Unfair labor practices?

Our Union, the Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha is a duly registered Trade Union under the provisions of Trade Unions Act, 1926 functioning since 1950 in various units in and around Mumbai and Thane (and) has been functioning in Bombay Parsi Punchayet Funds & Properties, a Trust registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 for almost one decade. We are statutorily Recognised Union under Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions & Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 (emphasized to show that as a trade union we have been fighting against the acts of unfair labour practices being committed against the workmen). What it means (is) that the BPP Trust has no alternative but to discuss all the issues related to its labour with the Sabha only and no one else. Even its failure to discuss the issues amounts to an act of unfair labour practice under the aforesaid Act. So in fact the Trustees of BPP Trust are at present guilty of unfair labour practice.

We have signed several settlements in the past which were signed in an amicable manner without any unrest whatsoever. This is the first time that the workmen and the Sabha is forced to undertake mode of agitation for the Trustees to call for a meeting for discussing the demands for revision in service conditions. It is indeed shameful that we are coming to know the details what the BPP Trustees are ready to give through articles in papers.
BPP Trust is one of the richest Trusts in India. The litigation expense of Rs. 2.5 Crores (spent on the priests ban case) is also not for protecting the religious authority but for satisfaction of their own egos and nothing else. All this needless expenditure could have easily been avoided had they had the slightest ingenuity and decency to discuss the same across the table and resolve the dispute instead of taking their infighting amongst the general public and sullying the name of such a peace-loving community. To counter this ridiculous explanation, if it was their so-called mandated duty to protect the high priests, is it not their duty to protect those poor and hapless workmen who toil day and night for their betterment and make their day to day life much easier?

To cut short the entire episode, summary of this is that the living condition of Parsi workmen across all the Baugs controlled by BPP Trust is pathetic and is not commensurate with the rising inflation and high cost of living prevailing at present. Even though some of senior workmen get higher wages, still the same falls short of neutralizing the effect of high cost of living, whereas on the other hand other class IV workmen barely scrape through their monthly expenses and sometimes have to seek loans and advances from outside to meet the rising expenses. These eventualities occur every year during festive season and during the academic re-opening time, i.e. in the month of May & June or October & November.
Just imagine what would happen if these workmen stopped toiling for them and stopped doing the menial work which has been entrusted to them. Would any of the Trustees or their family members come and clean up the Baugs or start the motor for filling the tanks which provides them water or most important of all, dispose of their dead relatives! This is what they should be asking themselves before jumping the gun and blaming the Union, which has not only raised the standard of living for these poor workmen who were being exploited day in and day out earlier but also maintained a highly balanced working atmosphere and peace overall.
We sincerely hope that these Trustees would shed their egos and come for actual resolution of the problem facing the BPP Trust.
Dated: 29th June 2015.
Chandbibi Zaidi, President
Dhunji Naterwalla, General Secretary
Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha