Workplace Relations in Colonial Bengal : The Jute Industry and Indian Labour 1870s-1930s

This book connects the history of labour movements with the transformation of workplace relations in South Asia from the late 19th century to the 1930s. Contending that labour conflicts in the Bengal jute industry must be understood against the backdrop of a radical change in the organisation of work in this period, Sailer shows how this led to a rupture in worker's relations in the workplace and beyond. Moving away from polarities such as class/culture or modernity/tradition and reconsidering the context around industrial conflicts in this period, __Workplace relations in Colonial Bengal__ offers a new framework to analyse the changing organisation of work in colonial India, and identifies the implications for worker relations both inside and outside the factory. Focusing on a major colonial era industry, this book opens up new perspectives n the history of workers and colonial capitalism in modern India. Cover Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Sets, squads and shifts – the emergence and development of the ‘Multiple-Shift’ system 1.2 Work gangs, sets and multiple-shifts – the introduction of the ‘Multiple-Shift’ system in the 1870s 1.3 The extension of the multiple-shift system in the 1890s and the emergence of the jute belt 1.4 ‘The bogey man of the 60 hours’ – conflicts between managing agencies over the hours of work 1.5 Overlapping- vs single-shifts – conflicts over the problem of labour control, and the advance of the single-shift system 2 Uninterrupted hours of work and frequent breaks – the modalities of shared work and excess-employment at the shop-floor 2.1 The modalities of substitution in the weaving department 2.2 Rhythms of work and labour control in the weaving factory 2.3 ­Rhythms of work and labour control in the spinning mill 2.4 Reconsidering the workplace 3 Defending the spaces and rhythms of the workplace – labour conflicts over the change in shift systems 3.1 How to introduce a new regime of production – outlining the logics of change in the mill 3.2 Abolishing excess-employment: Mass-dismissals, rationalization and the re-shaping of the workforce 3.3 Intervening in workers’ informal rhythms – attempts to suppress practices of sharing work 3.4 Trade union responses 4 ‘Various Paths Are Today Opened’ – working-class politics and the general strike of 1929 4.1 The beginning of the strikes 4.2 The connection of local strikes and conflicts over the meaning of ‘general’ 4.3 The general strike 4.4 The end of the general strike and the return of localized strike movements 5 ‘Fight to finish’ – labour conflicts in the Bengal Jute Belt in the 1930s 5.1 The Great Depression, the abolition of the multiple-shift system, the second end of the general strike 5.2 ‘We are all more or less Socialists now’ – the deepening crisis of the Bengal jute industry in the 1930s 5.3 Revival of labour conflicts in the 1930s 5.4 Regaining control at the site of production 6 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index "This book connects the history of labour movements with the transformation of workplace relations in South Asia from the late nineteenth century to the 1930s. Contending that labour conflicts in the Bengal jute industry must be understood against the backdrop of a radical change in the organisation of work in this period, Sailer shows how this led to a rupture in worker's relations in the workplace and beyond. Moving away from polarities such as class/culture or modernity/tradition and reconsidering the context around industrial conflicts in this period, Workplace relations in Colonial Bengal offers a new framework to analyse the changing organisation of work in colonial India, and identifies the implications for worker relations both inside and outside the factory. Focusing on a major colonial era industry, this book opens up new perspectives n the history of workers and colonial capitalism in modern India"-- Provided by publisher