People's Democracy

THE national executive of the All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF) representing around 70 lakh employees and teachers of the country resolved to build a nation-wide united movement of the employees and workers in order to resist and beat back the severe onslaught launched against the employees and teachers by various state governments and the central government in the form of privatisation and liberalisation. This movement will culminate in the country-wide strike to be called by other trade unions.

The national executive of the federation met at Patna on January 23-24, 2002 and chalked out a detailed action programme as part of this movement.

It was critical of these governments for attacking the employees in the form of downsizing, retrenchment, stopping of economic benefits like DA, bonus, LTC, encashment of leave and even due promotion to the employees. In some states like Kerala, even pensionary benefits of the employees are being frozen stated the federation general secretary Sukumol Sen and chairman R G Karnik in a statement issued from Patna on January 25 after the meeting.

The central and state government under the IMF-World Bank dictates are severely downsizing the government departments, drastically cutting the number of regular employees and employing contract workers for government work. To accomplish this task the government in a planned move commissioned various reports, most dangerous of which are the Geetha Krishnan Commission, Rakesh Mohan Committee and M S Ahluwalliah Committee reports. A direct attack is being launched against the employees through the recommendations of these committees felt the federation.

It has noted the worsening situation of the employees in states like Bihar, Kerala, Tamilnadu Madhya Pradesh etc and the struggles being waged against these policies. In Kerala the employees and teachers will launch indefinite strike from February 6 and in Tamilnadu from February 7, 2002. The Madhya Pradesh employees will go on indefinite strike in the last week of February 2002. At a time when crores of youth are unemployed these governments have banned recruitment in government departments and abolished the vacant posts.

The action programme chalked out by the federation is as follows :

1. Observance of solidarity day through demonstrations at all levels on February 8, 2002 to express support to the strike of Kerala and Tamilnadu employees.
2. Observance of protest day on March 5, 2002 along with other trade unions against the anti-people policies of the government and against the union budget which is apprehended to be most harmful for the employees and common people.
3. To launch an educational campaign throughout the months of February and March to enlighten the employees about IMF-World Bank-WTO dictated anti-people and anti-national policies of the government.
4. To observe national protest day on April 23, 2002 throughout the country by massive day long dharnas resolving to resist the disastrous policies of the governments.
5. All these programmes will be directed towards preparing for a countrywide strike by the employees alongwith other trade unions.

The leaders appealed to the people for their unstinted support to these patriotic struggles of the employees.