People's Democracy

Govt Staff To Join May 21 Strike

A JOINT convention of the state and central government employees has decided to join the one day all India general strike on May 21 to

·        Stop privatisation and downsizing of the government departments

·        Stop abolition of vacant posts and ban on recruitment

·        Stop curtailment of the existing economic benefits, like DA, Pension etc

·        And above all, reverse the disastrous anti worker economic polices

The two day convention held at New Delhi on April 21-22 endorsed the call given by central trade unions for general strike on May 21. The convention called upon the members of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers and the All India State Government Employees Federation to work for making the strike a grand success.

The convention adopted a declaration appealing to all organisations to immediately commence preparations for the impending strike action and make it a grand success.

The government employees have carried out militant struggle against the neo liberal policies. They had on July 25, 2001 organised a nation wide massive one-day strike under the united banner of the central and state government employees. They had been part and parcel of the National Platform of Mass Organisations and had been in the forefront of various struggles ever since 1991.

S K Vyas (Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers) and Sukumol Sen (All India State Government Employees Federation) stated that the convention appealed to the employees to chalk out a sustained and continuous programme of action to bring about the reversal of the pernicious polices of economic liberalization being pursued by the governments.

As was reported in these columns, on February 26, 2003, the country witnessed a massive mobilization and participation of workers in the programme of ‘March to Parliament’ to demand total reversal of the anti people polices of the NDA government. Immediately thereafter, the national consultation meeting of the trade unions held at New Delhi on March 12, 2003 has called upon the working class and the toiling people of the country to stage a massive countrywide general strike on May 21, 2003.