People's Democracy

THE central trade union organisations have denounced the vindictive dismissal of A M Ansari, working president of the Bharat Aluminium Employees Union (CITU), and an office bearer of the joint platform of anti-privatisation struggle at BALCO by the Sterlite management on April 27.

The Sterlite management, while issuing the dismissal order to Ansari, most unscrupulously related it to an incident of strike at BALCO in February 1999, when the Sterlite itself was nowhere in the picture.

This is nothing but a terrorising tactic by the Sterlite, in the background of long and continuing strike in BALCO for reversal for the privatisation deal. Particularly when all the central trade unions have jointly written to the prime minister for urgently convening a meeting of the trade unions to find out a respectable solution to the BALCO dispute, the Sterlite’s terror tactic, the said dismissal and also the threat of mass scale dismissal are aimed at sabotaging the joint initiative taken by all the central trade unions, besides demoralising the striking workers.

The trade unions have expressed confidence that the determined and united struggle by BALCO workers cannot be cowed down by such dubious terror tactics of the Sterlite management.

The trade unions have urged the government of India to restrain the Sterlite management from issuing such provocations to the peacefully struggling BALCO workers and withdraw the dismissal order forthwith. The government must urgently respond to the joint demand for talks with the trade unions on the BALCO issue.

Reiterating their full support to the ongoing struggle of BALCO workers, the central trade unions have asked the workers all over the country to raise their united voice in protest against the Sterlite’s dubious terror tactic and massively assert their moral, physical and material support to the BALCO workers’ struggle. (INN)