TAMIL NADU

The Fight Will Continue

A A Nainar

A CONCERTED attempt is on to paint the Tamil Nadu government employees as selfish hordes, who are out to fatten themselves at the expense of the other “98 per cent” people of the state. The chief minister Jayalalitha is being ably aided in this effort by the bourgeoisie media. On the other hand, the courts are pronouncing dangerous comments – questioning the very basic rights of trade unionism. It is cruel, to say the least, for the pro-liberalisation governments to launch savage attacks on the livelihood of working people and then take umbrage when there is the inevitable resistance to this attack in the form of strikes.

It is essential to know the issues and the situation in which lakhs of Tamil Nadu government employees struck work. Immediately after the Jayalalitha government assumed power during May 2001, citing the bad fiscal conditions of the state, it had stopped the payment of bonus to government employees; withdrawn the LTC facility and encashment of earned leave facility; and disallowed even recoverable annual/onetime festival advance. In a way she began her stint with this attack.

A joint action committee – JACTTEO-GEO – was formed and an indefinite strike call was given from July 02, 2002. In view of the Andipatti bye-election, from where Jayalalitha was contesting to become an MLA, the state government hurriedly called the committee for talks two days before the strike and an assurance was given for restoration of all benefits. Hence, the strike withdrawn.

As the assurances remained unfulfilled, the joint action committee went on an indefinite strike from October 23 to 31, 2002 demanding restoration of the withdrawn rights. The strike was called off following the negotiations that took place on November 1, 2002.

However, during March 2003, the government launched a bitter attack on the employees by issuing 6 government orders (GO’s) seriously curtailing the terminal benefits:

• The qualifying service period for pension was increased from 30 years to 33 years.

• Commutation benefit was reduced from 40 per cent to 33.3 per cent.

• Gratuity will be calculated as an average of last 10 months pay, instead of the last month’s pay. 

• Gratuity will be paid 50 per cent in cash and the balance to be paid only as “bond”.

• Encashment of leave was permitted to a maximum of 300 days (earlier it was 330 days)

• While encashing leave, only pay plus DA will be paid. Earlier, the gross earnings were taken into account.

Fresh agitations began. The NGO’s union, Secretariat employees union and Office Assistants union, which were hitherto out of all struggles, joined the action committee. In April 2003, there was a token one-day strike by JACTTEO-GEO and a synchronized fasting programme by COTA-GEO. The impact of this strike was felt very much as the state assembly was in session. Except IAS officials, right from additional secretaries (non-IAS cadre) to peons and drivers joined the strike.

The JACTTEO-GEO & COTA-GEO served a strike notice on the government for the indefinite strike proposed to start from July 2, 2003. What followed – unprecedented state repression to crush the strike – has been reported in these columns in the last issue.

STATE DECLARED LOCKOUT

After three days of strike by the employees, the Jayalalitha government has virtually declared a lockout by summarily dismissing around 2 lakh striking employees. At the time of writing this, the state administration is virtually paralysed for the 20th day running. Almost all of the 4000 employees in the secretariat – right from the deputy secretary level to the driver/peon/sweeper – were either dismissed or were not allowed entry into the offices. The mounting piles of garbage in the “Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai” (the state secretariat offices building) stand testimony to this. Same is the case in about 28 district collectorate offices and 210 taluk offices. In about 22000 primary schools, children are enjoying a forced vacation without teachers and administrative staff in aided schools. Same situation prevails in over 10000 higher secondary schools. The government colleges also met the same fate. It is a virtual state declared lockout. The situation on the ground is in complete contrast to the claims by the chief minister that the administration is functioning normally. If someone were to be booked for the offence of bringing the administration to a standstill, in violation of the ESMA provisions, it should be Jayalalitha.

How brutally the strike was sought to be suppressed by the Jayalalitha regime is demonstrated by these accounts. The police raided the houses of innocent employees’ leaders in the wee hours and harassed their family members. They had taken into custody a young mother (government servant) with her 3 month-old baby on hand. Some women employees were intimidated that they would be booked under immoral trafficking act. Certain leaders were arrested while addressing the demonstrations.

Caught unawares in the web of judicial wrangling, the strike was withdrawn abruptly on July 4 without wider consultation amongst the leadership of various organisations.

Nonetheless, by the sheer magnitude and impact, the strike was total and successful. Lakhs of ordinary employees had conducted this strike without getting provoked or resigning to despair. They had shown exemplary heroism, maturity and above all oneness of purpose which neither the courts nor the press deemed it necessary to record with the appreciation they deserved.

The hostile attitude of the Jayalalitha government toward the democratic movement had come into the open since 2001. Hers was the government that actively used POTA to settle scores with the political adversaries. She had passed an act against religious conversions to target the minorities in the state. She had suppressed the transport workers strike during last year. 

The free electricity supply was withdrawn to the farmers when they were struggling due to the acute drought conditions in the state. The bus fare and all other tariff had been revised steeply. Under wasteland development scheme, thousands of acres were ceded to the corporate houses. All these measures were taken as per the NDA government’s policies of LPG.

Another dangerous trend was her brazen hobnobbing with communal elements. In the aftermath of the Gujarat communal state-sponsored genocide, Jayalalitha went all the way to Gandhi Nagar to participate in the swearing-in of Narendra Modi. Praveen Togadia during his recent visit to Chennai had observed that Jayalalitha had the qualities to become the prime minister of the country. It is not without reason that the state president of the BJP had released two statements regarding the government employees strike in which he had stated that the workers must understand the dire financial condition of the state and should not resort to agitational methods. He had supported and appreciated the chief minister and had a dig at the communists who had ‘instigated’ the workers. It is clear the AIADMK government wants to tell their “class masters” that the reforms would be implemented unhindered here. That Jayalalitha believes that she would ‘show the way’ for India on questions of Hindutva and economic reforms, in the process ensuring her continuance in power and escape from the court cases hanging around her neck. That is why Jayalalitha was keen to ‘teach a lesson to the working class’ of the state. The parallel recruitment drive done by the state is a clear indication that she wanted to inflict maximum damage on the striking workers.

All the central trade unions and many industry-wise federations had supported the struggle of the government employees and teachers. On July 16 there was a demonstration throughout the state by all the unions. Police denied permission in many places and arrested the leaders belonging to the central trade unions. Support came from the government employees organisations from West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Andhra, Maharashtra and other states. An all party public meeting took place on July 19 in Chennai in support of the government employees and teachers. It was presided by N Varadarajan, state secretary of the CPI(M) and was attended by CPI, DMK, Congress, DPI, MDMK and PMK leaders. One thing must be clear that only the mobilisation of mass sections of the people against this onslaught would be the best guarantee for protecting the workers’ rights and dignity.