BOMBAY, JUNE 6, REUTER — Rampaging stock brokerage employees, demanding renewal of wage agreements, disrupted trading on Monday on the Bombay Stock Exchange, India’s largest, an exchange spokesman said.
He said trading had just begun when a large group of employees accompanied by some outsiders forcibly entered the trading ring, toppled furniture and assaulted some stockbrokers,
The slogan shouting employees were dispersed by police but trading could not take place, the spokesman said,
The employees have demanded renewal of separate wage agreements with brokerage houses and reinstatement of 15 people recently fired in an economy move.
Employees’ leaders said many stockbrokers have not renewed annual wage agreements since 1986, when the previous two year wage accord expired,
The employees also went on strike last month for a day to press their demands. The more than 500 stock brokerages in Bombay employ about 2,000 workers.
Stockbrokers have maintained their financial position was very weak because of depressed markets and a decline in business volume.
But in the last month, the stock market volume has increased, triggered by new tax incentives and hopes of better corporate results.
The daily business volume of the Bombay exchange, which trickled down to 150 million rupees during the last two years, against 600 million in normal times, exceeded one billion last week.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1988
