The Twenty Fourth Michael John Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Dr.G.Sanjeeva Reddy, President INTUC at the Michael John Auditorium on May 2, 2018 at 3.00 pm. Mr. T.V. Narendran CEO&MD Tata Steel will be the Chief Guest on the occasion, while Mr. Rajendra Prasad Singh, General Secretary, INTUC will grace the occasion as Guest of Honour.

The annual lecture in the memory of Late Michael John - legendary trade union leader and former President of Tata Workers’ Union - began in the year 1985 as the brain child of Late VG Gopal, former President TWU. The person delivering the lecture is also awarded with Michael John memorial Gold medal. The prestigious event has seen 23 eminent personalities deliberate on diverse topics and issues, with the first such lecture being delivered by none other than Bharat Ratna J.R.D. Tata, then Chairman of Tata Steel.

The last Lecture was held in the year 2011. Commenting on the revival of this important lecture series, Mr. R Ravi Prasad, President, Tata Workers’ Union said; “We are very happy to say that we are going to award the Michael John Memorial Gold medal to an eminent trade union leader, Dr G Sanjeeva Reddy, President INTUC, who has contributed immensely to strengthen the trade union movement in India  and safe guard the interest of the working class.”

The ‘Michael John Centre for Research and Human Resources Development’, an educational wing of Tata Workers’ Union aims at preserving excellent industrial relations, industrial peace and harmony and improving the quality of life of workers through research studies, workers development programs, seminars and workshops.

It is worthwhile to mention that the Centre started off its activities by conducting the annual lecture in memory of Late Michael John.

Over the years, eminent speakers at the Michael John Memorial Lecture have deliberated on important issues related to workers problems, education, trade union problems, Labour Management Relationship, Innovation, Training and more.

Eminent speakers over the years at the Michael John Memorial Lecture have included legendary personalities from various walks of life including two former Presidents of India - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Sri R.Venkatraman, Sri P.A. Sangma, former Speaker of Lok Sabha, Dr.Karan Singh, Member of Rajya Sabha, Mr Oscar Fernandes, Former Minister, Govt. of India, Bharat Ratna J.R.D. Tata, Sri Ratan Tata, Chairman – Emeritus,Tata group, Sri G.Ramanujam, former President of INTUC, Sri L.K.Jha, noted Economist, Dr.P.P.Narayan, former President-ICFTU, Sri S.K.Jain, former Dy.Director General-ILO, Justice C.S.Dharmadhikari, Retd. Judge, Bombay High Court, Dr.V.Krishna Murthy, Chairman-Maruti Udyog Ltd, Sri Russi Mody, former Chairman & Managing Director, Tata Steel, Sri Gopeshwar, former General Secretary-INTUC, Dr.J.J.Irani, former M.D. Tata Steel, Mr. R.P.Billimoria, Charman & MD, Billimoria Consultant Pvt. Ltd., Fr. E.H. Mc Grath, Director, Human Life Centre, Balasore, Orissa, Mr B Muthuraman, Former M.D, Tata Steel, Mr S K Benjamin, Former President of TWU, Mr H M Nerurkar, Former M.D Tata Steel and Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Former Minister, Govt of India.

A detailed chronological list of lectures is provided below: