasenan who were directly involved in the Punnappra-Vayalar struggle had given graphic accounts of the events.  Punnappra-Vayalar revolt was the result of a demand for a comprehensive revolutionary change in society.

A. K. Gopalan’s ‘Ente Jeevitha Katha’ has become a part of the history of the trade union movement in Kerala because A. K. Gopalan was not only a communist leader but also a pioneer in the establishment of trade union among the workers especially in Malabar.

P. Kesavan Nair’s ‘Kasuvandi Thozhilalikalude Samara Charithram’ is a collection of articles serialized in various issues of ‘CITU Sandesam’ and it traces the history of the struggles of cashew nut workers in Kerala.  The conditions of the cashew nut labourers were inhuman and deplorable.  The Trade union bill presented in the Travancore Legislature gave inspiration and opportunity for the cashew workers to organize and form trade unions.  The Kollam Labour Union supported the formation and development of a separate trade union of cashew factory workers.  Gradually within a few years, trade union movement began to flourish.

Payyappilly Balan’s “The Aluva Trade Union Movement and Changing Times: Analytical Reminiscences of an Early Activist” is an essay on International Congress on Kerala studies.   The essay deals with the trade unionism in Aluva an industrial town of Kerala and is written in personal perspective.  But it clearly illustrates the various thoughts and influences which paved way for the establishment of various trade unions.  It also narrates certain people’s like K. N. Gopala Pillai, one of the founders of the FACT Employee’s association, unforgettable episode of life during his trade union work.

C. Bhaskaran in his book ‘Keralathile Communist Prasthanam’ describes the reminiscences of E.M.S. Namboothiripad, E. K. Nayanar, V. S. Achuthanandan, Chadayan Gopalan, A. K. Gopalan, C. H. Kanaran, K. Damodaran, K. P. R. Gopalan Rarayaraappan, P. S. Namboodiri, P. Gangadharan, A. George Chadayanmury and R. Sugathan.  Unlike the trade union in Travancore and Cochin, in Malabar Trade Unionism was closely incooperated with the communist movement.  As such it is a valuable reference source.

Achutha Menon in his book ‘What Happened in Kerala’ sheds light into trade unionism in Kerala and more specifically into the creation and growth of the Kerala State Transport Employees’ Union.  It traces its history and how it became one of the most important trade unions in Kerala.

O. Bharathan’s ‘Nerippodu’ is autobiographical articles serialized in ‘Mathrubhoomy Weekly’ and it throws light on the beginning and growth of trade union in the plantations.

The first Press Commission of India did a bit of pioneering study on trade unionism in the Indian press. The Press Commission report submitted in 1954 made a tertiary analysis of the phenomenon.  In fact, the very establishment of a wage board for journalists is based on its recommendations.

Arun Bhattacharjee in his book ‘Indian Journalism:  From Profession to Industry’ gives a detailed analysis of the issues involved in trade union activities by Indian journalists.

The Second Press Commission report has also dealt with the issue of trade unionism in Indian journalism in a somewhat diluted manner, not addressing the core issues.

Nadig Krishnamoorthi in his book ‘Indian Journalism:  From Asoka to Nehru’ makes a mention of Working Journalists Act and wage boards were set up as a result of the first Press Commission’s recommendation along with the initial details.

S. Natarajan in his elaborate study on the ‘History of the Indian Press’ makes indirect references to the issue.  However, it is more a historical evaluation than an analytical one.

Durga Das Basu in his monumental work, ‘The Law of the press in India’, has made a detailed presentation of the legal provisions related to working journalists and the constitution of Wage Boards for them.

1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.3.1 Profile – Social and Economic Profile of Respondents

As the study is about KUWJ, the primary respondents are journalists who are the members of the union. The research problem has been identified by reviewing literature in the field and, from the researchers own experience.

The study is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data is collected using a structured questionnaire method. Secondary data is collected from various published and unpublished reports and Trade union Documents.

Primary data collected using a schedule on choice based and open ended questions. The collected data is analyzed using percentage analysis.

1.3.1.1 Population and Sample

The population consists of 1600 Working Journalists in the state, who have membership in Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ). Among these, 500 samples is selected from three districts, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode using random sampling method. Lottery method is applied for selecting 500 journalists from the population.

1.3.2 Method Adopted

A brief survey of the history of the functioning of KUWJ has been attempted.  The various strikes it had undertaken and the various welfare programmes had been studied in detail. Also, the comparative study is extended to a larger perspective by comparing KUWJ’s activities with other workers unions.  The historical perspective of the trade union movements in Kerala had been studied.  The limitations of the unions are found out by collecting opinions from its members and also from other people.  The opinions are analysed and codified systematically and conclusions are deducted from them.  The study is descriptive, historical and exploratory.  The opinions of journalists collected by employing the survey method are analysed on percentage basis.

The researcher selected a total of 600 respondents. Out of the 600 respondents who were administered the questionnaire, only 500 returned the questionnaire filled.  The questionnaire was close-ended for reasons of specificity and precision. However Open-ended questions were also given. All these respondents belonged to different media organizations, especially the print. Due to the problem of logistics, journalists in three districts of Kerala, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and  Kozhikode were selected.

1.3.3 Merits and Demerits

The study is first of its kind.  There has been no such study preceding this one and therefore no material is available and no thesis to be taken as a model.  The absence of substantial material is a handicap.  But to the present investigator, it was an advantage and a challenge because it gave him an opportunity to break a fresh ground and make original discoveries.

At the first glance, the subject appears to have a limited scope as the study centers upon KUWJ alone.  But it is not true, through one example done in essentials and details, the study generalizes facts and figures and there by exposes the limitations of the union activities in general and suggests a few important measures to rectify and improve the system.  It lays emphasis on the social and philanthropic efforts the unions can take up and thus occupy a very important position in uplifting the society and upholding the values of democracy like freedom, equality and fraternity.  It demonstrates how the journalists can stand for the rights and privileges of the de-privileged classes.

Chapter-2

The history of trade union movement in Kerala, spread over several regions and sectors, is closely related with the political movement in the state. The trade unions had played a vanguard role in the political movement for freedom and a responsible government. Political ideologies and beliefs had brought together the various segments of the working classes.

“Political mobilization, in the strict sense of the term, was the work of the left ideologists, the socialists, and radical elements among them. They called the Coir and fishing workers in Punnappra and Vayalar to rise and fight against the feudal lords, European native petty capitalists, and the aristocracy and its armed forces all in the name of freedom and emancipation of the working class. Similar episodes were enacted in Cochin and Malabar. But it was in Malabar, that the revolutionary Communist movement took up the challenge of political and working class mobilization and consolidation with greater vigour. Its father figure P. Krishna Pillai, though born in Vaikom in old Travancore, took up the role of providing a connecting link between the movements in Malabar, Cochin and Travancore”[1]

From its formative years, trade union movements were integrally part of politics in the State. Also, the socio-political developments in the State helped the early politicalisation of a large segment of the traditional labour force.

Kerala, formed in 1956 is a union of three regional areas, Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. Of these Travancore and Cochin were ruled by the Kings, while Malabar was part of the Madras Residency ruled directly by the British. The socio- political elements and conditions were totally different in the three regions. Trade union movements have originated independently in these regions and later because of the Communist ideologies, to which the masses were attracted at a period of time, got amalgamated. Even from the outset, there was an interlinkage between trade union movement and the political movement. The evolution of trade unionism happened in different segments. Alappuzha is the birth place of trade unions in Travancore. The trade unions emerged in Cochin and Trichur had significant variation with the trade unions in Travancore. There was also no uniformity in the movement in Malabar, Cochin and Travancore. The untiring work of P. Krishna Pillai imparted a new vigour and vitality to the trade unions and he was responsible for integrating the movement in a systematic and organised manner.

Social reform movements, nationalist politics accompanied by a radical political movement, Indian National sectors of the traditional labouring forces in Kerala and proletariat of a large segment of the labouring poor and organised them in trade unions. This development was a watershed in the evolution of labour market as it exists today in Kerala.

2.1 Social and Political scene in Kerala

In Kerala, in the first decade of twentieth century the farmers and tenants of Malabar registered their protest against exploitation by the landed gentry and supported by the British. Several farmers’ struggles were conducted at Panthaloor, Nenmeni, Paaval, Meppathur, Thirkkalloor, Malappuram, Ponnani, Keezhumuri, Mannarkad, Perinthalmanna and Kuttichira. Backward classes and castes also initiated struggles against inhuman treatment meted out to them by the superior forward classes and castes. The struggle was for securing social equality and freedom from enslavement of one class or caste by another. Some of them were closely linked with the freedom movement.

Professor A. Sreedhara Menon, the distinguished historian,  has given a graphic account of the popular insurrections and royal dissidence in Kerala.  He writes.

“The role of Kerala in India’s struggle for freedom is not less significant than that of any other state of the Indian Union and viewed in the national perspective, it had its own Indian National Congress view too. However, the contribution of the State in this field has not received the attention it deserves. There are several episodes  connected with the freedom struggle in Kerala  which should have found their place in historical narratives dealing with India’s freedom struggle, but they have not been honored even with casual footnotes in the accounts compiled by national historians.”[2]

Among  other things, several episodes of struggles like the resistance against the Portuguese  colonialism led by Kunjali Marakkar (1500-1600), the fight against the imperialist  designs of the Dutch in Colachal(1741), the Attingal outbreaks  against the British (1697 and 1721),the Thalasserry struggles between the British and the combined forces of Kolathunad, Kottayam and Kadathanad (1750) and the entry  of the French at Mayyazhi (Mahe) and their  intrigues with local Princes. This encouraged the British  to establish their hegemony through wars and also treaties. By the end of the eighteenth century, the whole of Kerala  came under the political control of the British, Malabar District was part of the British India and the states of Travancore and Cochin as protected states. There then followed several armed insurrections and popular upheavals organized by the patriotic elements of the population who were determined to overthrow British authority and to regain its lost Independence.

“The dispossessed Princes and chieftains and aggrieved sections of the population like the peasantry and the tribal communities were in the forefront of these insurrections and upheavals.”[3]

Menon however, quotes Kathleen Gough, the anthropologist who has classified these early anti-British uprisings into five types namely, restorative, religious, social banditry, terrorist vengeance and armed insurrection. The uprisings in Kerala too came by large under these categories. A close examination of secondary sources as well as reminiscences of people who participated in this struggle suggest that on many occasions the working class has conducted struggles both for working class issues and political issues. Indeed, the trade union movement  in Kerala cannot be  discussed in  isolation with the socio- political movements.

2.2 Poltical AWAKENING In Kerala

“The Indian National Congress spearheaded the national freedom movement since its inception, in 1885. It attracted the attention of the people of Kerala. Chettur Sankaran Nair, G.P.Pillai, V. Raiyur Namibar, Mannath Krishnan Nair, C. Kunhirama Menon, Dr. T.M Nair, C.Karunakara Menon, K.P Achutha Menon and several others used to attend the annual sessions of the Indian National Congress. The Congress was more active in Malabar as it was directly under the British administration. However, organized political movement began only after the turn of the twentieth century.”[4]

The entry of Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai in the political arena was a milestone in the history of Kerala. A fearless journalist, he was determined to fight against corruption, nepotism, and moral turpitude. He was a champion of popular liberties. He edited the Malayalam newspaper ‘Swadeshabhimani’ published by the great Muslim social activist Vakkom Abdul Khader Moulavi. The Government confiscated the newspaper and the press and deported Ramakirshna Pillai from the State on September 26, 1916. He was the first to bring socialist thought and a biography of Karal Marx to Malayalees long before the appearance of Mahatma Gandhi in the  Indian political scene and almost a quarter of a century before the birth of the Communist Party in Kerala.

In 1914, the Home Rule League convened a conference in Thrissur and organized the Gokhale Memorial Association to educate people about the fight for freedom. In 1918 the Kochi Mahajana Sabha was formed on the initiative of C.P. Achutha Menon (author of Cochin State Manual) and T.R. Ramachandra Iyer. The Indian National Congress leaders in Thrissur were Eikkanda Warrier and Muthedathu Narayana Menon. In Cochin, a leading figure was Paliath Cheriya Kunjunni Achan. All of them tried to instill political conscious among the people of Cochin state.

The extremists were setting up revolutionary organizations in the nationalist movement and they inspired some in Kerala too to initiate similar ventures. In Punalur, Vanchi Iyer, a clerk working in the forest office became a member of a secret society and he murdered Ashe, the British Collector of Tirunelveli at the Maniyachi Railway Station on June 17,1911. After the killing, Vanchi Iyer shot himself to end his life.

During the First World War, some Indian revolutionaries sided with Germany against Britian. Chempaka Raman Pillai from Thiruvanan- thapuram was such a revolutionary. A.C.Narayanan Nambiar of North Malabar was another. Chempaka Raman Pillai mobilized Indians in Germany in the fight against British imperialism.

2.3 Social Structure

According to Prof. Sreedhara Menon, “the social history of modern Kerala is inextricably inter-twined with its political history. The social renaissance which took place in the State in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries was at once the cause and consequence of political awakening”[5].

“The high castes like the Namboodiris, Kshatriyas and Nairs constituted the land owning class while Ezhavas and Mappilas (Muslims) belonged to the tenant class subjected to oppression by the former. Under the British rule, the feudal landlords became powerful. Slavery in the most primitive form prevailed and the tillers of land were often attached to the land and its owners. They were denied even basic human rights. Women of lower castes including Ezhavas were not allowed to wear blouses to cover their chest. Non-Brahmin castes including Nairs were denied some social privileges. A series of iniquitous cesses and taxes were imposed on the underprivileged sections of the society. The backward communities (Avarnas) among the Hindus were denied entry into temples, schools and public services. The evils of ‘untouchability’, ‘inapproachability’ and ‘unseeability’ were practiced. The practice of ‘theendal’ (pollution) was widely observed.  Members of the lower castes had to keep themselves at a prescribed distance from those of the upper castes. Many of the roads, particularly those leading to the temples, were inaccessible to lower-castes, though the Christians and Muslims were exempted. Inter -religious and inter-caste marriages and inter-dining were not allowed. There were, for instance, Brahmin hotels and Nair hotels, which did not serve food to people of lower castes”[6].

Kerala could not remain isolated from the mainstream of All-India freedom movement. It played its role in the non-co-operation and Khilafat movements of the early twenties. Malabar, in particular, witnessed large-scale boycott of foreign goods, courts of law and educational institutions. The Kerala provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) organised the first All Kerala provincial Conference at Ottappalam on April 23, 1921 and during the session the police beat up a few delegates.

“It was in the early 1920s, that the State Congress in Travancore came into being. A.K.Pillai, who had returned to India giving up his legal studies in England, took up political work in Travancore under instructions from Gandhiji. He took a leading part in the Ottappalam provincial conference. On his initiative, a Congress office was opened in Kollam with the close co-operation of K.G. Sankar and together they did yeomen service in spreading the ideals of the Congress. In Trivandrum too, a Congress Committee started functioning at the time on the initiative of A.K. Pillai and V. Achutha Menon”[7].

The year 1930 turned out to be the annus mirabilis (wonder year) in modern Indian history. The Lahore session of the Indian National Congress passed the resolution on Purna Swaraj on the New Year Day of 1930 and Gandhiji set out on his Dandi March on the first day of March 1930 with 78 volunteers. Among whom were four from Kerala including C. Krishnan Nair and Titus from Kottayam.

The struggle all over India were supported by struggles in Kerala also, particularly in Malabar. The main venues of Salt Satyagraha in Kerala were the beaches at Payyannur and Kozhikode. K.Kelappan led a batch of 32 volunteers and broke the salt laws at Payyannur on April 21, 1930. The picketing of toddy shops and boycott of foreign cloth were also conducted at several places.

2.4 Emergence and Dominance of Leftists

The Congress workers in Malabar were enraged when the Government declared the Indian National Congress unlawful and resorted to a series of repressive measures. The withdrawal of the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1934 saw a realignment of forces within the Congress on ideological basis. The younger sections of Congressmen accepted the socialist ideology. They felt that the Gandhian method of non-violent non co-operation would not help. They wanted to bring peasants and workers into the movement. For this, they formed the Kerala Congress Socialist Party within the Indian National Congress on May 12, 1934. C.K. Govindhan Nair agreed to be its President, though the main forces behind were P.Krishna Pillai, its Secretary and EMS Namboodiripad as a member. In September 1937 when C.K. Govindhan Nair resigned, EMS was made the President.

Following the economic depression of 1930s, the hardship of common man became worse. Peasants, workers, teachers and even students joined the struggle under the banner of Kerala Congress Socialist Party dominated by leftists. Soon the Congress in Malabar had three groups, the dominant Leftists, the Rightists and the Nationalist Muslims, the last one led by Muhammed Abdur Rahman. Many alleged that communists were masquerading as Congress Socialists and their aim was a proletarian revolution to establish a classless society.

A.K. Gopalan narrates the developments in working class-peasant struggles held in Malabar during the period 1934-47. A.K.G. strongly beilieved that

“the civil disobedience and non-co-operation struggle conducted by the Indian National Congress and the KPCC on Gandhian lines failed because  they could not mobilize the exploited and the downtrodden classes of small peasants, tenants, landless and the factory workers”[8].

In fact, the Congress Socialists, kindled by Marxist-Leninist ideology and the experience of Soviet Union building up a socialist state, wanted to build up a similar society in the country.  A.K.G described his observations on the day-to-day life of the classes of people exploited by capitalists and feudal landlords. Soon A.K. Gopalan, E.M.Sankaran Nampoothirippadu and P. Krishna Pillai came together and took over the responsibility of bringing the exploited classes into the mainstream struggle for independence and also tried to build a socialist society founded on equity and justice.

As early as 1935 several trade unions had been formed. Mention must be made of the Weaving Workers of Azhikode, Company Union in Feroke, Devadar Malabar Reconstruction Trust etc, in Malabar and the Travancore Labour Association (TLA) in Alappuzha and the Kollam Labour Union. They conducted several struggles to establish the right to form unions and fight for decent wages and working conditions including the limiting of working hours to 48 hours a week.

Both Travancore and Cochin were Princely states and as such were not directly under the control of the British. The central leadership of the Indian National Congress had prohibited the Congress Committees in these Princely states from direct involvement in political agitations. So, these committees concentrated mainly on struggles for responsible government. According to Prof. Sreedharan Menon,

“These agitations were in a sense proxy wars against the British who were the paramount power in these states as they supplemented the struggle for freedom being waged in British Malabar under the direct guidance and control of the Indian National Congress”[9].

While the Government of Travancore adopted a policy of uncompromising hostility to the demand for responsible government, the Government of Cochin took a cautious policy of meeting the demand in stages. The agitation in Travancore unfolded a story of repression, while that of Cochin was a mixture of repression and constitutional reforms.

2.5 Early Phase in Travancore

A Royal Proclamation abolished predial slavery in Travancore in 1855. A system of money wages was gradually established. It recognized freedom of contract. That marked the first stage in the improvement in the conditions of workers and their wages of labour. The passing of the Factories Act in 1913 brought further benefits to labourers. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the State was under the grip of poverty and unemployment on a large-scale. Conditions of labour deteriorated still further with the onset of the economic depression of the 1930s.

“There is a certain amount of obscurity regarding the origin of the trade union movement in Kerala. One version is that it began from the attempts at organizing labour in the coir mats and matting industry in Alapuzha which began in 1920’s. The organization was known as the Travancore Labour Association (TLA). The post-war prosperity of the industry had come to an end with the mushroom growth of uneconomic units and decline in the market for coir goods. Some of the units were constrained to close down and wages paid to labourers were deliberately reduced. There was also widespread unemployment. It was under these circumstances that the TLA was formed”[10].

“The Travancore Labour Association was the first to get registration under the Travancore Trade Unions Act of 1937. On registration, the TLA was renamed as the Travancore Coir Factory worker’s Union (TCFWU). The history of industrial disputes in Travancore dates back to the year 1938 when the first ever general strike was held by workers in the coir mats and matting manufacturing industry under the auspices of TCFWU. This strike was used as a means of ventilating the many grievances of workers. The District Magistrate of Kollam was asked by the Government of Travancore to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the grievances of the workers.

The report of the enquiry was submitted to the Government in September 1938”[11].

As soon as the Travancore Trade Disputes Act was passed in 1938, the Government decided to appoint a Board of Conciliation to conduct a detailed investigation into the trade disputes in the coir industry so as to promote a settlement of all issues. K.George, the then Land Revenue and Income Tax Commissioner headed the Board. The alleged grievances stated in the long memorandum submitted by the TCFWU to the Board related to reduction of wages, payment of wages in kind or the truck system, indirect and unauthorised cutting from wages, imposition of fines, unauthorized and unjust deductions and exactions, unsatisfactory work and health conditions, non-recognition of trade unions, and failure to provide for labour representation in the legislature. In those days wages were never settled in full and this led to exploitation. Victimization was common and universal. The wage rates were alleged to have been reduced by 50 per cent during the years 1934 to 1938.

“The George Committee felt that one of the basic reasons for friction and strife in the coir industry was the absence of personal contact between employers and workers. Unfortunately, the parties held the view that it will be difficult to establish harmonious relationship between them”[12].

The general strike started by the TCFWU soon spread to other coir factory centres. The strike involved about 30,000 workers and lasted 26 days from August 16 to September 11,1938. The immediate outcome of the strike was the grant by the employers of a compassionate allowance of 6.50 per cent on the basic wages followed by the appointment of the Board of Conciliation. Then the coir industry began spearheading the development of healthy industrial relation practices in the State. The Dewan of Travancore had taken a personal interest in the settlement of this dispute.

By December 1944, the membership of the TCFWU reached an all-time record of 17010. It included about 90 per cent of the workers in the industry in and around Alappuzha. Apart form the central organization, the branches also had large membership. In addition to the entrance fee of 2 annas and 3 paise, the Union also collected funds through special donations and monthly subscriptions. An Executive Committee, composed of a President, Secretaries and 42 elected members, representing each of the 42 wards or territorial divisions in and around Alappuzha where workers lived, conducted the affairs of the Union.

“Under the inspiration of the Travancore Coir Factory Workers Union (TCFWU), workers in various employments had formed unions and they got affiliated to the All Travancore Trade Union Council (ATTUC) which was under the All India Trade Union Council (AITUC), People were looking at the ATTUC, for guiding them to secure relief from unemployment, poverty, low wages and high prices. Most of them had lost faith in the State Congess; on the other hand, had a close affection to the Communists who knew their pulse. T.V. Thomas, as President and R. Sugathan, as Secretary led then ATTUC. The ATTUC declared a general strike for three days in July 1946. The Dewan met this strike by imposing prohibitory orders on marches, demonstrations and public meetings”[13].

2.6 The Developments After the Punnappra-Vayalar Revolt

“The Punnappra-Vayalar Revolt was no doubt an integral part of the freedom struggle in Travancore and the working class, which was mobilized by the communists, played a leading role. The revolt became inevitable, when the Dewan Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer started becoming a dictator. He was bent on wiping out the Communists from Travancore, and, as a first step, he wanted to destroy the link between the trade unions and the communists. On October 19, 1946, the Government issued a Gazette Notification declaring the Communist Party and also the trade unions controlled by it as unlawful and strong action would be taken against subversion under the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act”[14].

From November 1, 1952, the TCFWU started an active campaign to renew union activities. R.Sugathan, T.V. Thomas and K.K. Kunjan formed a sub-comittee. On November 16, a special meeting of the TCFWU was held and it turned out to be a kind of annual convention.

2.7 Union movement in Kollam

Though the trade union movement in Travancore had its origin at Alappuzha, it did not take much time to spread to other centres in the State. Industrial development in early Travancore was located in Alappuzha and Kollam and so was the trade union movement. The early growth of the trade union movement in Kollam is also largely obscure as in Alappuzha. There is reason to believe that the movement as well as the leaders in Alappuzha largely influenced the movement in Kollam.

Harrison and Crossfield (H & C) was one of the first companies that started workshops and factories in Kollam. Later, Goodacre and Company care Company also set up factories. In fact, Cashew factories for which Kollam is renowned came to be established at a later stage only. Punalur, near Kollam, saw the establishment of a Paper Mill. Neendakara and Chavara in Kollam district emerged as centres for mining and procesing of ilminite from beach sands.

“The H.&C Workshop  in Kollam saw a spontaneous strike by its workers as early as 1915, when their demand for distribution of rice by the factory management as a protection from the rise in prices as well as shortages was over looked by the management”[15].

They also demanded an increase in  wages. As the management did not take a sympathetic stand, the strike bacame inevitable. This was perhaps one of the earliest collective actions by the working class in the country.

“A Labour Conference was held during the first anniversary of the Kollam Taluk Labour Union at the Cantonment Maidan in 1929 under the presidentship of A.B.Saleas, an MLC of Kochi. Besides workers, some employers, traders, police officials and correspondents of newspapers like ‘Madras Mail’, ‘Manorama’, ‘Prathidinam’, ‘Samadarshi’ and ‘Malayali’ attended this conference. The Labour Union President K.G. Shankar delivered the welcome speech. The conference expressed serious concern about the anti-labour policies of H & C and Thomas Stephen Company managements. It appealed to the members of the state legislature and lawmakers to see that working hours were limited to 8 hours per day and working days to five in a week. It also sought representation for labour in legislature”[16].

During the First World War, Kollam also began to feel its impact. It was during this period that the workers of the Goodacre Company went on a strike. K.G. Shanker, the Gandhian, guided this. Management and Police colluded to break the strike. Workers were charge sheeted for criminal trespass and manhandling of managers. Many were arrested and beaten up in police lock-ups. Finally the management succeeded in forcing the workers to call off the strike.

“There was a strike at Harrison Crossfields (H & C) Company’s tile factory. It was reported that the management there did not even allow the workers to cook Kanji (rice gruel) in the factory premises. One day, the British manager destroyed the vessels used for cooking the ‘Kanji’, accusing the workers that they had stolen the firewood from the factory”[17].

Later he agreed to allot some space in the factory premises for preparation of ‘Kanji’ but that was found to be very close to the open pit latrine. Workers appealed that they should be given at least 10 minutes to drink the ‘Kanji’ during lunchtime as the company had not so far provided any lunch interval. Even this appeal was turned down. Following this, the workers were forced to register a collective protest. But there was no forum like a trade union to help the workers.

2.8 Unions In Cashew Industry

The conditions in the cashew nut factories were inhuman and deplorable, the work commencing at 5.30 a.m. forcing the workers mostly women, to leave their homes at 3 a m. Most of the cashew factory workers were from Scheduled Castes. Women workers used to carry babies and small children when they went to work and kept the babies on their lap or laid them on a gunnysack nearby during work. The unhygienic conditions of the factories and exposure to cashew shell oil and fumes made many sick.   The wages were based on ‘piece rates’, which varied according to the output of whole and unbroken kernels. No wages were paid for broken kernels. Workers were cheated by false weighing of output and low wages. The peeling and passing sections employed mostly Ezhavas. Toilet facilities, washing facilities, and drinking water were not made available in the factories. Several unauthorized deductions, some compulsory, were made from the wages. One was for meeting “water charges” even when no water was supplied. Another was the deduction of one chakrom (1/28th of a Travancore Rupee) as subscription to chitty (saving) with the promise that it would be returned during Onam festival. The worker would forfeit this amount if he ever tried to seek employment in another factory.

K.C. Govindan and his associates made 10,000 copies of a printed leaflet for distribution to the workers in the cashew factories. The leaflet had laid down the worker’s main demands like provision of toilet facilities, baby creches, job security, ban on force chitty collection, abolition of water charge collection, abolition of unremunerated work, ban on employment of children below the age of 14, shifting of commencement of work to 8 am, payment of wages for broken kernels too, maternity leave free provision of fresh water and increase in wages.

The Trade Union Bill proposed to be presented to the Travancore Legislature had provided for the registration of industry-wise unions. Thangal Kunju Musaliar who owned a large number of cashew nut processing factories took cue from this and formed the All Travancore Cashew Workers Union in 1940. Though some workers joined this Union, they did not fall into Musaliar’s trap.  They held meetings and elected P.N.Krishna Pillai as President. The Kollam Labour Union supported the formation and development of a separate trade union of cashew factory workers. Gradually within a few years, the trade union came under the control of Communists. Once the Kollam Labour Union got registration and became Kollam Factory Worker’s Union, the struggle for control became heated, particularly between N.Sreekantan Nair, the central figure in the Kerala Socialist Party and the R.S.P, and M.N. GovindanNair of the Communist Party of India. By this time, the major trade unions in the Kollam area were the Navika Thozhilali Union, the Cashew Nut Worker’s Union, the Punalur Paper Mill Worker’s Union and the Timber Worker’s Union.

“Unfortunately, the Kollam Factory Worker’s Union had several ups and downs and after a short period the control of the union came into the hands of Gopala Pillai, the editor of the pro-Dewan Malayala Rajayam Daily. The Union got transformed from a “Revolutionary Union” to an ordinary “Compromise Union”. This came to the notice of P. Krishna Pillai and he deputed M.N. Govindan Nair to meet Gopala Pillai and request him to vacate his presidency in the Union.                     P. Krishna Pillai wanted N. Sreekantan Nair who was in jail at that time, to take over as the President of the Union.  Though Sreekantan Nair really wanted to become the President of the TCFWU, at Alappuzha, P.Krishna Pillai had already decided to put T.V. Thomas there and depute the former to Kollam. When P. Krishna Pillai was released from jail in March 1942, he decided to depute M.N. Govindan Nair to build up the Communist Party at Kollam and at the same time to popularise the Communist ideology among the working class.  During those days the activists of the State Congress, Youth League and the Communist Party actively worked together in the union movement”[18].

Following the 1942 invasion of Soviet Union by Hitler, the Communist Party took a controversial decision   to support Britain and oppose the Congress call for Quit India agitation against Britain. Sreekantan Nair and his group as well as a good number of leaders of the All Travancore Trade Union Council (ATTUC) expressed their protest against the stand taken by the Communists who were branded conspirators.

Sreekantan Nair established links with the Socialist Party and declared an open war against the Communists. It was in this background that the Communist Party decided to revive the All Travancore Cashew Workers’ Union. At that time, this Union had only just 15 members and the union office functioned at Ayathil Junction.  The debate following the failure of the strike of 1939 was serious and for the next three years, workers did not show any interest in the trade union. This enabled the employers to step up their brutal exploitation and repression.

2.9 Union Movement in Cochin

The working class in the Cochin State was mainly concentrated in Ernakulam and consisted of workers employed in the Petroleum (oil) installations belonging to Burma Shell and Standard Vacuum Companies, Cochin Port, Ferry Service, Coir Factories, Engineering Units, Electricity Supply Undertaking and Tata Oil Mill Company (TOMCO).   ln the 1940s the TOMCO alone employed 3000 workers. Thus Ernakulam (Kochi) became the hub of industrial and commercial activity and the heavy concentration of workers there provided inspiration for working class mobilization.

Though the Tata Oil Mill Company (TOMCO) started functioning in 1917, a trade union for its employees was formed only in 1939. As the formation of a trade union would only invite victimization and repression from the management and the government authorities, the pioneers decided to call their organization “Deenanivarana Sanghom” (Association for Redressal). They said that this body aimed at redressal of individual and social disadvantages through mutual help and cooperation. Behind it, there was the intention to mobilize the workers and instil in them a spirit of class-consciousness.

“A meeting was held under the president ship of V.K. Kutty Sahib on January 28, 1939 to pass the constitution and bye laws of the Sanghom and subsequently they secured registration from the Directorate of Industries, Government of Cochin. This organization, though not the first of its kind in Kerala, was reported to have inspired the formation of similar organizations of workers/employees in the other units of the Tata Oil Mill Company (TOMCO.) in other parts of India. Chowara Parameswaran, P.K. Deewar, M.I. Paul and M.K. Menon were the pioneers in the trade union movement in Kochi. The Kochi Praja Mandalam had also played a pioneering role in promoting the trade union movement there”[19].

“By late 1940s Aluva had emerged into a fast growing industrial town. It did not take much time for trade unions to appear there. In contrast to the working class in Alappuzha and Kollam centres, that in Aluva enjoyed a number of advantages. Firstly, most of them had their employment in entirely new and highly sophisticated industries using better technology like the Fertilizers And Chemicals, Travancore Limited (FACT) and the Indian Aluminium Company Limited. And they enjoyed relatively higher earnings. Secondly, they did not have to fear employment insecurity as the products they helped to produce had a steady and substantial market. Thirdly, the new class of workers, in contrast to those engaged in traditional industries like tiles, pottery and cashew in the same area, were more educated, technically trained and qualified or skilled. Besides ordinary workers, a large number of people with higher qualification were employed in these modern factories. As a result of these unique characteristics, trade unions were beneficial for both workers and staff and they operated on an entirely new line, which in later years came to be known as independent unionism”[20].

The basic philosophy of independent unionism that emerged in Aluva was twofold:

a.    Non-affiliation to any central trade union and non-involvement in politics, and

b.    one industry, one union.

In Aluva K.N. Gopala Pillai and S.C.S Menon, two veterans in the union movement, guided inependent unionism. While the former had retired from the field, the latter continued to be active after completing half a century of union work. An attempt was also made to organize an Aluva Trade Union Council. It initially checked the growing strength of the AITUC and pro-Communist trade unions in Aluva. But the council did not last long. In the early years, the Tata Oil Mill Worker’s Union had extended its support, but as years passed by, it became evident that the idea of independent unionism could no longer survive in the highly complex situation in the State politics in general, and among the politically conscious working class in the state in particular.

Kochi and Aluva constitute the centers of modern industries co-existing with some of the traditional industries. The Cochin region had witnessed several socio-political struggles on par with those of Travancore. During the anti-Communist and anti-trade union repression by Sir.C.P’s Government reached its peak, most of the leaders found shelter in Kochi. Even the Travancore State Congress had shifted their headquarters to Ernakulam for a short period fearing an onslaught by the Dewan. Kochi was also a common meeting place for leaders from Malabar, Cochin and Travancore. All these factors, directly or indirectly, had influenced popular mass movements and working class mobilization in the Cochin State.

2.10 Union Movement in Malabar

In the Malabar region, the oldest industrial centres were Feroke, Kozhikode, Kannur, Cheruvanoor, Payyannur and Papinissery and a number of trade unions were operating there in the early 1940s. The earliest among them were the Cheruvannoor Cotton Mill Worker’s Union, Kannur Aaron Mill Worker’s Union, Beedi and Cigar Workers Union and the unions at the Feroke Tile Factory, the Commonwealth Tile Factory and the Timber and Handlooms Units. In organizing some of these unions the late P.Krishna Pillai and A.K.Gopalan, the founding members of the Communist movement in the region, played a very significant role. These unions also had a chequered history of working class struggles, which in the early period, were conducted as a part of freedom struggle and the establishment of the Communist Party. Malabar had also witnessed, unlike Cochin and Travancore regions, revolutionary movements of small peasants, tenants, landless farm workers and school teachers. In fact, these movements to a large extent eclipsed or over shadowed the movements of industrial working class in Malabar.

Kozhikkode and Kannur were the major centers where industrial activity started emerging in 1870s. The Feroke Commonwealth Tile Factory owned by the Germans was a pioneer in this. After the First World War, the ownership of this enterprise got transferred to the British. According to some reports, Suryanarayana Rao and V.R. Narayana under the banner of Bharatha Seva Sangh organized some sort of trade union activity in Kozhikode, when they resisted several forms of inhuman treatment of workers. Retrenchment and dismissal were universal so that no worker dared to raise any objection to the managers. In the factories, during the working hours, workers were not allowed even to go to toilet. The Railway Strike of 1928 gave added inspiration to social activists to mobilize workers. According to N.C. Sekhar it was the Railway Strike of 1928 that brought a sense of unity and solidarity among the workers and it kindled urgency for mobilization. During 1930-31 new factories like Commonwealth Cotton Mills came into being, besides new factories at Olavakkode, Puthiyara and Thirunavaya. V.R. Narayanan mobilized the tile workers at Cheruvannur and Feroke. Some point out that Samuel Aaron who later became one of the big entrepreneurs and a Congress leader himself was involved in the trade union movement.

In the beginning A.K. Gopalan, P.Krishna Pillai, Krishnan Nair, Kunhiraman Nambiar, Gilbert Vaidyan, Choyikutty, Abdulla and others worked hard to form the Kozhikode Labour Union. Its members belonged to a variety of sectors, industries, and establishments like handloom, soap making, tailoring, tile, sawmills, and, cotton mills. A.K.G. had recorded in his autobiography (Ente Jeevithakatha) that he learnt the first lessons of Marxism during his close interaction with ordinary workers.

A.K. Gopalan’s autobiography gives a clear picture of the early trade unions in Malabar before 1935. At that time he was functioning as the Secretary of the Tile Workers’ Union. According to him, even before 1935, there were trade unions like Bidi Thozhilali Sanghom in Thalassery, Bidi Thozhilali Sanghom in Kannur, Thozhilali Union in  Kozhikode and also two other unions, namely, Handloom Company Thozhilali Union and Metal and Carpentry Worker’s Union.

2.11 All Kerala Trade Union Convention, 1935

By the middle of 1935 an important initiative was taken to bring the working classes in Travancore, Cochin and Malabar under a common platform and a unified central leadership, though these territories were under the jurisdiction of separate governments. In May 1935, the first All Kerala Trade Union Convention was held at Kozhikode. The second convention on similar lines was held in Thrissur in 1937 and the third was held at Kanjikukkuzhi in Alappuzha district on February 19, 1939.

“As a forerunner of these conventions, the Kozhikode convention was an epoch making one. It brought together the toiling classes to think about a central organization to fight injustice. The collective strikes by handloom workers of Kannur, tile workers of Cheruvannur, Feroke, Pinarayi, Ollur and Chalakkudy, coir factory workers of Alappuzha had inspired the leaders to consolidate the trade union movement. It was reported that thinking on these lines had emerged since the Railway Strike of 1928 and the response it generated among the working class in Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. By September 1931 a North Malabar Thozhilali Union had been formed”[21].

Following that in September 1932, the first conference of this Union was held at Azhikode under the presidentship of U. Gopala Menon. Handloom workers mainly attended this. It passed several resolutions incorporating urgent economic demands as well as political demands. In October 1933, the workers numbering 1500 conducted a strike. In January 1935 the workers protested against the shift to 5½ day schedule of work. They demanded an enhancement of wages by 10% for those working under contractors, and, reinstatement of ‘Manari’ whose services had been terminated. In March 1935 tile workers of Feroke and workers of Aaron Mill Company at Pappinissery struck work. Working class struggles were reported from Thrissur, Amballur Palluruthy and Alappuzha. It was in this background that the first All Kerala Convention of Trade Unions was held at Kozhikode.

2.12 Union Movement in the Plantations

In Travancore, plantation estates were established in around 1860 in the Veli Hills under the guidance and direction of Visakham Thirunal Maharaja and his Dewan (Chief Executive) Madhava Rao. In 1878 the Maharaja of Travancore had assigned 215 square mile territory from the land held by the Poonjar Edavaka (branch of royal family) in the Devicolam Taluk in the high ranges to one Sir Daniel Munro. In 1897 this estate came under the control of the Kannan Devan Hill Produce Company (KDHD Co.)

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, plantations were set up in Wayanad too. The German Basel Mission had started some textile mills as well as tile factories in Kannur and Kozhikode. In 1857, the Cochin Chamber of Commerce was started as an association of British merchants and trading houses. The leading members of this Chamber were Aspinwall, Pierce Leslie, Volkart Brothers, William Goodacre, Parry and Company, Madura Company and Harrison and Crossfields. It was under their leadership that a large number of factories and plantations were set up in Kerala at different centres. This gave inspiration to the indigenous entrepreneurs to venture into other areas of industrial activities like printing presses, handlooms, oil mills, timber and saw mills, boat building, fishing etc. The ‘Pandarappatta Proclamation’ of 1865 had conferred full legal titles to tenants over land. In 1867 the Jenmi-Kudiyan (landlord tenant) Proclamation helped to create a unique rural bourgeoisie class. Soon forces of capitalism were emerging. Trading profit/ merchant capital was replaced by industrial capital. During this transition, economic surplus was invested extensively in the highlands of the State in starting plantations with crops like tea, coffee, cardamom and rubber. Small and big plantations emerged. Some were owned by British capitalists while the rest were under the control of the native capitalists. From day one, the plantations became notorious in their treatment of labour.  Following it, a saga of working class mobilization and struggles became inevitable. It was in this context that trade union movement in the plantations sector developed. The trade unions in the plantation sector had an eventful beginning and growth. As soon as the trade Union ESASI (Estate Staff Association South India) was formed the management dismissed the staff who joined the union.

The dismissals created terror in the minds of estate staff and many did not come forward to join the ESASI.  N. K. Christy,   honorary secretary of ESASI and his associates then thought that unless they enlisted the support of the planters, the association could not survive. Thus they approached C.L. Craig of Craigmore Estate, a prominent planter of Nilgiris and he agreed to be the first Chairman of the association. He did yeoman service to get the association establsihed. First the membership was limited to Nilgiris and Wayanad. V. Roses Paul took the association to the Anamalai. Christy made a tour of all esates inTravancore and recruited members from the estates in Mundakkayam, Peerumade, and Vandiperiyar areas.

The ESASI was originally confined to Nilgiris, Nilgiri Wayanad, Malabar Wayanad, and Anamalai areas. In 1934 a branch of the ESASI was formed in Nelliampathy in Chittur Taluk of Palakkad. The Peerumade branch was organized in 1935. It took another four years  before a branch could be organized in Vandiperiyar. Mundakkayam opened a branch of the ESASI in 1945 and Thenmalai  in 1951. Dr. P.H. Daniel became a member of the ESASI in 1941 and he was appointed as the Editor of the ESASI Bulletin in May 1944. The ESASI functioned till 1952, though the Estate Staff Union of South India (ESUSI) was registered under the Trade Union Act in 1947.

2.13 Politics and Independence of trade Unions

The trade union movement in Kerala has recently witnessed an interesting debate on the independence status of trade unions vis-a-vis the political parties. It is generally believed that the political parties in India as well as in Kerala usually nurse “their” trade unions. In other words, the public are made to believe that the trade unions are mere appendages of political parties but in reality the parties always treat the trade unions as feeder and supporting organizations. Thus the INTUC, is believed to be linked to the Congress, AITUC to the CPl, CITU to the CPI (M), BMS to the BJP /RSS, UTUC to the RSP, AICTU to the CMP, STU to the Muslim League and so on. As the political parties started splitting, causing the emergence of innumerable factions, the public got a confused picture about the trade unions and their link to political parties. Whether the link between the trade union and the political party was organic or not was also an issue in debate.

In the early 1950s itself, the trade union movement in Kerala started getting divided on political as well as petty political and ideological lines. Each political party tried to create a trade union wing of its own and treated it as a supporting force rather than allowing the union to function as an independent organization with the chief objective of serving the interests of the members of that organization. This often led to serious confrontation at times between those who were at the top of decision-making bodies of the political party and the trade union. The problem got complicated when there arose ego clash between the two sets of leaders. In the old day’s either political leaders or social activists formed the trade unions. In later years this changed when new cadres of trade union leaders arose from the ranks of the working class. Besides, there were a few well-known political leaders of yester years who decided to quit political party work and concentrate exclusively on trade union work. At the same time, there were a considerable number who grew up with the trade union work and later choosing the path of political work. In such cases, their long run aim was to use the trade union work and popularity as a stepping-stone to political leadership and then to important political office. For achieving these objectives, some caused vertical as well as horizontal splits in the parent organization be it the political party or the trade union.

The Communist Party of India split into CPI  and CPI(M) and, the Indian National Congress into the Congress (I), Congress(A) and Congress(S). The other political parties like the Kerala Congress, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Muslim League have also split in recent years. For instance, the Kerala Congress has at least six groups led by K.M. Mani, P.C George, R. Balakrishna Pillai, P.J. Joseph, P.C. Thomas and T.M. Jacob. Baby John and K. Pankajakshan lead the RSP groups. The Muslim League split created the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Following this split in the political parties the trade union centres supporting them also began to split to create the AITUC, CITU, INTUC (I), INTUC(A), INTUC (S), UTUC(B), UTUC (official) and so on. In some trade union centers like the Swathanthra Thozhilali Union (STU) though an open split had not emerged yet, factional groups have started operation. Besides, Kerala has also witnessed the proliferation of craft/category unions that caused further sub-division and fragmentation in the union movement.

With the emergence of accommodative and compromising strategy of coalition politics becoming the order of the day, two major groups, namely the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) have captured the centre of attraction. The Congress both (I) and (A) factions currently lead the UDF together while the CPI(M) calls the tune in the LDF. The inter-party and intra-party politics of the two groups and their constituent allies have made their impact on the unions under them, those supporting them and those friendly to them. In the course of last five decades, the number of trade unions has increased very rapidly. The number of registered trade unions in Travancore-Cochin in 1951-52 was 555. After the formation of the Kerala State, the number increased to 1213 in 1957-58. In 1991 the number of unions went up to reach 9264 and by 2000 it crossed the 11140 mark.

Unions were functioning in shops and commercial establishments, motor transport and light motor vehicles, construction work, fisheries, liquor trading and liquor vending, food processing, petrol pumps,  cooking gas (LPG) agencies, private hospitals, dispensaries, pharmacies, clinical laboratories, scanning centers, private educational institutions, security services, production of motion pictures and tele films, and hotels. There are trade unions even for mahouts engaged in handling and care of elephants, those who work as frog catchers, and, those engaged in collection of river sands. Indeed, the expansion of the tertiary/service sector in the State’s economy stimulated the growth of trade unions among employees in several informal and unorganised sector employments and most of such unions acquired the highest degree of aggressiveness and militancy. The traditional industries like coir, cashew, textiles, bidi and plantations, which had pioneered the union movement in the State and had functioned as active centers of trade union activity remained stagnant, while new centers emerged in the union movement. One of such strong centers has been the white-collar Government employees unions.

The bulk of trade unions in the State are affiliated to the Central Trade Unions like the INTUC, CITU, AITUC, HMS and the BMS. There are also several trade unions under various political parties.

2.14 Changing Character

Contemporary unionism is far different from what it was in the thirties or forties. There has emerged now a growing gap between the leadership and the rank and file. The spirit of evangelism, sacrifice and service that the older generation of leadership had shown has now been replaced by a measure of irresponsibility, disloyalty and petty graft of the younger generation. The political misadventures of a few leaders have further harmed the interests of steady union growth. There is also a moral degradation on the part of the working class. Respect for authority and conscious need for discipline are fast losing in importance. Class consciousness is not strong as it was in the earlier years. While the union leadership is engaged in direct negotiations with the employer, the so-called irresponsible elements among the workers launch direct action in defiance of the leadership. There are cases when workers join one union and later leave it in order to join another. There are also workers who pay the membership fee to more than one union and as a result the data on membership become unreliable. There is no unanimity on the issue of adopting secret ballot or verification for ascertaining member support for unions. There is opposition to the proposal for conducting referendum based on secret ballot for fear of losing representative character of the union.

The union members are reluctant to attend union meetings and participate in its deliberations. They are more concerned about maximizing their economic gains. This has encouraged multiplicity of unions, aggravating inter-union rivalry and conflicts thereby bringing a bad name to labour relations in the state. There was a demand for a legislation to deal with the problem of union recognition either through secret ballot or membership verification. The Trade Union Act is found to be out of date in dealing with the new issues. But so far no attempt has been made by the Central Government to look into this matter, though it has already received the Report of the Second National Commission on Labour, headed by  Ravindra Varma. It is reported that this report is not unanimous and the BMS representative in the Commission has written a dissenting note to the Report. When the terms of reference for the Commission were finalised, the Union Government did not consult the central trade unions and most of them had boycotted the sittings of the Commission. The central trade unions including the INTUC, AlTUC, CITU, HMS, BMS, and others had expressed their fears about the possible fallouts of Liberalisation,  Privatisation and Globalisation on the Indian working class. They are deeply concerned about retrenchment, cuts in wages and benefits enjoyed by the working class for a long time and also restrictions on legitimate trade union rights. Hence, they have planned to form joint action councils and launch agitations against the Union Government’s New Economic Policy. The situation is not different in Kerala too. The very recent passage of a Bill in the second half of 2002 by the UDF Government on Head Load Labour has created a lot of debate and opposition even from the trade unions belonging to the ruling parties in the State.

2.15 Positive Aspects

Despite the political divisions, rivalries and other structural weaknesses, there exists a positive feature in the trade union movement in the State and it is considered somewhat unique when compared to the rest of India. On major issues in industrial relations, the trade unions, irrespective of their political affiliations, had come forward to form joint action councils and programmes. This is reflected even in the process of collective bargaining at the enterprise level. Here all the unions at the enterprise might sometimes file a joint Demand Notice, sit together and form joint bargaining committee to wrest a deal from the employer/ management. In such cases, it is difficult for the employers to drive one union against another when issues of common concern arise. There had been cases when enlightened managements had taken bold initiative to sign long term agreements and settlements with all the major and minor unions or workers in their enterprises.

2.16 REMARKS AND CONCLUSIONS

The Trade Union movements in Kerala because of their close nexus with politics and freedom movement acquired some unique and salient features.  The Trade Unions, irrespective of their affinity to different political parties were quite democratic.  They were not despotic or hierarchical in organizational and structural matters.  They produced a type of idealism, quite different from the materialistic and capital obsessed attitude of affluent middle class Karalites of today, which gained a lot of social, political and intellectual space in social debates among people of yesterdays.  The average Keralite of the mid twentieth century was better informed and had a sense of belonging to his fellow beings.  Because of the high percentage of literacy in the state, the members of the various trade unions became very conscious of their rights and privileges and also aware of the new philosophical ideas and different happenings in the world outside and therefore, nothing, in their opinion was impossible and unachievable.  Hence they set great aims and their demands also became very high which the managements and the government found difficult to satisfy and that finally led to the closure of many factories and industrial units in Kerala.  The spirit to unify and accomplish their long cherished aims manifested in every walk of life and spread to all activities of the people including the press which in course of time, paved the way for the formation of journalists’ associations in the state.