As a reporter I was struck by a news item appearing on the first page of 'Daily Globe' where a four-word headline filled the top of the page: "Worker's family commits suicide." It said: "The family of a worker named Kathia committed suicide for reasons not yet known." I ran down from my house, out onto the street, jumped into my car and drove off quickly. I took a short detour so that I could pass near the labour colony homes.
As I approached the site, I could see that the hold-up was being caused by a gathering of people and the parking of a sizeable number of vehicles around the labour colony homes. A traffic warden was trying to help but he was only slowing things down even more. It was obvious that it was going to be impossible to park anywhere near the site of the occurrence.
I stopped my car to observe more carefully what was going on, hoping the man behind me would not become impatient. Drivers coming from the other direction raised a hand to thank me for allowing them to pass. I thought I could let a dozen or so through before anyone would start complaining. The traffic warden kept on urging them to pass.
Then a series of stretchers, may be four or five, appeared. A number of uniformed policemen carried these bodies. I was unable to see the faces because they were covered, but a senior police officer who was looking tense, walked immediately behind the stretchers. He was carrying a plastic bag. I could make out the bag-contained materials for chemical analysis.
A moment later, they closed the doors of the ambulances, the sirens started up and the traffic warden began waving towards me to move on. The ambulances moved quickly off and the man behind me started also blowing the horn. He was, after all, only an innocent bystander. I lurched forward.
Next day, the event appeared as a lead story in all newspapers. The Globe gave more details. The editors who tracked the event were quick to assign blame. Some said it was the fault of management, others blamed the weakness of the economy. Still others felt that mill's products were not upto the mark and lacked the nifty features offered by its competitors. And then there were those who blamed the foreigners. In fact, blaming the foreigners is a very popular slogan all over: Nobody believes that a bad workman blames his own tools.
The situation in and around the labour colony was reported to be tense, and it was feared, it could flare-up any time. The government was quick to announce the holding of an inquiry. Choudhry an ex-civil servant was appointed as the head of the Inquiry Commission. Chattha was assigned the role of the Secretary to the Commission.
Choudhry was a very tall man with grey hair, having a nice smile. He was not very happy that morning, he usually played cricket on Sundays. He was a university colour-holder, and known as a judicious man around. Now he had to listen to the witnesses, examine the evidence and to submit his findings to the government. How boring was it?
The hallmark of the facts narrated by different sources, was that the Phalwi Star Mill had failed to pay wages to its workers. The company claimed that its sales were declining and cash flows had dried up.
Kathia, was an innocent worker who was facing financial difficulties. His wife and children were seriously sick, and he desperately needed money for providing treatment to his family. In this hour of need, he begged for help, however, there was no one to help him. In despair and hopelessness Kathia's family committed mass suicide. The Inquiry Commission started its proceedings, and on the opening day, Roy, the CEO of the Phalwi Star Mill narrated thus:
"All the stakeholders in the company contributed to the decline in efficiency, edging out the company's competitive advantage, as each one wanted to grab a big share from a small cake. Ranjha, the purchase manager of K Corporation, was demanding a very high percentage of commission, it was unfair though, yet the Board of Directors were slow to react to improve the situation.
"Our company neglected and despised efficiency and innovation, it admitted lazy attitudes, and failed to transact business at the economies of scale thereby becoming unprofitable. "We manufacture transmission wires meant for use by the power plants. A huge purchase order was placed by K Corporation. The supply of goods had to be made by the end of December. The mill closed down due to its financial crisis. Production was restored, but we're late to meet the deadlines. The purchasers cancelled their orders. We tried to persuade the purchasers to review their decision, but our request was turned down."
"I brought these facts to the notice of the Board Members, however, they failed to realise the gravity of the situation and adopted a lukewarm attitude." "Roy, did you bring these facts on record?" Choudhry asked.
"Sir, I did."
"Thank you, Roy."
Kishwaha, the CFO, was the next man to testify.
"We produce high density transmission wires. We negotiated a number of contracts for the supply of our product, but we failed to deliver the goods on time. The buyers cancelled their orders. We also failed to obtain new orders. The company went into financial crisis and we were unable to pay salaries to our staff."
"I see; you failed to bring back the confidence of your customers?" Choudhry remarked. "Sir, our agents started to demand a high percentage of commission. It was not possible for us to give that kind of raise. They stopped purchasing the goods."
"I suppose all of them were your old customers." "Yes. That is correct. But, you know everybody wants to maximise his gains." "Oh, I see." "Do you still have some money in the mill's account?" "We do, but that's insufficient to meet the existing expenses."
"Did you prepare any emergency plans to encounter such an occasion?" asked Choudhry.
"No Sir."
"Is there any healthcare plan for the employees?"
"We do have them. But Kathia being a temporary employee was not entitled for healthcare."
"For how long had he been working for the mill?"
"Five years."
"And he still was a temporary employee?"
Kishwaha kept quite.
"Thank you Kishwaha."
Baramka was the next to testify.
"Sir, our trouble started with the closure of the mill. We were already facing a liquidity crunch. The banks refused us to advance money. We're successful in reviving the mill, however, the sales did not pick up. The buyers delayed their payments. These factors messed up the situation."
"Did you advise the management accordingly?"
"I did!"
Choudhry watched him for a minute and said: "We were informed that no one was interested in the welfare of the workers. Your statement supports that viewpoint, doesn't it?"
"Oh! Is someone trying to blame others?," he asked.
"May be." Choudhry said. "Thank you Baramka."
Choudhry stood up and went to the window and looked outside. "Why did Kishwaha look uncomfortable?" He asked Chattha.
"I don't know."
"You had better go to his residence, you know the background, try to find out his conduct from neighbours and other members of the community."
"Yes Sir, I'll do that," he said while noting it down."
"Isn't it a good day for cricket?" The secretary laughed.
"Don't say that. It's not easy for me to sit here while looking at the sun, you know."
Choudhry took the newspapers and his jacket from the table. "Come on." "We need to talk to Mr Chaju, the labour leader." "Let's get some more tea first. I'd like a sandwich, too. I'm hungry again."
Choudhry and Chattha got into the car and drove away. They found Chaju sitting in front of his house. He was wearing blue trousers and a dirty orange shirt.
"Welcome Sir." He said.
"A worker and his family committed suicide, you know?" Choudhry asked.
"Oh, it's about that," he said. He looked with blank eyes at Mr Choudhry. "I know they are dead. I attended their funerals. It's all terrible."
"Why did this untoward incidence take place?" Choudhry asked.
"Persistent poverty and oppression always leads to hopelessness and despair. And when employers fail to meet the basic needs of their workers, these failures lead to the happening of such events."
"Why did you call on Kishwaha last night?"
"To persuade him to be sympathetic towards the workers, and I told him, successful institutions require workers who are literate, healthy and able to work. Good working conditions can help sick institutions to meet their desired results. I also emphasised that the needs of workers should be of prime importance to the management, as it's becoming difficult for workers to survive. I foresee many cases of suicide happenings if they are not paid their wages."
"How did he react?"
"We haven't been able to sell the goods in the market," he told me. I'm afraid to know if the statement is correct.
"What's the truth?"
"To me it appears, the business plan followed by our company is defective and business is not a source of profit. It is even not a source of long term growth. It appears that certain quarters are not interested in the company's economic health!"
"Which quarters?" Choudhry asked.
"I'm trying to figure them out," Chaju said.
Choudhry smiled and got up to leave.
The next day, when the Commission reassembled, Ranjha was waiting to make his testimony.
"Would you like to tell us the nature of the differences between your company and Phalwi Star Mill," asked Choudhry.
"Sir, Phalwi Star Mill failed to meet the deadlines for the supply of goods, and according to the terms of contract, our purchase orders automatically stood cancelled."
"Wouldn't you like to revive the scrapped contract?"
"Of course not."
"Do you have any special relationship with Kishwaha?"
"We are old pals!"
"Did you charge commission on supplies made to your company?"
"Yes. That is the way we do business."
"Do you pay any kickback to Kishwaha?"
"We don't disclose our trade secrets!"
"May I assume that you don't want to cooperate with the Commission, Ranjha?"
"That's unfair. I still maintain that our business ethics don't allow us to disclose qualified information."
"Thank you very much."
Choudhry summoned all concerned in his office, the next day. As all the guest assembled, Choudhry said.
"When a business falls deep into crisis, it almost always needs some external help to get back on track. Workers are human beings and in trouble they need the help of their families, friends and employers as they can rarely pull themselves out by their bootstrap. Business in crisis arc subject to powerful forces of disarray, when management wants to lead, these forces may fracture nonetheless slipping into violence, defiance or self-treachery. These unwanted situations require extension of love and co-operation among the members of the community.
"It's a story of greed and selfishness, "the mill management connived with Ranjha in order to grab financial gains. Kishwaha and his associates were playing games by delaying sales to maximise their kickbacks. This unholy alliance was acting against the interests of the workers. The evil elements intentionally created liquidity crunch leading to the non-payment of worker's wages and salaries. These unholy games directly contributed towards the happening of the suicide incident."
Roy put his hands on his head. "No! No!"
Choudhry continued.
"We've found corroborative evidence linking Roy and Kishwaha with the evil elements. The evidence connects them with the unholy alliance made against the interests of the mill and its workers. Throughout, for his negative activities, Kishwaha had the full support of Roy."
"You don't understand Sir!" Kishwaha cried. "I am an innocent person. I always wanted to be a proud and honourable citizen. I love the mill and the workers." He started crying.
Roy, Kishwaha and Ranjha left the Commission's office in a police car.
Choudhry felt tired and hungry.
"Well," he said to the Secretary, I hope that the workers will get the money and they'll be happy now.
He got into the car. "Let's go," he said. "I'm hungry, I need a sandwich."
(N.B: All the characters, places and events are fictitious and fictional)
(The writer is an advocate and is currently working as an associate with Azim-ud-Din Law Associates)
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