People's Democracy

THE indefinite strike launched by the Kerala sate government employees and teachers has evoked total response in the entire state with administration coming to a near standstill. The Antony government's attempts to brow beat the employees by resort to draconian measures like Essential Supplies Maintenance Act (ESMA) have failed.

At the time of writing this, the strike has entered seventh day and many leaders of employees and teachers were arrested under ESMA. The state director general of police, in an unprecedented manner, directly appealed to the people to resist the strike. The CM is also inciting his party cadre and goons to physically take on the striking employees. And, in his obstinacy the CM has seen to it that rowdies and anti-socials have taken over the schools for "teaching". These conglomerations are given the name of Parent-Teachers Associations and the so-called PTA’s have begun to "teach" in schools.

The strike has affected the normal life of the state to a very great extent. The taxes are not being collected. The check-posts remain unmanned and the profit-mongerers and smugglers and spirit mafia having a field day now in Kerala.

The arrogant stand taken by the CM that heavens would not fall if government offices and schools are closed for one or two months has further steeled the resolve of the employees and teachers to continue the strike. The strike continued with more vigor and enthusiasm and all threats from the government to the effect that ESMA would be used against even officer cadres have failed. Even sanitary and contingency workers did not turn out to work.

The employees and teachers are firm in the belief that their strike is an essential fight to help the survival of Kerala. They have begun campaigning among the peasants and workers about this fight. They know that this is the first dose of implementing the IMF, ADB dictates. If this is permitted unhindered then the whole of Kerala will suffer a lot.

In the meanwhile the Kerala DGP has come under a severe criticism from all quarters that he is behaving like a politician. The DGP has called upon the people to face the strike and offered to render all assistance to anti-strike elements. The question very pertinently asked is whether a DGP is empowered to make such calls to people to take law into their hands.

The political leaders of Kerala have warned the government against using ESMA on the employees. However, the government is proceeding on this path. It has also suspended a number of teachers and employees and charged them with criminal offences. The employees and the teachers are in a hectic campaign to tell the people that their struggle is for protecting the interests of the people and to prevent an experience of Argentina in Kerala.

Even the Congress leader K Karunakaran is not spared by Antony & Co. for expressing his opinions on the strike. A meeting attended by Karunakaran was thrown to confusion by the presence of a number of notorious rowdies let loose by Antony men to create confusion and allegedly to assault the "Leader", as Karunakaran is lovingly called by his faction of the congress party in the state.

The trade unions have decided to call for a general hartal in support of the striking employees and teachers. The date of the state-wide hartal would be deiced on the 13^Th of this month.

What has prompted the employees and teachers for going on an indefinite strike? Soon after assuming power, the UDF government launched a severe attack on the working people in the name of dealing with a financial crisis. A blue print for these attacks was prepared by elaborate methods. A cabinet sub-committee prepared a White Paper which prepared the basis for launching of these attacks. The cabinet, and later, the UDF liaison committee gleefully accepted the white paper. They made further recommendations on its basis, which were mainly directed against the government employees and teachers. The government has begun implementing these "recommendations". It is also resorting to lies and half-truths in order to justify these attacks and malign the employees and teachers. An attempt is being made to pin the entire blame for the financial crisis on the employees and teachers salary payments. "We would not allow the employees and teachers alone to live happily while others are suffering" says the chief minister in a malicious manner. Behind this lies the intention of concealing the real reasons for the crisis-- the globalisation policies being adopted by the government.

Let us examine the salaries component first. The White Paper claims that the budget deficit rose to unexpected levels due to the increased budgetary provisions for salaries, and pensions. This is plainly false. A look at the chart below proves this :

This table clearly shows that there has not been any increase at all in the salary expenditure of the state from 1996 to 2001 in spite of the fact that there was a pay revision in between.

So, the argument that salary expenditure has enormously increased is a meaningless jugglery of words and a deliberate attempt to create a divide in the society.

Unlike most of the other state governments, Kerala under LDF rule had taken up many projects for improving the standard of living of the people. As such, it laid stress on literacy, health care, education, social welfare etc and spent money on these sectors. Kerala was ahead of other states in this respect. The employees of the state have had their constructive and creative role in achieving these aims.

It is the shameful ingratitude on the part of the present government to state that these employees and teachers who have contributed greatly for the construction and creation of modern Kerala are a liability on the state exchequer. It is also ungrateful on its part to declare that these employees and teachers are responsible for the present crises in the state, if at all any.

That the reason for the financial crunch faced by the government lies elsewhere is borne out when one goes through these figures.

The government has mainly four sources of income:

1. Revenue

2. Non-revenue income

3. Plan Fund

4. Awards of the finance commissions

There has been a dearth of income from these sources. The following table of revenue tax collection progress will show the story of the tax collection up to October 2001.

(in terms of crores of rupees)

The dismal picture shown above in the table is a clear evidence of the fact that the government has totally failed in collecting the required revenue. This is not just because of the inability and failure of the government in collecting the taxes. Most importantly the real reason is the implementation of the globalization policies. Due to this there has been a sharp decline in the prices of indigenous agricultural products. The industrial sector has collapsed. The productive sectors have witnessed an unprecedented decline. Commerce and employment opportunities have come down sharply. The purchasing power of the people has declined to an all-time low. These are the reasons, thus, for the poor financial condition of the state. The collection of ordinary taxes should have shown a trend of growth.

But comparing with the tally of the earlier years immediately preceding the table years, there is a shortage of collection from excise and forest departments. In April and May 2001, the collection from the excise department was Rs 110 crores and Rs 156 crores respectively. But after the UDF took over , it gradually declined. The trend in last November is that only a sum of Rs 43 crores could be collected from the excise department. In December it was just Rs 25 crores. Why did this happen? Could the ministers and the Planning Board make introspection? The cause for this drain should be closely examined.

The story of the Finance commission award is also a very sorrowful affair. The commission divided 68 per cent of the total income for 13 states. The remaining 31.9 per cent was divided for the remaining states. UP got 19.78 per cent, Bihar got 14.60 per cent while Kerala got only a meager 3 per cent.

Because the state achieved the objectives in social sector much earlier than other states, it is being punished by the central government. Thus it is losing a sum of Rs 3660 crores during 2000-2005. In 2000-01 alone Kerala lost a sum of Rs 760 crores. Even the White Paper described it as a crippling blow to the state.

These are the actual reasons for the present financial crisis. Instead of finding solutions for these problems the government is indulging in a malicious campaign against the employees and teachers. A long-term fiscal and financial reform is the only way-out for finding a solution for the present crisis. We do not know whether any such wisdom would dawn upon the present Kerala government.

The total number of teachers and employees in the state are about 5.2 lakhs. Nearly 30 lakh people depend upon them for livelihood and survival. The driving force in the markets of the Kerala state is the salary of the employees and teachers. If this is stalled by the denial of salaries, by retrenchment, by reduction and by any other methods of Machiavellian cruelty, the whole state is going to suffer.