People's Democracy

Denounce Anti-Labour Pronouncements in Union Budget

A MASSIVE workers dharna and demonstraton denounced the anti-labour pronouncements and anti-people provisions in the recently placed union budget of the BJP led NDA government. All the central trade unions in the country including INTUC and BMS, had given a call for countrywide protest against the anti-labour and anti-people union budget for 2001-02 on March 21.

The dharna started at 11 am at Jantar Mantar. Several thousands of workers both from public and private sector, government offices, railways, banks and insurance sector affiliated to all the central trade unions, took part in dharna and demonstration.

The dharna was addressed by the leaders of various central trade unions and leaders of the bank, insurance, railway and central government employees. Among the speakers were MK Pandhe, SB Bharadwaj (CITU), KL Mahendra, SN Sharma (AITUC), Umraomal Purohit, S Upadhyay (HMS), Chandidas Sinha, Ashoke Singh (INTUC), Ranjan Ganguly(AICCTU), Abani Roy(UTUC), S Tiagi(UTUC-LS), SC Gaur(TUCC), SR Saini(AIIEA), Ramanand (AIBEA) and others.

All the speakers pointed to the atrocious anti-labour pronouncements in the union budget, seeking to give full powers to the mill-owners and the employers to retrench workers at their will through changes in the Industrial Disputes Act, and legalise the presently illegal deployment of contract labour in permanent nature of jobs and take away all trade union rights. All these measures are designed to impose conditions of slavery on the working class and crush the trade union movement which is staunchly opposing the anti-national economic policies and brazenly corrupt practices of the NDA government, the speakers asserted. The speakers also condemned the steps taken for reduction of interest on provident fund and small savings, and the anti-employment measures to drastically downsize manpower in government departments. The trade unions, while pointing out to the corrupt deals being made by the government, one after another, while selling out the profit making PSUs, stated that the NDA government has become desperate to sell out the whole country brick by brick and Tehelka episode exposed only the tip of the iceberg. The working class must unite and fight for ouster of this corrupt and anti-national government, which is acting as agent of the MNCs and big corporates. We must plunge into countrywide united struggle, was the clarion call of the rally.

The rally also called upon the working class and trade union movement to act in solidarity with the striking BALCO workers against privatisation and appealed to the trade unions for sending liberal monetary assistance to the BALCO Bachao Sanyukta Abhiyan Samity, Korba, which is conducting united indefinite strike action in BALCO. From the rally a five member delegation submitted a memorandum to Union Labour Minister demanding reversal of all the anti-labour pronouncement in the union budget and scrapping of the BALCO privatisation deal.