People's Democracy

HE call for worldwide protest rallies against World Trade Organisation (WTO), given by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), World Federations of Trade Unions (WFTU) and World Confederation of Labour (WCL) and endorsed by the central trade union organisations of India, was observed in Maharashtra on November 9. Like in other parts of the country, most of the anti-WTO rallies organised in Maharashtra were on united platforms.

In Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, a public meeting held was under the banner of the Trade Unions Joint Action Committee that comprises the CITU, AITUC, HMS, UTUC, TUCI, HMKP, Kamgar Agadi, and the organisations of state and central government employees, public sector units, banks, insurance, school and college teachers, and independent unions.

A notable feature of this meeting was the participation of Shiv Sena-led Bharatiya Kamgar Sena and the BJP-led Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. Though the INTUC representative could not attend the meeting, its state committee here took care to send a message wishing success to the protest rally.

The other centres in Maharashtra where demonstrations tool place and rallies were held on the day were Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nasik, Solapur, Pune, Kolhapur, Sangli and Ichalkaranji. In all these meetings, the speakers criticised the unequal terms of the WTO and also exposed the anti-working class and pro-imperialistic policies of the BJP-led government at the centre and the Congress-NCP-led state government in Maharashtra.

It is to be noted here that though the BJP, that politically leads the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, is heading the NDA government at the centre, the BMS here actively participated in the April 25 Maharashtra bandh this year. Similarly, though the Shiv Sena is a partner in the Vajpayee government, its trade union wing (the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena) whole-heartedly supported the April 25 bandh. Likewise, though the Samata Party, that leads the Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat, is in the central government, the HMKP in Maharashtra fully participated in the statewide bandh on April 25. Again, though the Congress party has been supporting the World Bank-IMF-WTO-dictated policies in India, the INTUC in Maharashtra became a party to the call for Maharashtra bandh. By and large, all these organisations have continued to support the subsequent calls for protest actions against the anti-working class and anti-people policies of the Vajpayee government and the state government in Maharashtra by taking part in joint meetings and conventions.

It is in the background of this emerging trade union unity and rising protests that the Shiv Sena-led unions and BMS unions participated in the anti-WTO rally in Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra on November 9.

The public meeting held in Maharashtra High School Maidan near Currey Road railway station in central Mumbai was chaired by Yashwant Chavan of the Sarva Sramik Sangh. The speakers who addressed the meeting were Prabhakar Sanzgiri (CITU), A D Golandaz (MSEB), P R Menon (NRMU), Dwarkanath Pawar (BKS), Jayaprakash Bellari (Kamagar Aghadi), Narayan Ghagre (AITUC), M P Patwardhan (BMS), J R Bhosale (HMS) and Sukhadeo Kasid (HMKP). Prominent amongst those seated on the dais were Prabhakar More (HMKP), K L Bajaj (CITU), Krishanakant Kondaleker (BKS), Sanjai Singhvi (TUCI), Jayant Chavan (Sarva Sramik Sanghatana) and Ravi Joshi (IFTU).