‘Wages of neglect’ (May 14) shows that the labour conciliation machinery has failed miserably. That these strikes and lock-outs should come when the industry is showing slight signs of recovery is cause for serious concern. In the case of MRF, the dispute is about disparity in wages between plants at different locations. Running any industry in big towns is not viable and the closure of textiles mills in Mumbai and Ahmedabad attests to this fact. Each region has a certain wage structure and it is unrealistic to seek parity with plants in other locations. Your analysis about wide disparity in wages between regular and contract labour is very pertinent and industrialists should not stretch this to a point where their relations with labour snaps.
M M Gurbaxani, Bangalore
