Raman Garase, one of the manual labourers employed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, died by suicide, yesterday, Wednesday, May 1, as reported by the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), IIT Bombay.
Garase, who worked as a gardener for 39 years at the institution, took his life last night after a long weary battle against the institute. Tragically, this happened on Internal Labour Day, a day that honours the history and struggles of different labour movements across the globe.
The organisation posted the news on its Instagram handle (@appsc.iitb), today, May 2, providing further details on the incident.
Garase's fight after retirement
According to the post, Raman and two other workers at the institution had retired on December 31, 2019, and were struggling to acquire the post-retirement gratuity benefits from the IIT administration. Despite several follow-ups and pleas to the administration, they were not paid their dues.
Later, they were forced to move to a labour court to seek their deserved payment and won the case. The victory had assured them that they would be paid the gratuity amount and in addition to it, a ten per cent interest on the amount compensating the delay in payment.
Despite winning the case, the IIT administration claimed that the workers were employed on a temporary basis and, hence, were not liable to receive the post-retirement funds.
EdexLive spoke to a student and a member of APPSC from IIT Bombay who, on the condition of anonymity, informed that Raman has been working with the institution since 1981. He was called only for an interview then, and had not received a formal letter. According to the student, Raman and other workers were promised permanent roles and other benefits that came with it, but this never materialised.
Later, Raman and other workers, who had long let go of the dream of becoming permanent employees, took their demands to the university on January 3, 2020, seeking financial security for the future, but the IIT failed to respond.
An unfulfilled dream
The case continued, as the IIT appealed against the court's decision. The workers won the legal battle in April 2024 again. However, upon learning that IIT was planning to appeal against the high court's judgement one more time, Garase sought another way.
According to the post, a legal procedure would have meant the process would go on for another three to four years, prolonging the legal battle that had forced Garase to resort to this step.
Son questions "temporary" job of 39 years
According to Raman Garase's son, his father was dedicated to the institute. He said, "The sahebs would call him even at midnight if a tree branch had fallen on the road, and he would never complain about it."
But, he expresses his woe by saying that despite his dedication and deference to the university, it did not care about giving him his labour right of gratuity benefits, but when he decided to fight against a greater power, it took away his years of service with all its might.
Raman could not take the toll
Shedding light on the sad plight of the workers, the post mentioned that such "renowned" institutions drag these small workers into long, unending legal proceedings by repetitively appealing against the small victories of these everyday labourers.
"Raman experienced a huge mental, physical, and financial toll fighting this legal battle, but he refused to back down. Whereas for a mighty institution like IIT, this battle probably just meant a minor monetary expense, which would hardly count in its huge budget," read the report.
IIT owed an amount of Rs 4,28,805 to Raman. It also received an amount of Rs 315 crore as a donation from its alumnus, and Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani, and an anonymous donation of Rs 160 crore in the year 2023.
The post goes on to state that despite these institutions being public-funded, utilising the money of the taxpayers yet refusing to pay its labourers is an outright misuse. It additionally highlights the power imbalance and its misuse when it denies such workers their basic rights.
To restore the rights of the individuals
The student informed EdexLive that it has not yet received any news from the IIT administration but a condolence meeting with students, professors, and workers will be organised tomorrow, May 3, on the campus.
They would raise demands to release the remaining gratuity amount for the rest of the workers. They would also demand that the administration constitute appropriate policies for other contractual workers to ensure that their future is secure.
