When the two associations, Mumbai Mudrak Sangh (MMS) and Bombay Master Printers Association (BMPA), were formed 60 years ago they each represented a different set of printers in Mumbai. The BMPA was formed under the Companies Act and represented offset printers while the MMS was formed under the Trade Union Act and represented mainly letterpress printers. However, with letterpress virtually fading away, membership of MMS gradually came down to 300. But in the past 15 years or so the two associations have many members in common as offset printers have signed up as MMS members and increased its numbers as well. For several years both industry associations have been probing the idea of an alliance.
“For almost six decades there were two parallel associations, MMS and BMPA, representing the printers of Mumbai. There was a lot of duplication of effort as there are almost 250 common members. It was time we began the process of creating a single body representing this city’s printing fraternity,” says Tushar Dhote, president of MMS explaining the rationale behind the recent announcement of the coming together of the two associations.
Although mentioned and indicated at the 9th Print Summit in 2015, at the 10th Print Summit in February 2016, came the formal announcement of the BMPA-MMS alliance by Dhote and Faheem Agboatwala, the current president of the BMPA. The first announcement of the alliance was made during the Annual General Meeting of the BMPA on 30 September 2015. “We began serious discussion just before Pamex and used the Print Summit platform to make the alliance formal. We have set the ball rolling and let us see where we can go together. The current generation of printers have welcomed this move. On the philosophical level, members of both associations are on the same page. All that remains are administrative issues. So it is only a matter of time before we will have just one association in Mumbai,” adds Dhote.
Power of one
A first tangible step towards the formation of one entity was also taken during the Print Summit when a joint magazine, Mumbai Impressions, was launched at the event. Print Vision and Print Bulletin, published by BMPA and MMS, respectively will be discontinued from the next financial year and will be replaced by Mumbai Impressions, which will be jointly edited by Uday Dhote from MMS and Vishwanath Shetty from BMPA.
“From the next financial year both Print Vision and Print Bulletin will cease to exist. The first official RNI registered issue of Mumbai Impressions will be launched at the MMS’ annual Printer’s Day event to be held on 7 April 2016. So from the next financial year there will only be one publication,” says Dhote.
Celebrating the ‘Power of One,’ BMPA and MMS will work jointly to build confidence, cooperation and collaboration amongst printers. Dhote believes joint working will also strengthen industry representation at various national and international forums and gatherings. “We will be able to put across our views with much greater force at forums and gatherings. Even manufacturers and vendors will have a much easier time dealing with one entity.”
The plan is also to create a strong presence at the local, state and national level to mediate and settle disputes through a common grievance cell and to build and enhance the knowledge and skill levels of the work force through continuous training and education. A joint committee will delve into all the aforementioned spheres of work. The committee will also share its calendar of activities and jointly support, organize and promote activities of BMPA and MMS. With this consolidation, the Mumbai printers have again demonstrated their leadership of the print industry at a time when new associations continue to mushroom and proliferate.
