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YOU HAVE NOT REALISED WHAT TREMENDOUS POWER YOU HAVE
“Stringent criticism of the manner in which some of the labour unions in the city were conducted was made by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in the course of his Presidential remarks at the annual general meeting of the Bombay Municipal Kamgar Union held on 13th July 1941 in the Cowasji Jahangir Hall, Bombay where over a thousand men and women of the Health, Drainage and other sanitary department of the municipality had gathered and were told how they could get everything they wanted by the mere force of organised unity and without overmuch sacrifice.
The leaders of some of the union in the city, specially the textile unions had led their men into a number of strikes during the last 14 years, said Dr. Ambedkar, but not in one of them had they succeeded in getting any of their demands. In fact these strikes had only resulted, because of unemployment during strike periods and retrenchments and dismissals following strikes, in adding to the woes and miseries of the workers.
Such activities, far from organising the workers had only resulted in disorganising them and disintegrating their unions.
On the other hand the Municipal Workers Union had succeeded in getting many of the grievances redressed by negotiations with the authorities.
“You do not seem to realise the tremendous power you have in your hand”, obeserved the Harijan leader. “You can, simply by refusing to work, spread more havoc and disaster in a week than the Hindu-Muslim riots should do in three months. The authorities know this and will therefore yield to your united demands more easily than elsewhere. I have of course no desire to spread such a havoc in the city and will do everything possible to avoid it as long as the authorities