People's Democracy

   TU’s Convey Concerns Of Working Class

To New Labour Minister

A delegation of top leaders of the central trade unions met the new union labour minister Sis Ram Ola on May 26 and submitted the following memorandum. The signatories to the memorandum are: Swapan Muherjee (AICCTU), Gurudas Dasgupta (AITUC), Chittabrata Majumdar (CITU),   Umraomal Purohit (HMS),   Devarajan (TUCC),  Aboni Roy (UTUC) Krishna Chakraborti (UTUC-LS).

THE central trade unions representing an overwhelming majority of the workers of the country viz AICCTU, AITUC, CITU, HMS, TUCC, UTUC and UTUC-LS, greet the union labour minister. We look forward to your proactive intervention in addressing the concerns of the working class of the country.

The working people of India share the joy of the millions of our countrymen at the ouster of the previous National Democratic Alliance government, whose track record in office had been disastrous for all sections of the Indian society except the vastly affluent few.

The United Progressive Alliance government has assumed office at the centre in the backdrop of the utter failure of the BJP-led NDA government to tackle the basic human problems of the country during its nearly six years rule; its total inability to contain recession, push up rate of investment, promote employment, ensure poverty alleviation, step up higher growth and economic development benefiting the common people; its inability even to provide food security to the hungry millions. It had instead given the multinational companies substantial access to domestic savings, bringing about massive casualisation of work force and weakened the ability of the state to effectively intervene in the economy in favour of the vast majority of people who are close to destitution.

Hence, the new government must set out to act without any delay and carry out the tasks of giving immediate relief to the distressed working masses of the country. We also look forward to the new government embarking on an exercise to bring about a paradigm shift in the economic policies.

We emphasise that it is essential to embark on a programme of:

• massive government investment, directed and targeted to augment agricultural production

• building and expanding social infrastructure particularly in health, education, supply of drinking water

• vastly improving irrigation facilities, developing small and medium industries, building rural roads

• setting up new power stations, extending communications

• and above all reducing poverty and generating massive employment.

 We expect that the new government will devote itself to the urgent task of cleansing the governance which was based on politics of hatred and violence, divisiveness, sectarian intolerance, minority bashing, intoxication and saffronisation of every institution under the polity and usher in a new period of freedom, incisiveness and openness, refurbishing the secular democratic fabric of the Indian society.

We also expect that the new government will repeal the draconian POTA and ESMA, which are unwanted incursions into the democratic rights of the people in a republic like ours.

During the past few years, all the central trade unions and independent unions and federations in the country, had jointly formulated the following eight-point demands:

• Halt to privatisation of profit making and potentially viable public sector undertakings

• No change in the labour laws in favour of the employers and against the interest of the workers

• Immediate enactment of a comprehensive legislation for agricultural workers

• No to policies leading to severe aggravation of joblessness and unemployment

• Widen comprehensive social security schemes for all, including workers in unorganised sector

• Restoration of quantitative restrictions on imports

• Amendment of Payment of Bonus Act by removing all ceilings

• Restoration of 12 per cent interest rate on Provident Fund deposits.

Besides the above, the entire spectrum of the trade union movement in the country denounced the Supreme Court pronouncement against the right to strike and demanded that the central government take appropriate steps to negate the pernicious impact of the said judgement of the Supreme Court.

Urging the government to implement the above, the trade unions and the working people of all sectors have unitedly been on the move, launching campaigns and sustained struggles throughout the country and in different sectors. Thus, the working people of the country have made a solid contribution in shaping the people’s verdict, which saw the exit of the NDA government.

We, therefore, have an inalienable right to demand this government to respond to the concerns of the working people. We list hereunder the specific issues and demands, In line with the above common position taken by the entire trade union movement in the country, on which the new government is expected to initiate speedy action.

ON LABOUR RIGHTS:

• First and foremost, clear the impasse created by the Supreme Court verdict on the right to strike by taking effective steps to negate the pernicious impact thereof.

• Initiate steps to ratify the core conventions of the International Labour Organisation on the right to association and right to collective bargaining (ILO Conventions 87 and 98), as also the ILO Conventions 151 and 154, which specifically relate to the rights of those employed in public services.

• Include the May Day as an additional national holiday.

 ON POLICY ISSUES

• End privatisation/disinvestment of profit making, strategically important and potentially viable PSUs and departmental undertakings.

• Restore quantitative restrictions on imports and review EXIM policy to safeguard agriculture, indigenous industry and national interest as a whole.

• Carry out expeditious land reform programmes, which will lead to swift economic growth and create vast employment potential.

• Reverse measures like ban on recruitment in government offices, railways and public sector enterprises and systematic downsizing of workforce; undertake a crash programme for creating jobs to reduce the colossal volume of unemployment.

• Strengthen the public distribution system with adequate quantity and regularity of supply with effective monitoring system to ensure that the gains reach the deprived and needy section; reduce the price of kerosene, augment its supply through public distribution system; price of diesel, petrol, and cooking gas not to be raised any further.

• Review the Electricity Act, 2003 and rescind the deadline of June 10, 2004 for unbundling of SEBs; withdraw the bills pending in Parliament for the privatisation of banks, coal mining etc.

• Take immediate measures to tackle the crisis in the traditional industries like tea, jute, coir, textile, handloom, khadi & village industries, beedi, sugar etc.

• Take immediate steps to enact the Workers Participation in Management Bill, which has been kept lingering for over a decade.

• Reverse the repeal of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act; restore the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and its Appellate Authority (AAIFR); strengthen the mechanism of BIFR/AAIFR, revamp them with appropriate arrangements for finances for ensuring rehabilitation/revival of the sick companies; create an appropriate mechanism for rehabilitation of sick small scale industries, which are outside the purview of SICA.

• Appoint a new review committee with representation to the central trade unions (CTUOs) to devise a truly transparent mechanism of compiling the cost of living indices, with the CTUOs being given a monitoring role.

• Redress the growing problems of fishermen; cancel the licences given to foreign deep sea fishing trawlers; stop the increasing use of mechanical vessels for fishing in the coastal regions.

 ON TRIPARTISM

• Streamline functioning of the labour ministry; ensure effective functioning of labour ministry in all matters concerning the interests of labour; activate the tripartite mechanism including Tripartite Committees, the Indian Labour Conference and Standing Labour Committee.

• End the whimsical and partisan manner of deciding representation of central trade unions in tripartite committees; evolve norms therefore in consultation with the CTUOs.

 ON LABOUR LEGISLATIONS

• Enact the comprehensive Agricultural Workers Bill to guarantee minimum wage and to extend social protection to the vast multitude of agricultural labourers.

• Enact the Unorganised Sector Workers Bill, as unanimously recommended by the central trade unions.

• Rescind forthwith the notification introducing a new classification of “fixed term employment workman” under the Model Standing Order Rules, which will wipe out permanency in all jobs even in the organised sector.

• Reverse the whole gamut of legislative changes, carried out as well as contemplated, in detriment to the interests of labour; annul the exemption given to Export Promotion Zones / Special Economic Zones from application of labour laws and social security schemes.

• Initiate an in-depth discussion with the central trade unions for making the labour legislations more meaningful and effective and for strengthening the implementation machinery.

• Amend the present provisions in the Bonus Act to remove the income ceilings for eligibility and calculation of Bonus.

• Amend all labour legislations, in consultation with the CTUOs, providing for a uniform definition of ‘workman’ and ‘industry’ make them applicable to all workmen doing away with income parameters/ceilings of any kind.

• Annul, by bringing in appropriate legislation in the Parliament, the adverse impact of the Supreme Court judgements, which have (a) reversed its earlier beneficial ruling in favour of contract workers and (b) ruled that teachers employed in private schools and educational institutions could not be construed as ‘workman’ and thus declared them to be ineligible for gratuity and other statutory benefits even.

• Take expeditious steps to enact legislation for preventing sexual harassment of women at work place as per the Supreme Court guidelines.

• Protect the interests of Inter-State Migrant workers and amend the Inter-State Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1979 for extending its coverage.

ON SOCIAL SECURITY

• Evolve a national social security policy to provide for a comprehensive scheme, covering all sections of workers and extending relief to those who are involuntarily unemployed, for early implementation.

• Restore the 12 per cent interest on the Employees Provident Fund, small savings, general provident fund, public provident fund etc.

• Improve the present social security schemes under the Employees Provident Fund Organisation and the Employees State Insurance Corporation, in consultation with the central trade unions for a thorough overhaul, to ensure their better functioning and universal coverage.

• Reverse the retrograde measure replacing the existing ‘benefit defined’ pension scheme by a new ‘contribution defined’ pension scheme for new recruits in the government service.

In fine, we wish to reiterate that the defeat of the BJP-led NDA government signifies the powerful mood of the masses for rapid change for better. We, therefore, call upon the new government not only to undo the wrongs perpetrated by the earlier regime but also rise to the occasion and live up to the expectation of the masses. We urge the new government to adopt a firm pro-people economic policy that shall end the economic recession and guarantee a better quality of life for the common masses without allowing the vastly affluent section of the community to be the sole beneficiary of the development paradigm.

A government with commitment to the people, we believe, can mobilise additional resources to finance the programme of development benefiting the people. We emphasise on blasting corruption, paving the way for economic growth, ensuring better tax compliance, curbing tax default, realising the outstanding bank loans and tax arrears, augmenting direct tax revenues by broadening the tax base and incidence on the vastly affluent and rich landlord sections, giving relief to salaried employees by increasing income tax exemption limits, mobilising domestic resources by launching long term development bonds.  

On the issues and demands of the working people enumerated above, we look forward to your initiating meaningful steps and expeditious actions. We are always available for further interactions and dialogue, at your earliest convenience.