Gurudas Singbal,
Sometimes you need to be tactful rather than be hard working or just doing the paper works. That's what I learnt (Not sure whether I have practiced it ) when I was young - 26 years to be exact - and the general secretary of Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ) .
The year was 1987 and those were surely heady days. I was filled with the missionary zeal to work for the rights of the journalists and other workers in the newspaper industry. I had recently returned from the Soviet Russia and Bulgaria belonging to the Soviet Block. I had also appeared before the Bachchawat Wage Commission of the Journalists and Non-journalist newspaper workers.
And so when the management of the Marathi daily Gomantak issued termination notices to its 19 workers, I, as the GUJ, secretary, immediately rose to the occasion, filed a case with the Labour Commissioner of the Goa, Daman and Diu Union Territory, objecting to the move.
The Gomantak management replied and agreed to a discussion.
Some of the senior reporters belonging to the GUJ core members and the Gomantak labour department ( there was no such thing as HR department then) met at the small GUJ office, located on the second floor of the Junta Building on the 18th June Road in Panjim.
The tea and biscuits were kept at the small table and as GUJ Secretary who had initiated this move and raised the dispute, I was expected to lead the discussion.
It was then that Gurudas Singbal, the GUJ President who at that time was Goa correspondent of Indian Express, lit the cigarrate, smiled in his peculiar way and asked the Gomantak Labour Officer.
``Kitye Zalye Asa ?’’
``Guru, Problem Kahi Na.. Tuka Kitye Jai Tye Sang…’Gomantak labour officer replied.
This immediately broke the ice. There was a remarkable reduction in the tension in the air.
‘’Come, let’s have the tea before it gets cold,’’ was the reaction Gurudas Singbal.
It so happened that the Gomantak Labour Officer ( I forget his name now) was known to Gurudas Singbal and other senior GUJ memers including Balaji Gaunekar, Pramod Khandeparker, and Ambaji Kamat, Gurudas Sawal (perhaps also Suresh Kankonkar) who were all present at this meeting.
This labour officer was earlier Goa, Daman and Diu Labour Comissioner and recently quit the post and joined as the labour officer with the Chowgle group of companies, the owners of the Gomantak daily.
Myself and James Paes were the only younger GUJ leaders at the meeting who did not know this new Chauwugle group Labour Officer .
By the way, all of us at the GUJ and the IFWJ (Indian Federation of Working Journalists) referred to each other as ‘Comrade’ and our union flags were always Red. The IFWJ president was K. Vikram Rao, a close associate of trade unionist George Fernandes and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) was led by CITU president Com S Y Kolhatkar. Both George Fernandes as well as K Vikram Rao were accused in the now famous Baroda Dynamite Case.
The role played by friendly Gurudas Singbal paved the way for successful negotiations and we at the GUJ Managed to give the retrenched workers betters pay packets than offered initially.
The Gomantak management had clearly told us GUJ office-bearers that there was no way of retaining these workers after the introduction of automation (computerisation!!) at Gomantak daily.
An agreement was signed and the labour dispute was settled. This agreement will be in the GUJ records.
Two of the retrenched workers however did not sign th\e agreement and decided to fight the labour dispute at the appropriate level.
Soon after signing this agreement, I quit The Navhind Times where I was the campus reporter and also handled the crime and high court beats and soon returned to Maharashtra.
I continued my trade unionism in the newspaper industry in Aurangabad and also in Pune for a few more years. To this date, I recall the success in giving a better financial deal to the 19 retrenched Gomantak workers.
This morning I recalled that day’s incident when I read here that Gurudas Singbal is no more.
Salute to Comrade Gurudas Singbal !!
