asha dissertation

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A STUDY OF THELABOUR BEAT IN

ENGLISH PRINT MEDIA

IN MUMBAI

(1982-2002)

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Masters in Communication and Journalism

Of

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

By

ASHA GOPALKRISHNAN

September 2006


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...v

ABSTRACT .vi

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION ........1

1.1 Preview of other chapters ..2

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW ....4

2.1 Role of Media ...4

2.2 Liberalisation in India and the changing role of media ....8

2.3 Press in Mumbai ...9

2.4 Definition of a Beat in Journalism ...102.5 Labour Beat in Journalism ......10

2.6 Goals of the study ...11

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 BACKGROUND OF LABOUR .12

3.1 Indian Labour Movement ...12

3.2 Definition of labour ......14

3.3 Indian Labour Market and Labour Market in Mumbai .......16

3.4 Labour beat - A cause of worry globally ........17

3.5 Nature of stories that make news .....18

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CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 BACKGROUND OF UNIONISM .20

4.1 Definition of a trade union ..20

4.2 Two aspects of trade unionism ...............20

4.3 Trade unionism today (post liberalisation) .22

4.4 Strike and Lockouts ................24

4.5 Media coverage given to strikes .25

4.6 Unionism in Media .....27

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 BACKGROUND OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY .......29

5.1 Textile industry in India .29

5.2 Bombay Textile Strike (1982-1983) ..............30

5.3 History of the strike 31

5.4 Effect of the strike ..32

5.5 Media coverage given to the strike .....33

CHAPTER SIX

6.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....36

6.1 Introduction .................36

6.2 Research Question ..36

6.3 Research Design ..36

6.4 Data Collection ...37

6.4.1 Parameters used to analyse data ...39

6.5 Coding Process ....45

6.6 Interviews ....45

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6.7 Physical location of the study

.47

6.8 Problems encountered during the research

.47

CHAPTER SEVEN

7.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATION .....48

7.1 Introduction ............48

7.2 Table wise explanation ...................50

7.3 Observations ...................54

CHAPTER EIGHT

8.0 CONCLUSION .......57

8.1 Further scope of research ....60

REFERENCES .....62

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my gratitude to my Head of the Department, Mr. Sanjay Ranade, my

professor, Ms. Suchitra Inamdar and Mr. Sameer Deshpande, who have inspired and

guided me, for undertaking this project.

I also want to thank my family members, who have supported me morally and financially

for this research project.

Thanking you,

Asha Gopalkrishnan

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to discover if labour as a beat exists in the English print

media in Mumbai. Labour is an important part of our society and issues related to

labour are therefore vital. Media is considered as a reflection of the society and the

mention/reflection of labour related issues in the print media is essential. Print media has

several beats like crime, politics, business, sports, entertainment etc and labour was one

such beat in the 80s. My research tries to establish if this beat still holds its place in the

English print media in Mumbai by tracing the coverage given to labour issues over a

period of 20 years, keeping the coverage given by print media to the Bombay textile

strike (which happened in 1982-1983) as a benchmark for my study.

In order to derive answers to my research question Has labour as a beat disappeared

from the English print media in Mumbai? I used both quantitative and qualitative

research methodologies. I have chosen The Times of India (Mumbai edition) as a

representative of English print media in Mumbai and I have analysed the newspapers

from 1982-2002 to find the change (if any) in the nature of coverage of labour related

issues.

There is scope for further research on the basis of my research, as I have restricted my

research to the English print media in Mumbai. An analysis of the labour coverage with

respect to the Indian media could be one of the major aspects for further research. My

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study answers my research question and raises many more thereby leaving room for

further in depth research.

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Born and brought up in Dadar (Mumbai), I lived in areas surrounded by mills. The

adjacent Bombay Dyeing Mills seemed like a landmark for my area. Workers queuing

up for their shift timings were a common sight. Sirens symbolizing accidents in mills and

the constant ringing of bells of the fire brigades were a part of the daily routine. I was

accustomed to the frequent strikes by workers, their acrimonious slogans and banners that

blurted their agitation against the management. Labour, Mills, and Trade unions

were terms that frequently made its presence felt in day-to-day conversations. Somehow

the whole issue of trade unionism was a matter of concern. They always made news as

their issues were largely addressed and reported. The grit and determination of the union

leaders created history. The media reported substantially on the unions and labourers.

While pursuing my Masters in Communication and Journalism, I began to read the

newspapers carefully and realized that the importance given by print media to labour (in

terms of coverage) has drastically reduced. Labour like politics, crime, business,

entertainment etc was covered as a separate beat in newspapers till the early 90s.

However, by 1995, it no longer remained a separate beat and today its existence is in

question. The declining coverage of labour issues in print media in Mumbai and

furthermore the reasons for the disappearance of the beat, roused my interest in this topic

of research. What led to this change (decline) of coverage in labour issues? Does labour

as a beat exist anymore in the English print media in Mumbai? These were the key

questions that motivated this thesis. Subsequently other related questions followed: If

labour beat (from English print media in Mumbai) had disappeared or had been scrapped,

what were the reasons for the same? Did liberalisation play a role in changing the kind of

coverage that was given to the working class? How are the issues of labour tackled

today? Has media become insensitive towards these issues? My research answers these

questions and raises many more.

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In order to derive whether labour coverage has declined or not, I first needed to establish

the coverage that was given to labour issues at one point of time. For the same, I chose to

begin my research keeping the coverage given by the English print media to Bombay

textile strike, as my benchmark, as the Bombay textile strike marks the history of labour

movement in Mumbai. The significance of labour movement, particularly the Bombay

textile strike cannot be forgotten with respect to the struggle of the labour. As the

Bombay textile strike happened in 1982-83, I had to study the coverage given to it back

then. For this, I chose to go through the newspapers of over 20 years (1982-2002), trying

to analyse the coverage given to Bombay textile strike, so as to determine the present

nature of coverage given to labour related issues. My research is restricted to the print

media in Mumbai for which, I have taken The Times of India (TOI) - Mumbai edition, as

my sample for data collection, as TOI was/is the highest in terms of circulation and

readership. Data analysis followed by in-depth interviews with journalists (who were

labour correspondents) gave me an insight to the facts, the changes in Mumbai print

media and the problems associated with it, thereby helping me derive conclusions. In this

research, Ive also quoted some cases, which establishes the global importance of this

research.

1.2 Preview of other chapters

My research aims to find out the existence or importance of labour beat in the English

print media in Mumbai. But before any further discussions, I need to give a context for

my study, for a better understanding of my research question and its conclusions. In the

next chapter I explain in detail the theoretical framework and the literature review. In this

chapter, apart from defining a beat and more specifically a labour beat, I discuss the

role of media on the whole and also the changes in media in the wake of liberalisation.

After providing a theoretical framework for my research, in the third chapter, I proceed to

give a background of the labour movement in India. It is important as the past and present

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scenario of labour movement in India is crucial in understanding the outlook of media

towards the labour movement and largely on labour.

In the fourth chapter, I describe unionism in India. Right from defining a trade union to

analyzing what kind of stories make news, I have incorporated various aspects like

strikes, lockouts etc. I have also discussed in this chapter the kind of media coverage

given to strikes and even mentioned about unionism in media. This part is very essential

as it reflects in my conclusion.

I have dedicated the fifth chapter strictly to discuss the Bombay textile strike that

happened in 1982-83, as I have taken this strike as a benchmark for its coverage.

Beginning with the facts about the textile industry in India and moving on to the causes

and effects of the textile strike, I conclude by citing a research which was about the

media coverage given to the strike. As this is very crucial to my research, I have drawn

references from this research.

I move on to explain the research methodology I used in my research. In chapter number

six, I discuss my methodology at length even stating the problems I faced during my

research.

Chapter seven analyses the coded data and interprets the figures. I state my observations

in this chapter pertaining to the data collected.

I explain at length the conclusions I derived, in the eighth chapter. I also state the scope

for further research on the basis of my conclusions.

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CHAPTER TWO

2.0 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Role of Media

The mass media constitute the backbone of democracy. The most important democratic

functions that we can expect the media to serve are listed in an often-cited article by

Gurevitch and Blumler (1990). These functions include surveillance of socio-political

developments, identifying the most relevant issues, providing a platform for debate

across a diverse range of views, holding officials to account for the way they exercise

power, provide incentives for citizens to learn, choose and become involved in the

political process and resist efforts of forces outside the media to subvert their

independence (Gurevitch and Blumler, 1990). The power of media is inexplicable. The

media can promote democracy by among other things, educating voters, protecting

human rights, promoting tolerance among various social groups, and ensuring that

governments are transparent and accountable. The media, however, can play anti-

democratic roles as well. They can sow fear, division and violence. Instead of promoting

democracy, they can contribute to democratic decay (Sheila S. Coronel).

Media has been given a lot of power; the term fourth estate (with the

executive, judiciary and parliament comprising the other three),

signifies that the media are an important institution of a democratic

society that serves as a watchdog of the other arms of government

(Grace Rwomushana Agaba, 2004). But with this immense power,

comes a huge responsibility.

Having stated the importance of media, it must also be stated that it

was the print media (initially), which gained this magnitude of respect.

In spite of the various forms of mass media (such as print, television, radio, internet etc),

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print media continues to be the oldest and has carved a niche for itself today. The

newspapers have their strength because of the possibilities for in-depth analysis of issues,

social or any other. Newspapers provide ample space for analysis of an issue, followed by

discussions. However, there is a growing concern that the print media is not fulfilling

these functions properly. McChesney (1997) points out that most

newspapers in the developed world today are concerned with their

survival rather than setting the news agenda. My research looks at this

change in attitude of print media while covering certain aspects of the

society (labour issues), which was a part of their agenda at one point

of time (till late 80s).

2.2 Liberalisation in India and the changing role of media

Since mid-1991, India has been embarked on economic reforms which aim - in the words

of its government - to liberalize and globalize the economy. Not unlike many other

developing and transitional economies, the main reform initiatives were undertaken after

a fiscal and foreign exchange crisis which brought India to the verge of default on its

foreign loans. Besides a stabilization program, both internal and international economic

activity have been sought to be deregulated and liberalized. Internal liberalization

included the dismantling of a complex industrial licensing system, opening up of a

number of sectors previously reserved for the public sector to private investment, some

divestment of stock in the state sector, and decontrol of administered prices. External

liberalization measures included removal of non-tariff barriers to imports, reduction in

import tariffs, removal of restrictions on - and active encouragement of - foreign

investment, some freeing up of technology imports, and attempts to increase portfolio

inflows. Apart from these changes that liberalisation brought about in different sectors, it

also affected media organisations.

Media has undergone a lot of changes post globalization. For the media in India,

the liberalisation of the economy (1991), combined with a growing

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population of literates, meant new opportunities for growth. The

media, therefore, sharpened its focus on the interests and aspirations

of the beneficiaries of economic liberalisation to bring in audiences

whose numbers and profile would help it lure ever growing amounts of

advertising. Indeed, if middle India did not want to know about the

countrys underclass, neither did the advertisersthere was no

potential market there (Smita Gupta, 2005).

With reference to the same, Agaba (2004) in her research cites Curan

(1979) and also adds his quote in the Historical Journal:

Since sales were inadequate to cover the costs of producing a

newspaper, it was the growing income from advertising, which

provided the material base for the change of attitude from

subservience to independence. The chief methods by which

governments could influence the press a direct subsidy, official

advertisements, and priority of intelligence were rendered less

effective because proprietors could afford to do without them.The

growth of advertising revenue was the most important single factor in

enabling the press to emerge as the Fourth Estate of the realm.

(Historical Journal 1975:721, quoted in Curran 1979: 196)

In a country where death, disaster and poverty are the staples of

everyday life, the word was out in the newsrooms that the emphasis

was to be on feel-good stories, so that typically, a young executive

reading the morning paper should arrive at work full of beans and good

humour, ready to tackle his work; death and disaster should figure only

when the story was really big or sensational, and its negative elements

could be offset by the blood, gore and drama of an action filmin

short, if it had an entertainment component. From 1991, the media in

India grew at a phenomenal pace. The print media invented the

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concept of infotainment to ensure that it would continue to get a

substantial share of the advertising cake (Smita Gupta, 2005).

For example, as respondent no. 1 (a journalist whom I interviewed for my research), said,

In 1991, our editor kept telling us Do sunshine stories... You must do happy

stories Stories that reflect how happy and good the economy is, but the stories that

we were doing, about textile mill workers were not sad stories, they were facts.

In 1991 it was not just the economy that was restructured the media too became

corporate. The control of the media vested with the corporates of the media. And there

was an unspoken and unwritten kind of a thing that the media was now focusing on the

happy side of the economic restructuring. Issues like trade union, movements, factories

closing and all became a thing of the pass, (Interview with respondent no. 1).

The perspective with which the print media organisations today look at different stories

has changed as they no longer serve only the interests of the public. Agaba (2004)

cites media observers like Picard (1989) and Napoli (1997) who note

that media organisations have to serve the interests of four distinct

groups; media owners, audiences, advertisers and media employees.Picard (1989:9) in particular observes that owners want high rates of

return on their investments and company growth; audiences want high

quality products and services at a low price. In turn, advertisers want

access to their target customers at a low price and high quality

services from the media employees while employees expect fair

compensation. All the four groups that are involved in media

production and consumption at one stage or another expect value for

their money and time. Media has changed its priorities and now-a-days, it serves

the interests of the market forces and not the public, (Interview with respondent no. 1).

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This change in the attitude of the media is a global concern.Grace Rwomushana

Agaba (2004) in her research An exploration of the Effect of Market-

driven Journalism on

The Monitor newspapers Editorial Content discusses how The

Monitor the only independent newspaper in Uganda has started

catering to the market forces, thereby affecting the editorial content.

With increasing competition, media has stretched itself to the limit. But

this increasing competition does not seem very healthy, as Sheila S.

Coronel has observed in her study that the market and the race among media

firms for audience and market share can degrade the quality of media reporting. The

competition for the market has meant that the media in most new democracies have

succumbed to the global trend of dumbing down the news. The stress on glitzy effects

leaves no time for serious and in-depth discussion of the issues that matter. The result is

that public discourse is dumbed down as well, as both officials and citizens respond to the

infotainment type of news they get (Sheila S. Coronel). With entertainment

rather infotainment taking precedence over other critical aspects of

our society, my study looks at a small but important part of this

transformation.

CORRECTION DONE TILL HERE. TAKE OVER FROM HERE

Media scholars like John McManus have advanced to note what is

called market-driven journalism. McManus (1994) argues that the logic

of market-driven journalism is the logic of the marketplace. He points

out that the media environment has become too competitive to

support media companies pursuing traditional journalism with the

separation of newsgathering and the state of advertising, sales,

production and distribution (McManus 1994:3). He further notes that

successful editors must integrate the business and news sub-divisions,

as well as become marketing experts. Eventually, he argues that the

media should change or they will be changed. McManus (1994:5) sets

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out the market-driven journalism model and argues that commercial

news production is heavily dictated upon by four sources of finance.

According to him, readers trade their attention; sources trade their

information; advertisers pay for their potential customers; and owners

contribute capital and expect to reap profits.

2.3 Press in Mumbai

Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and the financial hub of India, is a city which is

bursting at its seams, not only in terms of population, but also in terms of issues. Every

industry, every section of this city is growing and with this fast paced growth, comes a lot

of problems, which need to be dealt with at the earliest. Media as an industry has

expanded too. With this expansion, comes a lot of power, but one often forgets that with

a lot of power, comes responsibility. Media is vested with the responsibility of

functioning objectively in this dynamic city. Today, despite the mass medias propensity

for sleaze, sensationalism and superficiality, the notion of the media as watchdog and as

guardian of the public interest remains deeply embedded.

But Mumbai is getting commercialized with every passing day. This commercialisation

has crept into the lives of most of the people living in Mumbai. The press in Mumbai has

to take notice of the several developments, all happening at one go. The print media in

Mumbai has to keep pace with the progress of the city.

Agner Fog (Working paper, 2004-05-20) discussing the developments on the media

market, addresses commercialisation by saying that advertisements are sneaked into

entertainment as well as news stories. The distinctions between advertisements, news and

entertainment are increasingly blurred. Audience groups with less spending money are

not considered. The study also adds that due to commercial influence, advertisers and

owners have influence on editorial decisions.

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My research reveals that the print media is today dominated by the market forces. And in

the bargain of catering to the market forces, the print media is compromising on several

hardcore issues especially related to labour. The newspapers are supposed to be a

reflection of the society, but looks like this mirror has stopped reflecting the true image.

Either our society is a very happy society or probably the reflection is flawed and the

probability is stronger for the latter. My research tries to establish the fact that the issues

related to labour or the working class are important and therefore there needs to be a

beat specifically assigned to cover it.

2.4 Definition of a Beat in Journalism

Since all issues of any society are not of the same nature, they need to be written about in

separate sections and also addressed differently. Aspects of the society are categorically

divided as civic, business, crime, politics, entertainment etc, and one such category was

specifically allotted to labour issues (till the early 90s). When issues of the same

category are reported consistently, it forms a beat.

It is defined as the type of journalism that a reporter covers on a consistent basis

(http://freelancewrite.about.com/od/glossary/g/Beat.htm). When a journalist is assigned a

beat, he writes on the various dimensions of the beat. Building sources and keeping a

track of every development concerning the beat he covers, is the job of the reporter.

When a journalist is assigned a beat, it is his job to follow stories concerning that beat.

He puts forth the problem, analyses it by getting in as many perspectives as possible and

leaves room for discussions.

Beats in journalism are created as per the occurrences in the society. Every page of a

newspaper is assigned a bifurcation and news pertaining to that page is thereby printed.

The pages in a newspaper are bifurcated as city page, national page world page,

business page and sports page. It becomes easy to place a news item in the created

section. This pattern makes reading newspaper a lot easier and the same method is

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followed in assembling news too. In order to find and collate news of the same nature,

beats have been assigned in journalism.

2.5 Labour Beat in Journalism

Labour was a prominent beat in journalism till the late 80s. All the labour issues,

especially the Bombay textile strike were written about regularly and at length. But over

a period of time (especially post liberalisation), things have changed and my research

proves that labour as a beat has disappeared from the English print media in Mumbai.

Labour issue these days hardly finds a mention anywhere, as there are no takers for this

piece of news. During the Bombay textile strike, there were many journalists who were

assigned to labour beat to track down the day to day developments and happenings of the

strike. Now even if a journalist wants to cover labour, there is no room for such writing

as it is a general perception that with the closure of the textile mills, labour per se has

disappeared.

2.6 Goals of the study

This study has two goals. First to find out if labour as a beat exists in the print media in

Mumbai. And if the beat has indeed disappeared (which this study proves), then through

the second goal, this study tries to find the reasons for the same. This study is restricted to

the English press and concentrates strictly on the city of Mumbai. And speaking of the

English press, this study chooses to restrict itself to the Times of India to collect reports

for further analysis. As a point of entry and focus, I examined newspapers of 20 years

(The Times of India) from 1982 to 2002 for labour related reports. To get an overall

picture and also the reasons, I conducted in depth interviews with veteran journalists

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who, during their career have covered labour as a beat and this formed the second part of

my study.

2.7 Research Methods

My research analyses the labour beat in English print media in Mumbai. To achieve

this, I employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection

methods and further conducted in depth interviews with journalists in

order to understand their perspectives about the current trend of

coverage given to labour related issues. My first goal (as mentioned in

the previous section) was achieved by collecting data (which included

reports related to labour over a period of 20 years) and coding it. The

second goal was achieved by conducting interviews on the basis of the

data collected and analysed. A detailed explanation of the

methodology is presented in chapter number six.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 BACKGROUND OF LABOUR

3.1 Indian Labour Movement

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The labour movement is the oldest social movement seeking to transform society in the

name of universal values, with the objective of creating a society that meets the needs and

aspirations of all human beings. The fundamental value, from which all others are

derived, is a sense of dignity of the human being: that is a value stronger than even

survival since people are prepared to die for it. (Dan Gallin, 2004)

Labour Movement is best defined by G.D.H Cole, in, A short history of the British

Working Class Movement (1789-1947). According to him,

Labour Movement is a community of outlook. It is an organisation or rather many forms

of organisations based upon the sense of common status and a need for mutual help.

Mr. G.K. Sharma, in his work on Labour Movement in India, points out that the origin

of labour movement lay in

1. The deplorable conditions of women and children in factories and

2. The governments attitude of complete indifference in respect of protection of

labour from evils.

The beginning of the 20th century gave a political undertone to workers consciousness

and marked the commencement of the second phase of the Indian labour movement

(1918-1946). In this stage, the Indian labour movement discovered itself, acquired all

India stature and learnt first lessons of political trade unionism. This stage also gave birth

to trade unionism, as it was during 1918-1921 that the industrial workers learnt to wage

mass struggles over a large area and the increasing number of strikes led to the formation

of trade unions of the industrial workers. Political factor also helped in the formation of

unions. As workers were not in a position to lead themselves; this second phase of labour

movement was largely a movement FOR the workers and not OF the workers, as

others from outside felt the need to fight for the cause of the workers (G.K. Sharma)

The importance of the Indian Labour Movement in relation to the National Movement

(led by the Indian National Congress) has been very well quoted by B.P. Wadia, the

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founder of Madras Labour Union (MLU) (1918), the first trade union to be formed in

India [MLU became the forerunner of trade unionism in India]. He wrote in 1921:

It is very necessary to recognize the Labour Movement as an integral part of the

National Movement. The latter will not succeed in the right direction of democracy, if

Indian working classes are not enabled to organize their own forces and come

into their own.

The stage of the Indian labour movement (1947-1960) is an important phase, as it begins

on the eve of Independence. In the immediate post war period, there was a lot of

industrial unrest and violence. Several reasons were attributed to this, such as demand for

greater participation in war profits, change in the political sphere in the labour field,

change in the political context which created expectation in the minds of the workers etc.

All this unrest led to an outburst in this stage, post independence. It witnessed a steep rise

in the number of trade unions and its membership(G. K. Sharma) *

The trade union movement is the most important component of the labor movement in its

wider sense. It is the first, and often the last line of resistance; workers have to defend

themselves and without it none of the other institutions of the labour movement could

survive. It is also the most representative part of the labor movement. The labour

movement is a multi-faceted social movement with a cause and a vision of society (Dan

Gallin, 2004).

*I could not get a more recent research on the Indian labour movement.

He in his research states that the transnationality of the labour movement is rooted in the

perception that workers constitute a class with a common cause. Because it has no vested

interest in exploitation but, on the contrary, has a vital interest in its abolition for all

people, the labor movement is not only a self-help movement of workers, but also the

liberation movement of humanity.

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The Indian labour movement, which at one point of time was a strong force, has faded

over the years. Today, the labour movement is as good as non-existent. Either because

people do not relate to the labour movement anymore or because now-a-days, people

increasingly have started feeling that they are not a part of labour force. They do not

consider themselves as labour (Interview with respondent no. 2).

3.2 Definition of labour

One of the many definitions of labour is A social class comprising those who do manual

labour or work for wages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_market). This is the

basic definition of labour.

The labour law in India has no definite or uniform definitions of labour. Every labour

law is different in context while deciding its applicability. A labour is therefore also

termed as a worker, permanent, temporary, casual, badli*, employee, contract labour,

bonded labour, underground worker, above ground worker, with and without skillette etc.

(Dilip Maruti Dhiwal, 2002). There has been a systematic submergence of labour laws

over a period of years, (Interview with respondent no. 4)

* badli is a workman appointed in post of a permanent workman or probationer who is

temporarily absent

In post-colonial India, labour was given the connotation of work in industry. The labourer

as a social figure became linked to the modern economy, a direction in which Indian

society was to develop at a rapid rate. At the start of the post-colonial era India had less

than ten million industrial workers of whom considerably less than half were subject to a

labour regime that could be called factorized (Jan Breman A study of Industrial Labour

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in Post Colonial India). Nevertheless, the literature described this small minority as the

prototype of the labour force which was to determine the future of land and people. Jan

Breman in his research, quoted Pant (1965) as,

[...] their importance does not lie in numbers. This small section of the total labour force

is important because growth and expansion of the economy depends, to a large extent,

upon its attitude towards industrialisation. It being the only section where labour

organisation exists and can grow easily it can influence the pace of change. It is this

section which along with its problems will grow with the progress of industrialisation.

(Pant 1965:12)

Dilip Maruti Dhiwal in his Ph.D. thesis on Casualisation of Workmen in Industry

explains the concept of labour as multi dimensional, from the economic point of view, it

is a factor of production, from the political view, it is the ballet power and from the

sociological view, it is the symbol of status.

It is observed that labour is defined differently by different people. For some, labour is a

connotation only for one who works in factories. But, I believe, factory workers are not

the only ones who fall into the definition of labour, yet, due to this changing meaning of

labour there is a conflict in the interpretation of the term. Now-a-days, it is below the

dignity of an individual to call himself as a labourer. According to many, labour as a

class ceases to exist. This kind of a thought process exists in the media too and hence

they do not see the grave issues of labour. My research looks deeper into this in the

chapter dedicated to discussion.

3.3 Indian Labour Market and Labour Market in Mumbai

India having such a large workforce (labour force), it becomes difficult to segregate and

do justice to the whole lot of organized and a larger lot of the unorganized sector.

Organized is a term generally used when we refer to enterprises, in which more than 10

employees work together. The problem begins when we define the unorganized sector.

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It is an all encompassing sector and often called the residual of the organized sector. It is

quite a paradox to call the unorganized sector the residual of the organized sector as the

former constitutes 93% of our total workforce, while the latter forms a mere 7%. In order

to demarcate the labour force, T.S. Papola and Mr. K.K. Subramanian (1975),

necessitated the existence of labour market and defined it as:

A system of allocating and pricing the labour services; Its function consists in matching

workers and jobs and fixing the prices of various categories of labour in a manner that

ensures required quantity and quality of labour supply, without, at the same time

adversely affecting the demand of labour.

The term labour market sounds sophisticated and complicated at the same time. But

Dilip Maruti (2002) explains labour market in simple terms. He says that like any other

commodity market, selling and buying labour is labour market. It has all the features of

commodity market - buying and selling of labour, consideration, regulation and

competition between employers and workers. It functions through the interaction of

workers and employers. Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services

(workers), the demanders of labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the

resulting pattern of wages, employment, and income.

The very fact that our labour force is vast, a lot of research is done on the labour market.

L.K. Deshpande conducted a study on Bombay Labour Market in 1979 for World Bank,

with a sample size of 6000 employees and non employees distributed into 5000 regular

employees and 1000 casual workers employed in factory and small establishments in

Mumbai. He theorizes in his study that segmentation of urban market begins in rural

market/areas. He explains that 76 of the sample workers were migrants Due to lack of

sectoral mobility the casual worker continues to be employed at the lowest rung of the

socio-economic ladder in Bombay just as he was in the village. Thus in a sense, the

segmentation of urban market begins in the villages.

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According to a research conducted by the Ambekar Institute of Labour Studies (1996),

the labour market in Mumbai is not well integrated because of various barriers to

mobility. The main source of supply of labour in Mumbai is from Uttar Pradesh, which

forms about 16% of the wage earners. Next in line is the migration from Gujarat which

forms about 9% of the wage earners and the southern region contributes about 10% of the

wage earners. Overall, in Mumbai, the supply of unskilled labour is much more than the

demand.

I feel that for my research, these explanations of the term labour and labour market are

quintessential, as it proves that labour still exists, unlike the common misconception of

disappearance of labour after the closure of textile mills. Newspapers in Mumbai have

shut themselves from the activities and issues of labour, as they feel that the labour class

has disappeared, but they cannot avoid the issues of such a huge population, (Interview

with respondent no. 5)

3.4 Labour beat - A cause of worry globally

The disappearance of labour beat from the English print media in Mumbai is not only an

issue in Mumbai; it is a cause of worry, round the globe. For example, early in the year

2005, Los Angeles Times (LA Times) scrapped its labour beat, which was followed by a

lot of debate (http://takebackthetimes.blogspot.com/2005/12/san-fernando-valley-plant-

closed-nancy.html).

One well known labour correspondent, Nancy Cleeland working for LA Times, no longer

has her beat, as labour beat has disappeared or rather scrapped from LA Times. Nancy

Cleeland, who shared in a Pulitzer Prize (2003) for the series about Wal-Mart, no longer

has her labor beat, and the Times will not have a replacement soon, according to Russ

Stanton, the section editor. In 2003, Cleeland was one of several reporters on a three-part

series about Wal-Mart's labor practices that won the Times a Pulitzer Prize. That, she had

hoped, would convince her editors of the value of covering labor, but in the end it didn't,

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she said. They don't consider themselves hostile to working class concerns, but they're

all making too much money to relate to the problems that working class people are

facing," observed Cleeland (http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews).

There has been a lot of unrest on scrapping the labour beat and it is explicit from

whatever is being said about it by experienced journalists. William Serrin, a former labor

reporter at The New York Times, argues that most editors dont know or care about labor

reporting. It was just something you had to have in the paper, like obituaries. Even

when labor is covered, unions defending worker rights is called troublemaking, while

the media like to tell workers to learn to live with layoffs. There are plenty of interesting

and informative labor stories to cover that would give society a better picture of why

unions are declining in membership and what many union leaders are doing to combat

newly aggressive corporations and industries, but there are few media that want them,

believes Serrin. My research findings also state that the priorities of the media

organisations have changed and today, news pertaining to entertainment gets more value

than hard core issues like unemployment, bonded labour etc.

3.5 Nature of stories that make news

Connie Syomiti Kisuke (2004), in the research cites Hall et al (1978), who

state that the moment of construction of news, involves presenting the news item to an

assumed audience, in terms, which, as far as the presenters of the item can judge, will

make it comprehensible to that audience, thus placing the news within a frame of

meaning familiar to the audience. In the guise of catering to the audiences interest, the

era has become entertainment centric. News is packaged differently and presented.

Now-a-days, for most of the issues, quotes from celebrities are taken, even if they are not

associated with the concerned matter (Interview with respondent no. 6).

Three kinds of factors have been identified as influencing news coverage of events: the

predispositions of news organisations or of particular reporters towards certain kinds of

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events or issues, journalistic norms and standards for assessing the news value of events

and issues and the mundane routines of producing news reports to deadlines (Daniel J.

Myers, Pamela E. Oliver, 1999). There was a time, when before writing a story a

journalist would have a background of the same ready. But today, it has become very

mechanical and every story is treated in isolation without looking into its past.

It is considered that labour related issues dont make news any more, as they do not cater

to the interests of the readers. The issues of the textile workers after the closure of the

textile mills were termed as sad and gloomy stories. A lot of issues have changed.

Now it is all about real estate. But whats the point of writing about real estate?

Everyone knows how much land is being sold, if you see the Times, the kind of stories

that appear on the front page about x amount of land being sold at y and all, these

kinds of stories never existed in those days. A land deal is a land deal; but now the land

deals are news, (Interview with respondent no. 1).

The next chapter gives a detailed description of trade unionism in India, its past and

present. It discusses strike as a form of protest and thereby explains the relation of media

and protests.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 BACKGROUND OF UNIONISM

4.1 Definition of a trade union

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believed that unionized work environments are more productive than comparable non-

unionized environments. Finally, unions are socially beneficial as they represent the

interests of lower income groups and vulnerable sections of society. This argument stands

true for the Indian trade unionism. Trade unionism in India has gone through tumultuous

changes in its manner of functioning. It has been party to the tripartite agreement of

solving problems i.e. trade union, state and the management (till mid 60s).

Till mid 1960s union voice effects were probably larger than monopoly effects, as

both unionization and employment in the organized sector increased significantly.

Unionism has taken different forms during times of industrial segmentation and inflation,

when deceleration had adversely affected the level of employment in the economy (mid

1960s to 1979). It was a period when disputes had increased rapidly and there were

break ups amongst the trade union. Although, it looked like the monopoly of the unions,

the need of the hour was the inception of collective bargaining. As a result of

dissatisfaction with the bargaining weakness of the traditional unions, independent

unions arose to take over the worsening situation (1980-1991). The liberalisation in 1991,

undoubtedly lead to more employment flexibility, greater decentralization in bargaining

structures (especially in public enterprises) and hence less government intervention in the

bargaining process, fewer strikes, and a possible halt to the fragmentation of the union

movement (Debashish Bhattacharjee, 1999). Till the unions were centrally organized,

they dominated the labour market. But with the decentralization of trade unions, their

strength has reduced. The multiplicity of trade unions has led to the complexity of the

problems of the workers. The trade unions need to be integrated for a stronger command

and better functioning.

The organized labour movement will have to come to terms with global competition,

technology, new industrial organization and structural/demographic changes in the

workforce. The earlier, relatively insulated, systems for regulating employment will have

to give way to more market sensitive and flexible systems, ultimately even in the public

sphere. Unions, especially in the service sector, will have to become sensitive to

consumer needs. In the private sector, trade unions have adapted their structures in

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response to the decentralization of industrial relations, but these adjustments are painful

and difficult in the public sector. There is no other way but to increase membership,

which means organizing vulnerable workers in the informal sector. This is the most

obvious way for unions to win broader community support. Finally, trade unions can only

gain by cooperating and working together. Perhaps the new millennium will witness a

series of mergers leading to a united and independent labour movement (Debashish

Bhattacharjee, 1999).

4.3 Trade unionism today (post liberalisation)

Mumbai, once an industrial center and the main employer of textile mills, with the

closure of textile mills, became service oriented. The trade unions in these textile mills

were the pillars of strength for the workforce. The common notion is that with the closure

of mills, the chapter of trade unions is closed. Today, a great deal of talk revolves around

'development of the mill lands' and of Mumbai being converted into another Singapore or

Shanghai. While these proposals promise benefits to industrialists, financiers, builders,

property developers; the mill workers and other groups of the working poor are left to

fend for themselves. Mumbai is to be converted into a financial hub, a service centre, as I

mentioned earlier, but on the re-employment, re-skilling and housing of the workers there

is a deafening silence. The sale of the mill lands is given more importance than the

repercussions of the closure of mills on the lives of the workers, (Interview with

respondent no. 10)

But, the trade unions have an altogether different meaning in todays parlance. Trade

unions have become synonymous to aggression, especially after the strike by the workers

of the Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Private Limited, Gurgaon and the

subsequent lathi* charge by the police, on 25th July 2005, which made a lot of news.

The incident wasnt a sudden upsurge, tension had been brewing for the past six months

over complaints of ill-treatment of workers, including women, and increased workload.

The workers were keen to form a union and they had applied for registration with the

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government. The registration process was almost through and the workers' decision to

form the union met with tremendous resistance from the industry associations and the

Honda management. In April, four workers were dismissed from service without notice.

Following which, in May, the management suspended 13 workers and 37 more a few

weeks later. The dismissals, which were by all counts illegal, were seen as part of a

concerted design to break the unity of the workers. But the management's efforts failed.

On June 27th, they were told that they would be allowed to enter the factory only if they

signed an undertaking for "good conduct". The majority of the workers resisted the

management's move. According to the management, the workers were on strike, but the

workers claimed that it was an illegal lockout. On negotiations, the management, on July

17th put out a notice stating that it would take back workers in batches of 400. But on

July 18 the number was scaled down to 100. The changing intentions of the management,

led to frustration among the workers and thereby it resulted in violence, on the 26 th of

July. The brewing conflict was never reported by media, though it was spread over a

period of six long months. Any problem or conflict should be detected or discovered,

before it becomes a big issue. If journalists are not able to unearth such rifts, what kind of

journalism are they doing? Otherwise, journalism will be boiled down to mere reporting

of events without any prior study or research, (Interview with respondent no. 4)

* lathi means a stick in Hindi

4.4 Strike and Lockouts

Protests never arise in a vacuum; they are a response to other events

or problems (Pamela E. Oliver). Strike is a one form of protest. Strike is the mass

refusal by employees to performworkdue to certain grievances. If an agreement could

not be reached, workers could strike, or refuse to work until certain demands were met.

The counterpart to a strike is alockout, in which an employer refuses to allow employees

to work (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/strikes-lockouts). For a common man, a strike by

trade unions (especially after the Bombay textile strike) might seem like a common

occurrence, but it is an interesting fact that although, strikes in a factory or in an industry

seems very frequent, the truth is that lock outs are actually more in number. A study by

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Ruddar Datt (1992), on the Lockouts, Closure and the role of the State, proves that the

number of man days lost due to lockouts is much more than those lost due to strikes.

According to the study, lockouts account for nearly 60% of the industrial man days lost

in India, reversing the earlier trend. It was before Emergency that the labour strength

was more than the employers, which was showcased by the continuous number of strikes.

But post the Emergency period, the voices of the working class was muzzled out and

employers militancy overpowered the labour strength. It can be appropriately described

that lockouts are much severe in intensity and is an instrument of punishment/repression

of the working class. It is derived that lockout is a private sector phenomenon.

Awareness about this aspect of lockouts being more than strikes is not known to all. This

happens due to lesser attention given to labour issues by media. There are several factors

that are taken into consideration before the management decides for a lockout and in the

process most of the situations are deliberate. In any kind of strike or lockout, apart from

the union, management and the state (optional), media plays a very important role.

Media is an integral part of this dispute.

4.5 Media coverage given to strikes

As I mentioned above, trade unionism today has become synonymous to strikes and

violence over a period of time, as it is largely strikes and violence that get highlighted by

the media. Events generally have to receive media coverage to be

significant, but those that receive coverage are a subset of the larger

set of potentially-significant events, events that could have political

influence if people knew about them. Pamela E. Oliver in her study states that

the "selection bias" of the media is the process whereby potentially-

significant events are excluded from media coverage. Characteristics

of an event or issue affect the likelihood that the media will cover it,

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including especially its size, other factors affecting its

"newsworthiness," and its fit with news routines and beats. At least

one factor affecting media attention to an issue is newsworthy protests

and demonstrations about the issue.

Pamela Oliver in her research The Content and Timing of Media

Coverage of Message Events: Cycles and Comparisons mentions that

most research and theory in social movements are implicitly based on

a very neat image of the relation between protesters, police, and

media: protesters plan and carry out a protest event, police are caught

by surprise by the event and attack or arrest protesters, and media

report what happened in the confrontation. But this neat image is more

wrong than right for the 1990s. Protesters, police, and reporters are

more like members of an improvisational troupe: the script isn't fixed,

but the players have worked together before, follow general

guidelines, and can predict each other's actions. A protest event is

thereby covered.

Iyengar (1991) distinguishes thematic accounts which locate protestevents in a larger context from episodic accounts which focus on the

particular event in question, generally criticizing the mass media for

too much episodic reporting and too little thematic reporting.

Newspapers now-a-days cover events in isolation. A thematic form of

reporting would enable a newspaper to put forth all perspectives of an

issue and also conduct an in depth research of the conflict. If thematic

reporting were applied by newspapers, then the brewing conflict in the

Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Private Limited, Gurgaon, would have been

brought to the fore and the violence would not have been a stand alone. Journalists today

are a comfortable class, who would not want to put in efforts to understand the core issue.

They lack interest in labour issues, which back then (in 80s) were not the case

(Interview with respondent no. 9)).

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The results of "selection bias" analyses in Pamela Olivers research

found that events are more likely to receive media attention when they

are larger; make claims, and involve conflict; are sponsored by

business interests, nonprofit institutions, or event-specific groups; are

not sponsored by religious groups; have local ties; involve vehicles;

attract unexpected police action; occur at the Capitol or the University;

occur when there are fewer other events occurring; and occur on some

days of the week rather than others. This selection bias is the factor

which determines the coverage of an event. If a newspaper

organisation thinks the news is newsworthy, then it gets covered. The

decisions are based on individuals reasoning.

McCarthy, et al. (1996), in line with Snyder and Kelly (1997), found clear evidence of

selection bias, and concluded that event size was the most important factor in determining

if events got covered. This also includes the number of people involved in the event or

protest. If they constitute a large number, then it gets the desired coverage. Many of the

reports (that I got during my data collection) show that many small strikes were written

about. The space allotted for those reports were (many a times) barely one column, butthe fact is that it was reported. But today, the perspectives have changed and so has the

social milieu.

Now if a demonstration is held, the number of people present in the demonstration

would matter more than the issue for which they are present, (Interview with

respondent no. 9). The respondent says that irrespective of the gravity of the issue, the

newspapers would still look at the numbers. He mentioned an incident where he says,

I once informed my editor, about a demonstration being conducted at a particular place,

but he told me that the number of people participating in the demonstration was too few

and therefore, it does not make a good story.

4.6 Unionism in Media

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Unionism is a part and parcel of every sector, but the acceptance of such a union is the

matter of concern. An individual cannot fight a system. One needs an institution to fight a

system; one needs a system to fight a system. And trade unions are precisely needed for

the same. In my research, I am talking about the disappearance of labour as a beat from

the English print media in Mumbai. To understand the reasons for the lessening coverage

of labour movement and trade unionism, I felt it was important to study the unionism in

media. Journalists have their own unions like the Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists

(BUJ), Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), National Union of Journalists

(NUJ), etc. The NUJ is essentially and primarily a trade union federation formed to

improve or restructure the economic conditions of journalists by securing for them decent

levels of wages and allowances, and equitable share in the prosperity of the newspaper

industry, better working conditions and rights under the various labour and trade union

laws. But like any other trade union, the union of journalists has also undergone a

tumultuous change.

At one point of time (in the 80s) the membership with the BUJ was very high (nearly

1000 members). The problems of the journalists were taken up by the union and placed

before the management. Their issues were solved by the union. The journalists had a lot

of problem with the management in terms of wages, working condition etc (Interviewwith respondent no. 8). As they often addressed (by resorting to unions) issues of a

similar nature like those addressed by workers in textile mills or any other sector,

journalists empathized with their problems and wrote about them too. But post

liberalisation, the environment changed; the membership (in BUJ) started declining

gradually. The governments provision for salary could not keep pace with the media

industry and the wage board already appointed was over thrown by contract system. The

contract system got was readily accepted by the journalists as they too prefer a higher pay

package. As they are literally paid three times the amount they were paid at one point of

time, they choose to remain silent not only on the issues within their organisations, but

also about the outside world.

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Journalists were employed on a contractual basis, and over a period of time, journalists

stopped associating themselves with the unions. The membership with BUJ dropped to

about 150 members or so (Interview with respondent no 4). This detachment between

unionism and media was reflected in the newspapers as there was a gradual decline in

coverage of labour-management related issues or any labour conflict. This was one of the

reasons for the disappearance of the labour beat from Mumbai print media. As the

journalists today, do not comprehend unionism, they do not relate to the issues of unions

in other sector. Today, unionism has been replaced by individualism, in newspaper

organisations.

"The death of unionism has led to the birth of professionalism in journalism, (Interview

with respondent no 8). To engage younger readers with growing money power, TOI

pumped lifestyle, fashion, films, sports and local news items into its news pages; these

were written, generally, in the vocabulary of corporate India and Indipop. This culture

was slowly adopted by most of the print media in Mumbai, in the guise of keeping up to

the reputation of corporate India.

CHAPTER FIVE

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5.0 BACKGROUND OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY

5.1 Textile industry in India

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Bombay Textile Industry is the history of

the Mill Industry in India

-- Hubert Van Wersch (1992)

In my research, I have taken Bombay textile strike as my benchmark, in terms of

coverage given by the English print media in Mumbai, in order to analyse the change in

the nature of coverage thereafter. Bombay textile strike represents the history of labour

movement in Mumbai and therefore becomes a crucial and the best representation of

labour in my study.

Mill-made cotton textiles were Indias first modern industry, and this industry was what

transformed Bombay from a sleepy colonial backwater to a robust industrial and trade

centre, the motor of urban and regional growth until the 1950s, and a magnet for the

masses of the subcontinent. In the twenties and thirties, Bombays cotton market was one

of the largest in the world, comparable only to Liverpool and New York. Bombay was

once upon a time called, Indias Manchester. India was the second largest producer of

textiles globally, and ranked third amongst exporters of textiles. Even post liberalisation

(mid - nineties), the production of textiles was Indias largest industry, after agriculture,

accounting for about a fifth of total industrial production in the country. Supplying both

the domestic and international markets, it was by far the largest earner of foreign

exchange for the Indian economy, estimated at roughly 9 billion dollars. In the global

market, India claims 3% of total world trade in textiles (Shekhar Krishnan, 2000)

The textile industry in India covers a wide gamut of activities ranging from production of

raw material like cotton, jute, silk and wool to providing high value-added products such

as fabrics and garments to consumers. The textile industry plays a significant role in

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Indian economy by providing direct employment to an estimated 35 million people (in

2001-2002), by contributing 4 per cent of GDP and accounting for 35 per cent of gross

export earnings. The textile sector contributes 14 per cent of the value-addition in the

manufacturing sector (http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/feb/11bspec.htm).

Darryl DMonte (2002) says, it can therefore be said that the belief that textiles were the

backbone of Indian industry persists. He quotes Jawaharlal Nehru: The history of cotton

and of textiles is not only the history of the growth of modern industry in India, but in a

sense it might be considered the history of India.

Although, the textile industry in India is one of the largest industries, the Bombay textile

strike in 1982-83 brought everything to a standstill in the 80s. Even now over two

decades after the strike, the city is still recuperating from its loss.

5.2 Bombay Textile Strike (1982-1983)

It is a matter of fact that all labour struggles are usually the result of conditions

prevailing long before the actual stoppage of work, outbreak of a strike or any other

demonstration of dissatisfaction of workers with the circumstances under which they

have to toil and the Bombay textile strike is an excellent example of that (Hubert Van

Wersch, 1992). In its relative failure, as it would have been in its success, the Bombay

textile strike of 1982-83 had proved to be a watershed in the history of Indian labour. In

almost two years long struggle, the textile workers in Bombay threatened to break down a

carefully designed structure that straitjacketed them for over three decades. If the success

of the strike would have heralded a new era in the history of Indian labour, its failure

facilitated the spatial remaking of the city and its cultural transformation. The struggling

workers of Bombay also understood to their dismay that how the ruling classes and

industrial capital could unite to act against the economic rationality, as understood by the

working class. Undoubtedly, the issues that the strike raised were not only numerous but

also extremely complex for the historic interpretations (Hemant Babu, 2000).

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The outbreak of the textile strike was no mere accident or a simple case of inter-union

rivalry but the result of accumulated frustrations among the textile workers built up over

the years about wages, labour conditions and the performance of the Rashitriya Mill

Mazdoor Sangh (RMMS) (Hubert Van Wersch, 1992).

The Bombay textile strike lasted for a very long time, starting from 1982-83. It wouldnt

be wrong to say that the Bombay textile strike has still not ended (Interview with

respondent no. 3). The strike was officially never called off, so technically it is still going

on, in spite of the closure of the mills.

The workers today still bear the consequences of the Bombay textile strike. But contrary

to what is commonly believed, the great majority of the workers did not expect the strike

to last long and neither did the mill owners or the government anticipate its amazing

duration. Against the workers firm conviction that the employers would have to given in

soon, stood the employers belief that the strike was bound to collapse before long. Both

sides were proved wrong. The weapon of the indefinite strike proved to be a double

edged blade without a handle; the risks for those who wished to use it appeared to be no

less than for those against whom the weapon was used (Hubert Van Wersch, 1992).

5.3 History of the strike

Hubert Van Wersch (2000), in his research has looked into the details of the Bombay

textile strike and with the help of in depth interviews with trade union leaders,

representatives of the management and by using the reference material from different

trade unions, has tracked the history of the strike:

Before the strike, the textile mill sector faced threat from

1. internal market (as power loom sector claimed a larger share of the market)

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2. international market (as Pakistan and China had a larger market share of textile

production and Indias export declined)

3. poor capacity utilization

4. presence of obsolete machinery (which was due to government policy and the

neglect of the mill owners)

All this accumulated threat and causes like discontent among workers concerning the

activities of the RMMS the sole representative of the textile workers under the Bombay

Industrial Relations (BIR) Act 1946, led to the outburst in the form of strike. The

favouritism practiced by the Sangh, in the times of recruitment and getting work done, in

return of a share in gratuity (from the workers) and offering meager interest rates (for

grant of loans) of about 7% - 8% to the supporters of RMMS and charging exorbitant

rates to workers, were the reasons that the workers disliked the union to the core and

wanted it to be scrapped. The strike which was thereby led by Datta Samant was fought

for years together, before, it became history.

The term biggest strike is somewhat obscure as criteria of scale and duration are being

mixed up. Although, it is not difficult to find examples of strikes lasting longer than the

officially acknowledged 18.5 months that the textile strike lasted or involving more

people than the roughly 2.5 lakhs textile workers, it will be very hard to find examples

matching both these records simultaneously. There may not be another example even in

world history (Hubert Van Wersch, 1992).

5.4 Effect of the strike

As every action has an equal and opposite reaction, similarly, the Bombay textile strike

has its own repercussions, which once again is a history in itself. A research was

conducted by The Ambekar Institute of Labour Studies, to understand the impact of the

strike on the workers with respect to the workers earnings, social security, social and

community life. It was found that strike is not just an economic struggle but a

sociological phenomenon, expressing the aims and aspirations, fears and suspicion,

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tensions and frustrations of workers. With opportunistic trade unionists, complacent

employers and an indifferent government, the Bombay textile strike not only lost a battle,

but also extinguished the spirit of the workers for a long time to come.

5.5 Media coverage given to the strike

Bombay textile strike symbolizes the labour movement in Mumbai. Reports analyzing

various dimensions of the strike were printed. Both the management and the labour side

of the story were given. But with the impact of the textile strike fading away, media

appeared to lose interest in both, the strike and the overall issues of labour. This coverage

kept declining with every passing year and that labour issues beat in newspapers

vanished. Hubert Van Wersch (2000) in his research, Bombay Textile Strike 1982-83

Workers Views and Strategies, has elaborately mentioned the role of press (print media).

In his study, Wersch, analysed two English newspapers, The Times of India and The

Indian Express (chosen on the basis of highest circulation) and two Marathi newspapers,

Navakaal (newspaper largely read by workers) and Shramik Vichar (greatest influence on

the workers), for over a period of one and a half years (18/1/82 - 2/8/83). During this

period, only reports in which strike was mentioned explicitly were taken into

consideration, others were excluded. His findings were that during the mentioned period

were as follows:

Publication Total no. of reports

The Times of India 240 (82)

The Indian Express 400 (83)

Navakaal 100 (98)

Shramik Vichar 207 (125)

*Figures in brackets indicate front page reports

After analyzing the reports on qualitative terms, Wersch (2000) pointed out that:

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1. Although, the number of articles in the English newspapers was more than those

in the Marathi newspapers, the coverage and reportage in the latter was better in

quality.

2. He felt that the press did not give much attention to the historical strike.

3. The pattern followed by newspapers was simple and it did not allow a

comprehensive view of the situation.

4. The news published was fragmentary in nature and it was often biased in terms of

sources.

5. He discovered that the reports published in The Times of India lacked interest in

the workers perspective and issues. It merely reported the happenings and many

a times took the managements side, without showcasing the other side of the

coin.

6. He realized that there were no dedicated journalists to follow the developments in

the strike.

Werschs (2000) analysis of the role of press also unearthed an interesting aspect about

the print media. During the strike, the mill owners used columns to carry out propaganda

or threaten the workers to resume duty. This could be done by the mill owners as they

could afford it, unlike the workers. The press let itself, to be used under these

circumstances. In an advertisement taking half a page in The Times of India (24/12/81)

was used by the Members of Association (MOA), to explain in detail what according to

the organisation caused the present trouble. All this surely influenced the reader and shut

him off from the complete reality. The press published letters written from one

organisation to another, threatening notices meant for the workers and also an appeal

made to the families of the workers, inducing them to send the worker back to work (The

Times of India, 8/11/82). It was in this manner that the press was used and abused. But

this research considered only a span of one year to study the coverage given to the

famous strike, due to time constraints.

The role of press in any case is inevitable. Wersch (2000), in his research has discussed

both about the English and regional press. The fact that he found 240 reports in TOI over

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a period of one year shows that the strike was given a lot of coverage. Journalists were

assigned to write specifically about the strike and on its developments. They covered it as

a beat in the 80s (Interview with respondent no. 1).

Wersch (2000) analysed newspapers for about one and half years, as he wanted to find

out the role of the press. In my research, as I am trying to find out the reasons for the

disappearance of the labour beat from Mumbai print (English) media, I have chosen to go

through newspapers of 20 years, in order to analyse the trend of reporting and reach

conclusions.

Werschs (2000) role of press, in his research, forms a good basis for my research as I am

looking at existence of labour beat in print media in todays scenario. I am not carrying

forward his research, but referring to his analysis for my research.

CHAPTER SIX

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6.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the methodology used to carry out the study. It discusses the

research designs, data collection methods and elaborates on the interviews. This chapter

also discusses the problems I encountered while conducting this research and how I

attempted to over come them.

6.2 Research question

Has labour as a beat disappeared from the print media in Mumbai?

The objective of my research is to find out if the labour beat still exists in the English

print media in Mumbai. If the beat has disappeared, then I seek answers for the same with

the help of in-depth, semi structured interviews with journalists (who were on the

labour beat). In my research, the textile workers represent the term labour. My study is

with reference to the Bombay textile strike, as it represents the peak of labour movement

in Mumbai. So, I analyse the coverage given by English print media in Mumbai to the

textile mills, its workers and the issues revolving the closure of the mills and trace the

change in the nature of coverage over a period of 20 years.

6.3 Research Design

In designing this study, I first had to choose an English newspaper, which would be a

representative for the English print media, in order to analyse the coverage given by it to

labour related issues in Mumbai. If any one organisation epitomised, encapsulated and

led the changes in the media (especially in English but also in the other Indian

languages), it was Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL), Indias largest media

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house, whose revenue was estimated in 2001 at Rs15 billion. Its flagship paper, The

Times of India, founded in 1838 and once known as The Old Lady of Boribunder,

reinvented itself in the 1990s as a rather skittish young woman (Smita Gupta, 2005).

I thereby chose TOI, as it is the highest selling newspaper in Mumbai. It has a Mumbai

edition and most importantly, the widest circulation and readership (among the other

English publications).

Connie Syomiti Kisuke (2004) and Agaba (2004) have used similar

research methodology in their studies. Referring to their

methodologies, I selected research methods that I considered

appropriate for my study, and that would yield optimum answers to my

research question. In this research, I combined qualitative and

quantitative methods of research. In line with what Deacon et al

(1999:3) propose, I mixed the study methods in an effort to generate

data that could answer the questions I have about the labour beat in

English print media in Mumbai.. In other words, I wanted my data to

answer the hows and whys of the process of disappearance of the

labour beat from the English print media in Mumbai.

6.4 Data Collection

From the quantitative research methodology tradition, I used content

analysis. Agaba (2004) in the research cites Wimmer and Dominick

(1994) who add that content analysis helps researchers to study

patterns or trends in media portrayals and test hypothesis about

policies or aims of media producers. It is also useful in studies that

compare media content with the real world, assess the representation

of particular groups in society or draw inferences about media effects.

In my study, I focused upon factors related to two features of print media coverage

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volume and prominence. Volume entails the amount of newspaper space devoted to

covering an event. Prominence entails the use of newspaper space in ways that facilitates

a reader in locating events related to text and images.

I started analyzing TOI from 1982, as it was the year when the Bombay textile strike

happened and this strike symbolizes the labour movement in Mumbai. As my research

looks specifically at the coverage given to labour issues in Mumbai, I have taken the

coverage given to the Bombay textile strike (by TOI) as a benchmark for my study. I also

chose to analyse TOI over a period of 20 years, as, in order to identify any trend in

reporting, I need a considerably long time span. First, in my research I am talking of the

disappearance of labour beat from Mumbai print media, thus I have to spread my analysis

over a substantial amount of time. Starting from 1982 (keeping the coverage given to

Bombay textile strike as a benchmark), I look at the change in coverage till 2002. For

better analysis, Ive divided my data collection into two parts, each depicting one decade;

the 80s and the 90s. I did so, as I wanted to analyse the changes brought about by

liberalisation/globalisation in the reporting patterns vis--vis labour coverage. Therefore,

I divided the data in two sections - Pre Liberalisation (1982-1991) and Post Liberalisation

(1992-2002).

I analysed the reports that were found over a period of 20 years on the basis of the

following parameters:

1. Page Number

2. Fold of the newspaper

3. Side of the newspaper

4. Report Spacing (columns)

5. Report Spacing (centimeters)

I rated each parameter on a scale of five, making it a total of 25. Therefore, every report

is rated on a scale of 25.

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Note: In my research, I divided my data into two decades, wherein the layout differed

with every decade. In the 80s (till the early 90s) the layout was vertical in nature. All

the reports were placed in a vertical format, where it was easy to divide the page into two

halves, above and bottom and further divide it in to sides as left and right. Till

early 90s the Times of India had eight columns, which was made seven by the 90s, as

the layout of the newspaper changed to a modular format. In the modular layout, apart

from there being a clear demarcation between above the fold and below the fold, there

is a change in the left and right side divide (due to the seven column format). Due to this

change in newspaper layout, I framed a rating scale, which would cater to the needs of

both, the vertical and modular format. And also, since I did not find a research which

would give me a readymade scale to rate the reports, I formed one keeping in mind the

change in newspaper layout. I therefore prepared the scale based on the advertising

standards that are applied to a newspaper.

6.4.1 Parameters used to analyse data

The following explanation elaborately specifies the ratings of every parameter:

1. Page Number:

(i) Page no. 1 - 5

(ii) Page nos. 2 to 7 - 4

(iii) Page nos. 8 to 14 - 3

(iv) Page nos. 15 to 20 - 2

(v) Any page > 20 - 1

Explanation:

In any newspaper, the page on which a report appears plays a very essential role as it

signifies the importance of the report.

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(i) Any report which appears on the first page of the newspaper is the most

important and is therefore rated 5, the highest on the scale of five.

(ii) Pages from 2 to 7 are dedicated to city news and therefore a report on Bombay

textile strike appearing in any of these pages falls next in line in terms of

importance. It is therefore rated 4.

(iii) Pages from 8 to 14 form the national news. So report placed on one of these

pages loses its importance and it therefore gets one point less than the city

news. It gets 3 on a scale of five.

(iv) Page from 15 to 20 consists of world news and if a report finds its mention in

these pages, the value of the report reduces in comparison to the other reports

from across the globe. Thus, it gets 2 on a scale of five.

(v) After page no. 20, business and sports sections begin, because of which any

labour related event if reported there, would have no value of its own. The

report would be completely misplaced and thereby be rated 1, lowest on a

scale of five.

2. Fold of the newspaper

(i) Above the fold - 5

(ii) Anchor story - 4

(iii) On fold with report above fold - 3

(iv) On fold with heading above fold - 2

(v) Below fold - 1

Explanation:

Reports in a newspaper are placed on the basis of the fold of the paper. Newspaper is

divided into three sections namely the upper part of the fold, the lower part of the fold

and the part on the fold. All these divisions are on the basis of the way a reader reads

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newspaper. Important reports are placed accordingly. Based on further specifications,

this parameter of fold is rated on a scale of five with the following value labels.

(i) The part which lies above the fold of a newspaper is the most important in

terms of placement of a report, as it is this part, which gets the first glance by

a reader. The Headlines of a newspaper is what grabs the attention of the

reader and hence the most important report is placed on this portion of the

page. Therefore any report appearing above the fold is rated 5.

(ii) After the stories on the upper part of the paper, the next important report

would be the one which forms the anchor story. Although, an anchor story lies

below the fold, its placement holds special importance. Therefore a report on

Bombay textile strike as an anchor story is rated 4 on a scale of 5.

(iii) Once the above mentioned placements are rated, the middle part of the

newspaper becomes the focus. Reports, with both the headline and the report

above the fold and a part of the report running below the fold (thereby making

it on the fold), is rated 3 on a scale of 5. This kind of a placement is as good

asha dissertation

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