BEST WISHES 

TO 

ALL MEMBERS AND DAIRY WORKERS 

At the eve of 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

Report of the meeting held between Sri Narayan Biswas, Minister-In-Charge,ARD Dept Govt. of West Bengal AND the representatives of the "West Bengal State Dairy Employees'Federation" on 24th November'2010 at 3 PM at meeting room of Milk Federation office, Salt Lake Kolkata.

Notice

All members are hereby informed that the meeting between Sri Narayan Biswas, Minister-In-Charge, Animal Resource & Dairy Development Department, Govt of West Bengal AND representatives of the "West Bengal State Dairy Employees' Federation" (WBSDEF) is going to be held on 24th November'2010 at 3 PM at the chamber of the chairman of West Bengal Milk Federation (BENMILK), LB-2, Sector-III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata. 

Abhijit Roy (General Secretary)

NOTICE 

The 21th State Working Committee Meeting is scheduled to be held on 18th November'2010 at 2 PM at the Mother Dairy City Office, Salt Lake City, Kolkata - 700098.

All SWC members are requested to attend the meeting as per the schedule. 

                                                                         

C i r c u l a r

This is to inform all State Working Committee Members of the "West Bengal State Dairy Employees' Federation" that Minister-In-Charge, Animal Resources & Dairy Development Dept, Govt of West Bengal & Managing Director West Bengal Milk Federation will meet with the representatives of "WBSDEF" at 1 PM at the Milk Federation office, Salt Lake City,Kolkata. 

This is to further inform that the State Working Committee Meeting of WBSDEF   & PBDSSKU will be held on the same day at the Mother Dairy Office premises at Salt Lake at 11 AM.

Therefore all concern are hereby requested to attend both the above stated meeting as per schedule. 

Inauguration of Organization's Blog-site

On 18th August'2010, Wednesday at 11 am at Mother Dairy City office Com Subodh Ganguly, President "WBSDEF" formally inaugurated the organization's blog-site in presence of State Working Committee Members with great applaud,  joy & enthusiasm.

Com Subodh Ganguly inaugurating organization's blog-site 

After the opening ceremony the SWC Members participated in the 19th SWC Meeting of the organization.

Picture of the members present in the 19th SWC Meeting held on 18/8/10 at Mother Dairy City Office, Salt Lake, Kolkata.

News  Date:  7 August 2010

Extended CC Begins

The Extended Meeting of the Central Committee of CPI(Marxist) began in Vijayawada on August 7, morning with the flag being hoisted by veteran comrade Mallu Swarajyam. After paying homage to martyrs, General Secretary, Prakash Karat inaugurated the session.

Courtesy: Website of CPI(M) http://www.cpim.org/

Mass dismissal of contract workers and political repression at Schreiber-Dynamix Dairies India

News 28-05-2010

When the US-based Schreiber Foods Inc acquired a 51 per cent stake in Dynamix Dairy Industries in 2004, one of India’s most advanced milk processing plants was transformed into a global company.

In addition to Schreiber cheese products, the factory produces branded dairy drinks and other beverages for major global companies such as Nestle, GSK, PepsiCo and Unilever. The factory also supplies cheese to McDonald’s and Pizza Hut throughout India.

Despite cutting edge technology and new investment to produce global brands, each with a separate plant within the Schreiber Dynamix Dairies complex, more than half the workforce was based on contract labour, with 393 contract workers and 384 permanent workers.Of the 128 women workers at the factory 125 were contract workers and only 3 have permanent jobs.

All of the contract workers were hired as "gardening" and "cleaning service" staff, but in fact worked in skilled jobs in production alongside permanent workers, many for 5 to 10 years. They were paid the legal minimum wage of just Rs.110 per day [USD 2.30, EUR 1.90] and were denied any of the benefits that permanent workers enjoyed under the collective agreement negotiated by the union.

The IUF-affiliated Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Employees Union, which represents 350 members, launched a campaign earlier this year to rectify the systematic inequality and discrimination faced by contract workers in what is clearly a very profitable and rapidly expanding business. Prior to this campaign, 100 contract workers, including 49 women workers, joined the union, but because of their precarious employment status are excluded from coverage by the collective agreement.

Shortly after the union posted a notice calling for a general membership meeting on 14 April to discuss the demand to make contract workers permanent and allow them to become members of the bargaining unit, police entered the factory to find the union president, Pandurang Kachare, and warn him against holding the meeting. Despite these warnings the union proceeded with the meeting on 14 April and union members declared their support for contract workers’ right to permanent employment. The following day a mass rally was held to support these demands and management responded on 17 April by ordering that contract workers be prevented from entering the factory, effectively terminating 341 contract workers, including the 100 contract workers who are union members. The company immediately replaced them with 300 new contract workers.

With the support of powerful local politicians, management then launched a series of attacks on the union, including fabricated criminal charges against the union president, accusing him of disturbing law and order.

New charges recently filed also seek to have him permanently banned from the district where the factory is located which means he could be expelled from his home as well as preventing him from fulfilling his role as union president.

In response IUF affiliates in India have mobilized in support of the Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Employees Union and its fight against abusive precarious employment practices. Solidarity rallies will be held across India, including actions by unions in Nestle, Unilever, PepsiCo and GSK Horlicks whose branded products are made at the Schreiber Dynamix factory.

Courtesy: IUF - Uniting Food, Farm and Hotel Workers World-Wide
Website: http://cms.iuf.org/

১৯ তম রাজ্য ওয়ার্কিং কমিটি সভা

Notice

The 19th SWC Meeting is going to be held on 18th August'2010 at 10.30 am at Mother Dairy City Office. All SWC members are hereby by requested  to attend the said meeting as per schedule. In this regard necessary SMS has already been sent to all SWC members. Therefore no personalized letters will not be send to SWC members in lieu of it.

Annual Conference of Kishan CMPU Empl Union

As per the available report the annual conference of the "Kishan Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd Employees' Union" was held on 14th July'2010 at Krishnagore, Nadia. In the conference the most of the members of the earlier executive committee,  including widely respected senior leader Comrade Subodh Ganguly (President of the union) and Comrade Aloke Roy (Secretary of the union), has been replaced by the newly elected executive committee members. This news came as a sudden shock to the vast section of the dairy workers of our state.  

However, the state working committee of WBSDEF congratulates all members including the newly elected body of the concerned trade union for conducting the conference successfully.