The Hindu Business Line : Do we make enough room in our calculations for risks from natural calamities?

STORY so far: My wanderings during the general strike take me to a group of protesting employees. Their exercise seems more symbolic than passionate. Have strikes lost their relevance as a form of protest, I wonder, though the labour leader present there asserts that strikes are the means to show the power of labour to the management. Aren't there easier ways to bring matters up for discussion? I ask.

Episode 114

Strikes have relevance at any point of time because workers/employees do not strike work merely for the sake of striking, writes in N. Sachidanandam. "They exhaust all other avenues while pursuing their legitimate demands with their employers. These include bilateral discussions on various occasions, which alone may take more than a year. Hence, strike is the last weapon of the workers/employees." I tend to agree on that.

"Strike is avoidable by the employers if they settle the demands during the discussion stage. You will appreciate that teachers, advocates, doctors, journalists and engineers too resort to strikes, as they rightly understand that strikes give the desired result in time," adds Sachidanandam, putting forth a good argument.

"Hi Swati, the variety of topics for discussion is unique and interesting," writes Mahesh. Oh, thanks! On the matter of strikes, I wonder if workers are following the right direction or whether they are being lead by some external hand! "Striking people should adopt innovative methods as the Japanese do. They should be in the production line but produce things in an unfashionable manner (?). This will make the management sit up and invite the parties to the table." I may have to find out more about the `unfashionable' part that Mahesh mentions!

C. Ramesh of Keeramangalam, Pudukkottai district, finds it hard to digest that the `right to strike' is viewed negatively by the judiciary. "Even under the colonial regime, the right to strike was given recognition. The Industrial Disputes Act, enacted on April 1, 1947, allows, though with some conditions, the workmen to strike," he points out. "Perhaps it was the misuse of strike as a weapon that made the judiciary order that government employees have no `legal, moral or equitable right to strike'," he postulates.

"Workers should try to garner the support of the public through various legitimate methods such as peaceful demonstration; the apex court has upheld this as a fundamental Constitutional right of the employees. If they can earn the support of the society, the power of strikes will increase manifold. The relevance of strike to influence the decisions of the management depends on how employees conduct strikes." Interesting analysis. And Ramesh emphasises, "Right to strike is still a legal, moral and equitable right of the employees, though the apex court has pronounced it as not a `fundamental right'."

H. M. Dattatri, Law & Taxation department, AT & S India, writes, "Dear Swati, it is all a strategy of political parties to garner more support, and build base. As a result, there was unrest among the workforce in the entire country. The nationwide strike was a tactic to know how strong their base was, and find out who was in favour, and who, against." Well, that's the political angle. "Unions who were on strike last week are poisoning the economy. No reason, no passion. Absolutely not relevant for the workforce." Categorical views, these are; the unions, I'm sure, may have a different view.

*********

Weeks after the quake

IT HAS been weeks since I interacted with you. One reason for my absence was my trip to some of the branches of the company after the earthquake. The day the killer quake struck Kashmir, and Pakistan, my boss convened a meeting. The TV was on, recording a rising toll, and relaying reports from other affected places in the North.

The disaster of October 8 registered "7.6 on the moment magnitude scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake," Wikipedia announced, ominously. I asked Gupta why a meeting when we, down South, were all safe.

The boss explained, "Two things: One, the board has authorised me to send in relief supplies in the form of pharma products. I have spoken to the minister in charge of the operations, he has welcomed the gesture and is keen that we work in a coordinated manner, without wasting time. And thus, this meeting."

Immediately, I offered, "Shall I speak with the members of our industry body and pool in relief supplies?" The suggestion was met with instant approval. Gupta said he would look into the logistics for efficient transport of the materials, in coordination with the Department of Defence staff. Chandru said that he and his wife would activate the network of supporters who had chipped in for tsunami relief. Boss was evidently happy.

"What's the other thing?" I asked, reminding him of the two things he'd started with. "Well, we have been in talks with Ha-Keem, a company in Kashmir, about a possible acquisition. They make herbal remedies for a variety of diseases. During my visit to their plant a few months ago I was impressed with their research. Chandru has worked out a valuation, which they have found favourable. And Ha-Keem's owner Badshah called me an hour ago to say that they had escaped the wrath of the quake. After coordinating the despatch of relief supplies, I want two of you to go there and see how best we can quake-proof their structures."

I volunteered for the expedition! Gupta smiled at me, and asked, "Hope you wouldn't mind me joining you?" I replied, "A known devil is always better!"

Thus, I have come to learn a lot about construction and seismic faults, enough to give an hour's lecture at the local chapter of CAs, if only they'd be interested. Gupta and I visited not only Ha-Keem's plant but also some of our branches and factories to check how far we were prepared for the deadly tectonic movements.

What came as a shock to both of us was the absence of geological awareness among many builders, who seemed more worried about brick and cement and steel than the invisible jostling of the earth down below. Even managers who oversaw construction seemed so focussed on cost that any factoring in of the tremor or quake was ignored as being too improbable a contingency to lose sleep over.

Isn't it time that our structures, both residential and commercial, account for risks of natural calamities, be they flood or quake, I wondered. Send in your thoughts by Friday.

Swati_CA@hotmail.com

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