People's Democracy

LAKHS of workers and employees working in public and private sectors in Kerala went on a general strike for 24 hours on March 5 expressing solidarity with 28 day old indefinite strike of government employees and teachers. The rest of the people of Kerala expressed their solidarity with striking employees by observing hartal on the day. Although Kerala has witnessed a number of bandhs, hartals and general strikes, this one was unique in many respects.

Trade Unions including INTUC owing allegiance to the ruling front, UDF, did not join the call for the general strike or extend support to it. But they did not canvass against it because they could not oppose the demands of the striking employees nor support the intransigent stand of the A K Antony government towards them. Hence more than 50 per cent of workers in INTUC unions struck work on Tuesday along with lakhs of workers belonging to the CITU, AITUC, UTUC and BMS. The BMS has been supporting the indefinite strike of the employees from the beginning and their workers joined the general strike.

Employees in banks, insurance companies, post offices, BSNL, ISRO, AG’s office, income tax and other central government offices also actively participated in the general strike. Conspicuous by their participation in the strike were the wives of the chief minister A K Antony and Umman Chandy, UDF Convenor, who are bank officers.

All working people in other establishments, public and private, also participated in the strike. Peasants, agricultural workers and people from other walks of life actively participated to make the hartal on the day a total success.

There were impressive demonstrations by striking workers of all unions in hundreds of urban and rural centres all over Kerala in which millions participated expressing solidarity with and support to the striking employees. This has given a message in unmistakable terms to the UDF government that it should immediately take steps to bring the indefinite strike to an honourable settlement.

Holding the general strike and hartal was not a cake walk for the TUs in spite of the wide spread support of workers and other sections of people. The government was brandishing all draconian laws and rules to break the indefinite strike. They employed the same approach towards the general strike as well. Thousands of activists were put under preventive arrests in various parts of the state. In North Paravur in Ernakulam district, a group of congress men and goons attacked the activists who were campaigning for general strike and hartal, seriously injuring a prominent TU leader V K Dharman, Chendamangalam CPI(M) local committee secretary Dasan and a few others. Workers and hartal activists faced such provocations with equanimity avoiding clashes. Barring a few such incidents the strike and hartal on Tuesday were generally peaceful.

When the Kerala Assembly met on the day, the opposition moved an adjournment motion to discuss the critical situation in the state paralysed by a month old indefinite strike of government employees. The Speaker refused permission to move the motion on the basis of an arrogant reply from the chief minister A K Antony, following which the entire opposition walked out.

P K Gurudasan, chairman of the TU committee to support the indefinite strike and CITU state secretary congratulated the workers, employees, and other people who have made the general strike and hartal a big success.

During the last four weeks of strike by the government employees and teachers, the arguments in favour and against the government action withdrawing certain benefits long enjoyed by the employees as also about service and allied matters of employees were discussed all over the state. The government’s contention that the state was not in a position to meet the expenditure on salaries was exposed. It is established that the present financial difficulties emanate mainly from the criminal negligence of the government in collecting the revenue and the favours extended by it to the industrialists and traders. The plan expenditure so far is only about 25 per cent of what was originally envisaged which is an all time low in the past few decades.

The government led by the congress is utilizing the current financial crisis to slap the reforms based on globalisation and liberalisation which will not only cut short the emoluments and other benefits of employees but also will do away or seriously restrict the benefits extended to weaker sections and ordinary people. Working people and the masses in general have learnt about the real intentions and long term plans of the UDF government. Hence a vast majority of people including a number of those who subscribe to congress and BJP ideologies have joined the strike. The emergence of this unity of working people cutting across political loyalties is a welcome development as far as those resisting globalisation reforms are concerned. It is a warning to those who are unleashing continuous attacks on the life and livelihood of working people in the country.