People's Democracy

Transport Workers to Oppose Retrograde Amendments

THE national level road transport workers’ federations and the state level road transport workers’ unions in the private sector held a joint meeting at Mumbai on December 16, 2012. These unions and federations also included those representing the auto-rickshaw, taxi, mini bus, private bus, goods vehicle drivers etc, apart from those in the state transport undertakings and other concerns.

This was the information received from K K Divakaran, national secretary of the CITU and general secretary of the All India Road Transport Workers Federation.

The joint meeting was organised by the CITU, AITUC, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AICCTU, Tamilnadu Government Transport Corporation Employees Progressive Unions’ Federation (LPF), UP Roadways Karmachari Samyukta Parishad and Gujarat State Transport Workers’ Federation. The J&K Workers Union also participated.

The meeting expressed deep concern over the unilateral attitude of the Ministry of Road Transport  & Highways to take up the retrograde amendments in the Motor Vehicle Act 1988, suggested by the Sunder committee, without hearing the viewpoint of the workers’ organisations. The service conditions and working conditions of lakhs of workers in the unorganised private sector are shocking. But, upon directions from the prime minister of India, the union government has not taken any steps on the recommendations made by the V V Giri National Labour Institute. The meeting demanded that the protections given to the workers in Section 97 to 108 of the Motor Vehicles Act need to be maintained, more so because the proposed amendments seek to delete these provisions.

The transport workers’ unions are contemplating of holding all-India and state level protest actions in case the government is bent upon pushing retrograde amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act.