400 people work here.
People have been outside the factory now for 62 days.
Tanks are built in this factory.
Boilers, heat exchangers, compabloc. These types of things are made here.
We export too. Tata Chemical, Bicon, Rasim, Reliance.
We've put this picture of Gandhi up here because he's a symbol of our ideals.
400 people have started the struggle with a peaceful sit-in.
People work here on a contract and permanent basis.
These contract workers, some of whom have worked here for 20, 25 years,
haven't been thought about by the company at all.
They aren't given access to any facilities.
And the difference in the wages...
There's a big difference in the wages that the company pays.
The contractors take out all their profits and commissions before paying the workers.
The gap between their profits are and what the workers get is a big one.
Wages and contracts are worked out through a system of categorisation.
They provide us with grades: A, B, C grade, skilled, expert, senior expert.
The highest category is senior expert.
Senior experts get 12,000 rupees (£117 or 142 Euro).
The experts get about 8000-9000 rupees, high skilled workers get about 7500-8000.
The rest (A,B,C grade and helpers) get 5000-6000 rupees.
If I was permanent I'd be making about 28,000- 30,000 rupees.
Initially 800 contract workers worked for the company.
The company started letting them go in dribs and drabs until 400 people were gone.
The 400 people left thought that they could carry on and get rid of another 200 people,
we're all vulnerable. We won't know if we'll have a job or not. So we made a union.
Because we realised that anything could happen to us in the future.
So now we're ready, for opposition.
We want permanent status.
There are no facilities for us.
The facilities the company provides for the permanent workers aren't available for us.
Bonuses, we don't get those either.
Canteen, bus, medical...
230 workers are permanent,
60 people on staff, they're also permanent.
Contract workers do at least 80% of the production work for the company.
So these permanent workers, they worked together with you, on a daily basis.
The same work. But these workers don't speak to your now? -No
They just leave the factory and don't say anything to you. -They don't say anything to us.
So this is a really difficult situation. Why is it like that? For what reason?
They just think about themselves! They don't think about us.
What are you all doing to further the struggle?
Lots of people have supported us.
At least 200 people - their big leaders have come to support us.
Workers of tomorrow won't be able to change anything.
The situation as it stands now: we have a case going through the labour courts,
the talks with the company are ongoing...
The biggest difficulty is the fact that we're not getting any wages, nothing.
It's been two months now.
And the company hasn't given us any reply. That's the biggest difficulty.
The best thing is that we're all united.
Like friends. We can share our troubles.
With this type of contract system, the poor remain poor.
And the rich get richer.
So our demand is that, for all the workers, who've given so many years to this company,
who've sweated for the company,
that the company should now give some thought to us, they should make us permanent,
so that our wives and children can remain happy.