Infochange India

Mining for change at the Jethwai cooperative

SHARE COMMENTS

By Vikas Yadav

Thanks to the formation of a cooperative, miners in Jethwai village in Rajasthan can now expect a fair wage for the backbreaking work they do. The Mine Labour's Protection Campaign (MLPC), a Jodhpur-based group of activists, has set up 10 such cooperatives throughout the state to improve the lives of Rajasthan's 30-lakh-odd mine workers

Forty-two-year-old Dhudi Devi, a widow living in Jethwai village in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district, earns a meagre Rs 30-40 a day doing backbreaking work. She uses the money to supplement the income of her two sons, to feed the family of 12.

A livelihood crisis precipitated by the failure of agriculture and degradation of pastoral lands, compounded by recurring drought, left the villagers of Jethwai with no option but to work in the private mines. There are 105 mines in Jethwai -- all are leased to private companies. Toiling for 12 to 13 hours a day, in hazardous working conditions, the mine workers are prone to a number of occupational diseases like silicosis, tuberculosis, asbestosis and other respiratory diseases, and physical injuries arising from the lack of safety arrangements. Mining activities have also severely affected the village ecology.

The mine workers have no security in the event of an accident or fatality. Dhudi did not receive any compensation when her husband died. And the easy availability of labour has meant a drop in wages below the statutory level of Rs 70 a day.

Jethwai is flanked on one side by an army firing range and on the other sides by mines. All around the village are blocks of stone and deep pits -- a result of the mining.

Until a few months ago, Dhudi Devi's life was hopeless. But all that could change with the establishment of the Patthar Khan Shramik Theka Sahkari Samiti Limited (PKSTSSL) -- one of India's first mining cooperatives -- in Jethwai.

It took three years for Jethwai to realise its dream of a cooperative. The PKSTSSL was registered in November 2002, guided by the Mine Labour's Protection Campaign (MLPC), a Jodhpur-based group of activists moved by the plight of exploited mine workers. In 1999, the MLPC increased its area of activity to Jaisalmer and, in August 2001, succeeded in registering the Patthar Khan Mazdoor Union. The Union helped the villagers unite and organise to fight exploitation in the private mines. "The Union increased the labourers' bargaining power," says Kishan of the MLPC.

With no money to establish the cooperative and ensure its success, and afraid of losing their jobs in the private mines, the villagers were at first reluctant to get involved. But, says Rana Sen Gupta, campaign manager, MLPC: "The MLPC extended initial monetary help to its members to repay debts."

Worried about the increasing awareness among labourers and about losing profits, the private mine owners used their contacts to delay the allotment of leases to the cooperative. Even the patwari didn't show up for months to measure the allotted land.

After getting two leases of one hectare each, on paying a dead rent of Rs 20,000 per hectare, the cooperative finally began mining in December 2003. Still, the private mine owners managed to pressure local agencies not to hire out cranes to the cooperative. There was no option left but to buy one. So, with Rs 4.5 lakh in the form of a non-interest loan from the MLPC, Rs 2 lakh financed by UCO Bank and Rs 2 lakh of its own the cooperative finally bought a crane in June 2004.

Despite constant pressures from private mine owners the PKSTSSL earns enough profit to pay out Rs 30,000 as monthly instalments to UCO Bank. It is also able to substantially impact the income of its members.

Maasingha Ram Dupaka, a member of the cooperative, is relieved to be finally free from the exploitative clutches of the private mine owners. He now earns Rs 200 a day, twice what he got earlier for the same amount of work. He has managed to pay off his debt of Rs 3,000 to his earlier employer, and his daughter Dhai, who was forced to leave school on account of the family's increasing debt, is back at school. She had to work in the mines for three years. "Working in our own mine, nobody is richer than us. I get timely payment," says an excited Maasingha.

Like Maasingha Ram, 16 other members of the cooperative earn around Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 a month. They used to earn between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2000.

From an annual turnover of Rs 15,000-20,000 crore, from mining in Rajasthan, the government gets a royalty of only Rs 400 crore. The state's 30 lakh mine workers receive Rs 900 crore a year (for an average of 300 days' work a year, at Rs 100 a day). A few thousand mine owners corner the bulk of the profits, amounting to between Rs 13,700 crore and Rs 18,700 crore. There are 361 mines in Jaisalmer -- one of Rajasthan's main mining areas.

The MLPC is striving to balance out this inequality through its cooperatives. In all, 10 cooperatives have been established till October 2004, in Rajasthan.

The Jethwai cooperative pays Rs 2,000-2,500 for a truckload of limestone weighting 15-20 tonnes. One truck produces around Rs 12,000-15,000 worth of limestone in three to four days; the money is equally distributed among the three to four members who quarried for that particular truck. "Since we get tired doing three to four days of exhausting work, we need at least one day's rest. So all members do not work at one time," says Krishna Ram Dupka, the cooperative's mantri.

Seven to eight truckloads of limestone, quarried in a month, earn the Jethwai cooperative around Rs 84,000-Rs 96,000. The government charges a royalty of Rs 65 per tonne. After paying out Rs 50,000-Rs 65,000 to its 17 members, the rest of the money is used to pay the monthly instalment for the crane. The constitution of the Jethwai cooperative provides for the equal distribution of 25% of the accumulated profits among its members annually. The rest is used to further develop the cooperative.

On track to pay up its bank instalments within six months, and the MLPC money in 22 months, the cooperative is well on the path to success. Wage rates range between Rs 50 and Rs 150, as opposed to Rs 30-Rs 100 working in the private mines. "The cooperative is growing fast. We need to protect our market share," says Sandip, a private mine owner. Motivated by the success of the cooperative, Jethwai is eagerly awaiting another lease it applied for in July 2004.

The village is also demanding the rehabilitation of mines and tax rights over mining in the area. Aware of the environmental implications of mining activities, workers at the cooperative have resorted to pit filing and the planting of trees.

And exploring alternative livelihoods is Laxmi Swamsahayata Samhu -- a 20-member-strong women's self help group that trains its members to make detergent, incense sticks, toothpaste and powder, candles and pain relief ointment. The group runs a small shop that provides villagers with all their daily requirements right there in the village.

Jethwai's success has inspired the residents of the neighbouring village of Moolsagar where there are demands for the formation of a similar cooperative, and where a mine labour union is already being formed. If replicated, the Jethwai experiment could change the fate of over 30 lakh mine workers all over the state of Rajasthan.

Contact: Mine Labour's Protection Campaign

(Vikas Yadav is a freelance journalist based in Delhi. He has worked with the environment and development fortnightly Down to Earth)

InfoChange News & Features, February 2005