The conflict point in India: capitalist companies confront socialist labor laws
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 10:22PM FRONT PAGE: "Deadly Labor Wars Hinder India's Rise," by Peter Wonacott, Wall Street Journal, 20 November 2009.
India's problem, in a nutshell:
Battle lines are being drawn in labor actions across India. Factory managers, amid the global economic downturn, want to pare labor costs and remove defiant workers. Unions are attempting to stop them, with slowdowns and strikes that have led at times to bloodshed.
The disputes are fueled by the discontent of workers, many of whom say they haven't partaken of the past decade's prosperity. Their passions are being whipped up, companies say, by labor leaders who want to add members to their unions and win votes for left-leaning political parties. Adding to the tensions are the country's decades-old labor codes, which workers and companies alike say require an overall.
"We can't be a capitalist country that has socialist labor laws," says Jayan Davar, president of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India.
The unrest serves as a reminder that India has far to go before it stands alongside the world's other economic powerhouses.
But such strife should also serve to remind China how fragile it's own stability is, for all the same reasons plus the added burden of heavy corruption.
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