Dear Comrades,
Support for the strike from so many sections could make it one of the biggest in recent memory
All the central trade unions (CTUs), barring the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh
(BMS) on Saturday evening categorically rejected the appeal made on
Friday by the Union Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya to
call off the scheduled September 2 all-India general strike.
Responding
to an e-mail sent by the Minister to the trade unions, which lists the
‘proactive steps’ taken by the government to address the unions’ charter
of demands, AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Das Gupta told The Hindu,
“The Minister’s letter and the status report on our charter of demands
is a repetition of old arguments. Nothing tangible has been offered, so
our decision to strike stands.”
An isolated BMS,
which has had two rounds of talks with the Group of Ministers led by
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is waiting to hear formally from
the government before taking a view on the strike.
Virjesh Upadhyay, BMS’ General Secretary told The Hindu,
“Yes, I have heard of the Minister’s letter. We do not appreciate the
approach of the Centre. Having said that, I want to state that we
observed a certain advancement in the position of the government on our
demands on issues related to anganwadi workers, bonus, and minimum
wages. So, we would wait for a formal word from the government on
commitments made to us. Otherwise, we would be compelled to take
action.”
The AITUC leader’s letter to the Minister
argues that for over a year, the GoM had not convened a single meeting
with any central trade union barring one [the BMS].
The
letter adds: “The government is going ahead with pro-employer labour
law amendments through executive orders or otherwise, and giving assent
to the anti-worker amendments moved by some state governments.”
Similar one last year
CTUs
had observed a similar strike on September 2 last year on a broad
chapter of 12 demands in protest against what they had termed as the
“anti-people” policies of the Narendra Modi government. The BMS, which
had initially agreed to the strike call, backed off in the last minute.
Unions
of central government employees, who have their own grievances related
to the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, are also mulling over
the possibility of extending support to the strike.
Last
week, university and college teachers’ unions backed the strike.
Support to the strike from so many sections could make it one of the
biggest in recent memory.
Among the demands of the
trade unions are strict enforcement of all basic labour laws, minimum
wages of not less than Rs. 15,000 per month with provisions of
indexation, assured enhanced pension of not less than Rs. 3,000 per
month, stoppage of disinvestment in central/state PSUs, the end of
contracting permanent perennial work, and the payment of same wages.
Source : http://www.thehindu.com
