The last two decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century witnessed the decline and eventual closure of large scale industries in Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Kanpur. The closure of large scale industries not only resulted in the dispersal of once organised workforce into the informal sector but also had negative implications for the politics of labour which saw a major decline since the 1970s, and more particularly since the 1980s. Given the closure of large scale industries and the subsequent retrenchment of the workforce what is happening to the politics of the labour that was organised through the trade unions. This question is addressed in this paper by examining the political mobilisation of Mumbai’ ex-millworkers on the rehabilitation question.