People's Democracy

HELD at Bangalore on November 17-18, an extended meeting of the Committee of Public Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU) has called upon the public sector workers, irrespective of affiliations, to prepare for a countrywide united strike action against the anti-national, anti-public sector and anti-people policies of the government of India. As many as 130 delegates from all the public sector unions in the country attended the two-day session of the CPSTU that comprises the trade unions working among the public sector workers.

The meeting expressed grave concern over the hectic move of the government of India to sell out the profit-making public sector undertakings (PSUs) and close down the others. Each and every case of either sale of shares or outright sale of the PSUs exposes gross irregularities and corruption. The government is resorting to a distress sale of the PSUs, that have a huge assets base, to the foreign and Indian corporate buyers for a song. This, moreover, is now being sought to be legitimised and officialised by the so-called "Manual on Procedures on Disinvestment" published by the disinvestment ministry.

The CPSTU also voiced its strong opposition to the government’s desperate bid to thoroughly change the labour laws in favour of the employers, to legalise "hire & fire" and contractise the entire workforce. It called upon the public sector workers to be ready for a strike at a short notice if any such move is made in the forthcoming session of parliament. In the background of these factors, the extended session of the CPSTU decided the following programme of action:

1) Irrespective of affiliations, public sector workers and all PSU trade unions must prepare for a countrywide strike action against the said moves of the government of India.

2) They must be prepared to oppose any move to amend the labour laws in favour of the employers, in the forthcoming session of parliament, and go on a countrywide strike action at short notice, whenever called by the central trade union organisations.

3) Public sector unions must express solidarity with the three-day strike action by coal workers on December 3-5, through demonstrations and by sending telegrams to the coal minister on December 3.

4) They must hold big regional joint conventions under the banner of the CPSTU. The issues to be highlighted are --- privatisation and closure of PSUs, non-payment of wages, and onslaught on workers’ rights and facilities, etc. These conventions will be held in all the major public sector industrial centres like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhopal, Lucknow, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kanpur, Durgapur, Rourkela, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and other places. The conventions will be attended by CPSTU leaders and will be completed by January 15 coming.

5) A big all-India convention of all public sector workers will be held on the Sunday immediately preceding the commencement of the next budget session of parliament. This convention will decide the further course of action including the date of a nationwide public sector strike.

6) A massive dharna will be organised before parliament on the next day.

The action programme was detailed in a joint statement issued on November 19 by H Mahadevan (AITUC), Michael B Fernandes (Joint Action Front, Bangalore), M K Pandhe (CITU), R A Mittal (HMS) and Y Adinarayana (PSU Trade Union Coordination Committee, Hyderabad).