श्रमवीर जयते !

Someone has very correctly said that ‘the only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work’ as nothing will work unless we do. Labour – whether it’s mental or physical is superior than any other factors of production. It’s the reason that Abraham Lincoln has said that ‘Labour is the superior of capital, and deserves much higher consideration."

We all know the importance of labour – be it for the upliftment of personal life, organization, Community or the Country. Without labour nothing prospers. It’s because of this reason that International Labour Day, also known as May Day is celebrated annually on 1st May, globally to recognize and honour the achievements and contributions of the working class. It’s in fact  a day to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and commitment of workers across the world who make significant contributions for their respective company, Community and the Country. 

This annual observance of the May Day is a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for social justice and the crucial role that workers play for our organizations and the societies. By recognizing the hard work and sacrifices of the labour force, we can collectively work towards a future where decent work and social justice gets its due weightage, which it deserves.

With mechanization and change in the nature of work, the very meaning of labour has now drastically changed. Previously, labour used to have general connotation of physical labour being done by the working class. But with the surge of service sector, the meaning of labour has not remained limited to only the physical labour but includes the mental labour also.

As May Day is the Day to celebrate the hard work, dedication and the commitment, the onus lies on the management of the organization that the right persons are recognized and rewarded. As it’s said that what’s measured is done, there should be some performance metrics to adjudge not only the performance or the success but the right intent, right conduct and right loyalty towards the organization.  

People are not motivated only by monetary incentives but right gesture. Sometimes sending just even a ‘Thankyou Card’ recognizing the hard work, dedication, commitment and good intent of the worker is sufficient to motivate them. So, there should be a culture of recognizing the good work and the good intent right from the grassroot level to the top of the organization.

When it comes to coal industry, the importance of May Day becomes more important, considering the difficulties and challenging work environment in which we the coal warriors have to work.

I strongly believe that ‘Nobody goes to the workplace to do a bad job’. Hence, it’s the work culture, belongingness and the good team spirit which maximizes the out of each and every employees. Wherever the workers are treated with respect, their performance is bound to enhance. Wherever the workers are honoured and appreciated when they do well, they feel motivated and willingly act in the desired way towards the achievement of goals of the organization.

Work has always been worshiped from the time immemorial and will continued to be worshiped ahead too. Hard work, dedication, commitment and work experience have always played a pivotal role in the growth and prosperity of the organization.

In our coal industry, there are still so many dedicated hardworking workers who works with full sincerity without any expectation. It’s the human nature that they expect some kind of incentives, rewards, recognition, appreciations, etc. against their works. But I have also seen many workers who just do their assigned job silently with full devotion and never expected any kind of recognition or rewards for their works. These workers are in fact the real assets of the organization, whom the organization must care the most. It’s because such kind of workers are rare and may get extinct if not given due niche which they deserve.

There has always been debate over Exuberance Vs Experience, regarding the superiority of one over the another. But it’s a proven fact that whenever exuberance has met with experience, miracles has happened. So, it’s high time for the organization like ours that we take the advantage of Exuberance & Experience for the astronomical growth of organization, as we have both kind of work force available with us in plenty.

Last but not the least, I think that as Hard work/Labour has always been worshiped in all the civilization, it would be more appropriate if the name of the 'Labour Day' or the 'Mazdoor Diwas' is changed with ‘Shramveer Divas’ or ‘Karmveer Diwas’ as it will help in giving the due respect which this day really deserves.

I bow my head for all the hard works being done by our countrymen and wish everyone a very happy श्रमवीर दिवस !