People's Democracy

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) extends revolutionary greetings to the working class fraternity all over the world, on the historic May Day – the day of the international solidarity of the working people!

The CITU greets the working class and the people of the socialist countries for steadfastly holding aloft the banner of socialism, despite the setbacks of the last decade.

The CITU greets the working class and the people of the advanced capitalist countries, who have raised the banner of resistance to the neo-liberal globalisation policies, putting up an inspiring and militant struggles against capitalism.

The CITU warmly greets and pledges solidarity with the working people of the developing countries, engaged in fighting back the offensives of imperialism on the one hand and the onslaughts of the ruling class on the other.

Following the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York and Pentagon in Washington, the US imperialists have further intensified their aggressive offensive all over the globe.

The US administration had declared a so-called "war on terrorism" under which any one opposing the US designs is equated with "terrorists" and targeted for attack. After turning Afghanistan into a land devastated by bombs and missiles, the US has now proclaimed an "axis of evil" targeting countries like Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The USA had tacitly backed Israel in its military offensive against Palestine and laying siege on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The trade and financial war waged against countries like Cuba, Iraq and Libya, through imposition of economic blockade has hit the common people, particularly the children, of these countries. The servile partners in the G-7 Group acquiesce and actively collaborate in all these atrocious onslaughts of the US imperialists.

The aggressive onslaught of economic exploitation indulged in by the world capitalist system, led by the imperialist powers, has resulted in widening inequality and disparities worldwide. This in turn has led to fundamentalist forces of various hues raising their heads in different parts of the world, which have become the bedrock for all terrorist activities. The imperialist forces, led by the U.S., pampered and aided these fundamentalist-terrorist brigades to undermine the democratic and progressive forces on various occasions. Now, the same imperialist bandwagon, on the plea of countering terrorism is pitching for further aggressive hegemonic onslaughts.

The CITU unequivocally condemns these imperialist machinations aimed at achieving global hegemony. The CITU expresses full sympathy to the victims of imperialist onslaughts in various parts of the globe. The CITU pledges to mobilise the working people and all other masses in India to fight the nefarious designs of imperialism and extend solidarity to the patriotic struggle carried on by the courageous people of those countries targeted by imperialism.

We are passing through the most aggressive phase of fundamentalist and communal orgy and violence that has shocked the entire country.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP) heading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has faced an utter rout in the successive elections to the legislatures of the different states, held ever since the 1999 elections to the Lok Sabha. The BJP is seeking to fully revive their rabid communal agenda, targeting the religious minorities in the country for horrendous attacks, every time it faced electoral defeats.

Gujarat is the only major State, where the BJP is in the government. Utilising the anger among the people of the state after the horrifying torching to death of 64 persons, including women and children, travelling in a train, near Godhra railway station, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and other sangh parivar outfits unleashed a horrendous communal carnage all over Gujarat. The country was shocked at the barbarian crimes perpetrated against the minority community in the land of Mahatma Gandhi.

The BJP government in Gujarat, led by its notorious chief minister Narendra Modi, had actually sponsored this communal carnage, which had resulted in the murder of almost a thousand people and uprooted over a lakh people from their homes, which have been razed to the ground. The media, the National Human Rights Commission, the Minorities Commission, the entire democratic opinion in the country and even some of the allies in the ruling coalition had squarely held the chief minister guilty of all the crimes perpetrated on the minority community. The carnage continues unabated with daily reports of further killings. Yet the BJP leadership, including the prime minister, is shielding him to the hilt. Worse still, the RSS - the parent organisation of the entire sangh parivar - which is calling the shots, has adopted a resolution virtually threatening the Muslim community in the country that they can live only at the mercy of the Hindu majority community.

The CITU is determined to thwart the game plan of the saffron brigade to destroy the secular fabric and communal harmony of the Indian society. The CITU pledges to fight hard to root out the communal venom emitted by the fundamentalist fanatics of the majoritarian communalism as well as that of minority variety. The CITU will rededicate itself to preserving the class unity of the workers and the people, countering this heightened communal frenzy.

We witness that the so-called economic reforms have virtually grounded the country’s economy in a deep recession. Industrial slowdown is widespread covering all broad sectors such as manufacturing, electricity, mining and all end-use based sectors such as capital goods, intermediary goods, consumer goods, both durables and non durables. The slowdown in domestic and global demand appears to be the major factors constraining industrial growth. Growth rate of the primary sector of agriculture has sunk below the growth rate of population.

On the employment front, again it is a dismal picture. The overall employment growth has declined to just one per cent, with organised sector employment growth being lower still. An absolute shortfall in agricultural employment had occurred for the first time.

Opening up of the Indian market for unhindered invasion by foreign goods, including the agricultural products had set to ruin the domestic industries, small-scale industries and Indian agriculture.

Privatisation has become the mad pursuit and the selective deals struck by the ministry of disinvestment with the private bidders have become ridiculous scandals. Industrial sickness is proliferating and the number of industries closed, including in many vital sectors, has been rising manifold.

Thus, the policies of the BJP-led government at the centre has shattered the self-reliant base of the Indian economy and has set it on a disaster lane. The Left Front governments in West Bengal, Tripura and earlier in Kerala had always resisted the central government policies and have been a source of inspiration to the popular movements in the country.

But, the resistance to the government policies of neo-liberal globalisation has also been growing. There have been innumerable sector-wise strike actions, mostly on policy issues rather than on economic demands. The growing unity of the trade union movement with the organisations of peasants, agricultural workers, women, students and youth, under the banner of the National Platform of mass organisation (NPMO) has paved the way for more determined struggles against the disastrous policies of the NDA government.

The CITU conveys its warm greetings to all sections of the working people and toiling masses, who have been participating in the powerful strike wave emerging in the country against the policies of globalisation. The CITU congratulates all the public sector workers, bank and insurance employees, the port & dock workmen and the state government employees under the banner of the All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF) for the historic strike staged by them on April 16, 2002 against the liberalisation and other anti-people policies of the central government. The CITU also congratulates the five-lakh defence-production employees for their countrywide united strike on April 23-24, 2002. The three-day strike of six lakh coal miners against privatisation has manifested the united opposition of the working class to the policies of privatisation. The indefinite strike, lasting over a month, by the six lakh state government employees in Kerala is another inspiring saga of struggle. The prolonged strike struggles waged by the transport workers of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu testify to the growing determination of the working class to come together in joint struggles on common issues. The stone quarry workers of Haryana braved repression and brutalities of the state government-mafia nexus in defending their rights. Unorganised workers in Anganwadi, Handloom and other sectors have also fought several glorious battles resisting the attacks on their livelihood.

The CITU pledges to carry forward this growing resistance into a countrywide mass struggle to defeat the disastrous economic policies.

This May Day in India, the working class and the trade union movement is facing severe onslaughts, as the NDA government has embarked on a series of legislative changes intended to take away the hard won rights of the workers.

Workers’ right to form trade unions of their choice had severely been restricted through an amendment to the Trade Union Act. The Industrial Disputes Act is proposed to be amended to vest the employers with absolute powers to hire and fire workers. The Contract Labour Act – which has already been diluted with the Supreme Court reversing its earlier beneficial judgement in the Air India case -- will be amended to facilitate the process of contractorisation of all core and non-core jobs.

The government has been paying mere lip service to social security. In practice even the limited social security measures, existing as of now, are being steadily undermined. It has also shut out the government pension scheme for the new entrants, besides restricting recruitment to just one in three vacancies. The state governments are also being prevailed upon to follow suit.

Terming it as a response to industrial slow down, the government has set in motion a softer interest rate regime. Interest rates on Provident Fund, Small Savings etc. have been steeply reduced. This has only served to scale down the interest liability of the huge internal debt incurred by the government.

The entire spectrum of the trade union movement in India has taken up these challenges and is rallying all the forces to squarely defeat the nefarious moves of the government. The CITU pledges to resist these affronts by mobilising all sections of workers and the toiling masses in united powerful struggles.