People's Democracy

HELD at New Delhi on October 17, the all-India trade union convention has resolved to prepare for a nationwide strike on the day the anti-working class bills to amend the Industrial Dispute Act 1947 and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 are brought in parliament in the next session.

The convention was attended by delegates from all sections of the working people, both from industries and services. They represented the central trade union organisations like the AICCTU, AITUC, CITU, HMS, TUCC, UTUC, UTUC(LS) and all the major federations of central and state government employees, railways, bank, insurance, defence and all other industries and service sectors. The presidium of the convention comprised J Chittaranjan (president, AITUC), E Balanandan (president, CITU), A D Nagpal (secretary, HMS), Harish Tyagi (UTUC-LS) and S K Roy (AICCTU). The major speakers included M K Pandhe (general secretary, CITU), H Mahadevan (deputy general secretary, AITUC), R A Mital (secretary, HMS) and Swapan Mukherjee (general secretary, AICCTU).

The convention expressed grave concern at the ongoing hectic exercise by the government of India to unleash a regime of retrenchment, downsizing of the existing workforce and onslaught on labour rights in various ways as an integral part of its policy of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG). (See Declaration alongside.)

The convention also endorsed the joint call given by trade unions to observe November 9 as Protest Day Against Globalisation in response to the call given by international level trade union bodies.

The October 17 convention decided to send to the prime minister a joint delegation of all trade unions to demand rejection of the report of the three committees headed by Geethakrishnan, Rakesh Mohan and M S Ahluwalia.