People's Democracy

THE Confederation of Central Government Employees & Workers (CCGE&W) and the All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF) have decided to go on a nationwide one-day strike on July 25. The decision was taken at a joint convention they organised in New Delhi on May 27.

The main demand on which the proposed one-day strike will be organised is that the government stop its drive towards privatisation, downsizing, contractisation and casualisation of jobs, curtailment or withdrawal of existing benefits and anti-labour amendment in the existing labour laws. The organisation will also press the demand that the government reverse all the disastrous economic policies which it is following at the dictate of International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organisation.

In order to mobilise about 75 lakh government employees to join the strike action, the convention decided to set up strike committees in all the states. These would in turn hold city, district and state level conventions involving grass-roots level leaders and workers, by mid-July.

July 18 will be observed as Anti-Privatisation Day by holding massive rallies at all levels throughout the country

The declaration adopted by the convention noted with deep concern the anti-employee, anti-labour, anti-peasant and anti-people policies being pursued by the government in the name of introducing the second generation economic "reform." The government has announced, massive downsizing of government establishments, suspension of LTC facilities, increase in the rent of government accommodations, reduction in rate of interests on PF deposits by 2.5 per cent per annum, amendment of the contract law to outsource permanent and perenninal jobs to contract labour, amendment to Industrial Disputes Act to empower the employers of the units employing less than 1000 workers to retrench or lay-off their workers without needing to get permission from the government, etc. The government has also decided to introduce Panchayat Dak Sanchar Yojana to dismantle the existing rural postal system, and has virtually withdrawn the existing facility of compassionate appointments.

Following the policy of the central government, most of the state governments have also resorted to downsizing, corporatisation, abolition of vacant posts, ban on recruitment, stoppage or curtailment of DA, bonus, LTC, etc. They too are contracting out services and closing down state public sector undertakings. In some states, besides retrenchment, the existing employees are being denied salaries for months together.

The declaration also came down heavily upon the Expenditure Reforms Commission, set up by the central government, which is to give its final report by July 31. In its interim report, the commission has suggested to offload many governmental functions to the private sector and to restructure various government departments, rendering thousands of employees surplus. A scheme of "voluntary" retirement for such surplus workers is on the anvil. Further, the following measures have been suggested by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms in a note submitted to the Expenditure Reforms Commission:

1. The rules of recruitment be revised to bind the new recruitees to take leave without pay for five years at a stretch, after having put in 10 years of service.
2. 25 to 50 per cent of officials at the age of 52 to 55 may be retired.
3. Government servants who have only 4 years left for retirement may be given an option of taking retirement on full salary for the remaining period of service.
4. The subordinate offices may be merged with the secretariat at an appropriate level, introducing the system of decision making through single file system. This would ensure abolition of all Grade C and D posts in subordinate offices.
5. No DA increase for the next 5 years.
6. No withdrawal from 50 per cent of PF.
7. Further increase in rent of government houses to a minimum of 20 per cent of salary.
8. Passing a central law under which the state overnments, which borrow from the government of India, shall be bound not to spend more than 50 per cent of revenue on establishments.
9. No Pay Commission in future.

Thus the central and state government employees have been subjected to unprecedented harsh attacks. Not only their security of service has been put at stake, even the benefits they earned through bitter struggles are being snatched away.

The convention’s declaration said the employees and workers cannot allow this unbearable situation to continue. Though they have organised sustained and serious struggles in the past, it is all the more necessary to forge unity and build up massive and countrywide militant actions to defeat this onslaught. It was in these circumstances that the convention asked all the government employees’ organisations to forge an all-out unity, constitute joint committees at grass-roots level, launch systematic campaigns by holding state, district and city level conventions to make government employees aware of the above attacks, and to prepare and inspire them for an effective resistance movement to culminate in a countrywide strike action.