Strike comes to haunt Bangalore Derby
The Bangalore Turf Club was unable to resolve the situation arising out of the strike by syces and had to postpone the Derby weekend races to next Saturday and Sunday, putting scores of racing enthusiasts and those involved with it directly and directly to great inconvenience.
A pro-active stance by Bangalore Turf Club after the strike notice was slapped on them by the Syces Union last week could have saved the situation. It is futile to except the Trainers Association at act responsibly when they haven’t done so all these years. The onus was on BTC to settle the matter long back instead of allowing the problem to get big and disrupt its activity periodically. The syces are justified in demanding better facilities and introduction of statutory provisions like Provident Fund etc. though their holding racing ransom did not go well with the racing enthusiasts. But then when the trainers and owners association have periodically disrupted racing which also resulted in cancellation of a winter Derby, syces can only be expected to take the cue from them.
The syces union has been frustrated in getting a fair deal to the people who are crucial to the running of the sport. Syces are employed by trainers to carry on their activities and the onus thus is on them on adhering to the statutory requirements. The trainers association has steadfastly avoided paying Provident Fund so much so that it has acquired dangerous proportion. The trainers association also got a ruling from the Provident Commissioner that trainers are agents without clarifying what they meant by their definition though the word can carry negative connotations. The turf club on its part has got a ruling from the Central Provident Fund Tribunal that the club are not the employers of the syces. The BTC has to be faulted on the count that since trainers are licensed by them, they had a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that all activities in their premises conformed to legal scrutiny. The turf club has time and again tried to force the issue on the trainers but each they compromised because of the agitational path taken by the license holders.
This time the provocation for the strike was the non-payment of uniform allowance and good conduct bonus. The turf club was not willing to negotiate with the syces union as they insisted that the issue was between syces and trainers. Since the club was hosting a mega event which had attracted national and international attention for the scale of stake money offered, they should have been concerned about the damage that would cause to the sport in the event of cancellation or postponement of the races. But then with cancellation of races each season being the norm, the damage to the image has been of least concern for the club.
At the end of the day there was a ray of hope as the club authorities met syces union president Krishnachar and convinced him to call off the strike as the disputes raised by the union were pending in the court and it was imperative to let the courts decide. However, syces whose expectations had gone up by that time were unrelenting and came up with fresh demand of immediate sanction of Rs 10,000. One was not sure why this money was demanded.
The turf club authorities announced late in the evening that they were postponing both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races to next week. The turf club chairman Kumaraswamy said that the club offered police protection if the trainers were willing to race but they apparently backed out after agreeing to the proposal initially. The authorities are confident that the matter will be resolved in the next few days though at this juncture, it can only be hope and optimism.
There is bound to be hectic activity to resolve the issue over the next few days. The club and the professionals may succeed but the damage to the image is something that cannot be undone. Measures should be taken to end this menace once for all even if it means taking tough measures in the long term interest of the sport. But the syces must get there due.
A pro-active stance by Bangalore Turf Club after the strike notice was slapped on them by the Syces Union last week could have saved the situation. It is futile to except the Trainers Association at act responsibly when they haven’t done so all these years. The onus was on BTC to settle the matter long back instead of allowing the problem to get big and disrupt its activity periodically. The syces are justified in demanding better facilities and introduction of statutory provisions like Provident Fund etc. though their holding racing ransom did not go well with the racing enthusiasts. But then when the trainers and owners association have periodically disrupted racing which also resulted in cancellation of a winter Derby, syces can only be expected to take the cue from them.
The syces union has been frustrated in getting a fair deal to the people who are crucial to the running of the sport. Syces are employed by trainers to carry on their activities and the onus thus is on them on adhering to the statutory requirements. The trainers association has steadfastly avoided paying Provident Fund so much so that it has acquired dangerous proportion. The trainers association also got a ruling from the Provident Commissioner that trainers are agents without clarifying what they meant by their definition though the word can carry negative connotations. The turf club on its part has got a ruling from the Central Provident Fund Tribunal that the club are not the employers of the syces. The BTC has to be faulted on the count that since trainers are licensed by them, they had a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that all activities in their premises conformed to legal scrutiny. The turf club has time and again tried to force the issue on the trainers but each they compromised because of the agitational path taken by the license holders.
This time the provocation for the strike was the non-payment of uniform allowance and good conduct bonus. The turf club was not willing to negotiate with the syces union as they insisted that the issue was between syces and trainers. Since the club was hosting a mega event which had attracted national and international attention for the scale of stake money offered, they should have been concerned about the damage that would cause to the sport in the event of cancellation or postponement of the races. But then with cancellation of races each season being the norm, the damage to the image has been of least concern for the club.
At the end of the day there was a ray of hope as the club authorities met syces union president Krishnachar and convinced him to call off the strike as the disputes raised by the union were pending in the court and it was imperative to let the courts decide. However, syces whose expectations had gone up by that time were unrelenting and came up with fresh demand of immediate sanction of Rs 10,000. One was not sure why this money was demanded.
The turf club authorities announced late in the evening that they were postponing both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races to next week. The turf club chairman Kumaraswamy said that the club offered police protection if the trainers were willing to race but they apparently backed out after agreeing to the proposal initially. The authorities are confident that the matter will be resolved in the next few days though at this juncture, it can only be hope and optimism.
There is bound to be hectic activity to resolve the issue over the next few days. The club and the professionals may succeed but the damage to the image is something that cannot be undone. Measures should be taken to end this menace once for all even if it means taking tough measures in the long term interest of the sport. But the syces must get there due.
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