People's Democracy

National Convention Of Road Transport Workers

“THE UPA government has been given support to prevent the communal BJP from returning to power.  This does not mean that the working class movement has been compromised in any manner.” 

This was said by the president of the Bengal unit of the CITU, Shyamal Chakraborti, while addressing the open session of the national convention of road transport workers that followed the working committee meeting of the All-India Road Transport Workers’ Federation.  Chakraborti said that if the UPA government went outside the purview of the CMP and started taking anti-worker measures, a strong movement would be launched against it.

Labour minister of the Bengal Left Front government and senior CITU leader, Mohd Amin, said that in the new political situation, it was necessary to show the toiling masses the correct direction to stride forward by strengthening the all-India movement and organisation.  The transport TU’s must be run along democratic lines and the consciousness of the workers must be increased.  Capitalism cannot solve the problems.  The anti-worker recommendations of the ILO have been rejected in even capitalist countries.

State transport minister, Subhas Chakraborti was critical of the rise in the price of petroleum products.  He saw no justification for the rise since the cost of refining crude oil did not justify the hike in any manner.  The union government has imposed various taxes to the tune of Rs 18 per litre of petrol.  The union government is in the business of making up deficit by increasing the price of petrol, he said.  Lack of price stabilisation in the oil sector harms the economy in the final analysis.  Chakraborti also touched upon the various developmental schemes in the making in Bengal including small-sized truck terminals, which will create job opportunities.

Other speakers at the convention were K K Divakaran, Rajdeo Goala, Subhas Mukherjee, Sucha Singh, Bishu Saha, Manas Mukherjee, and Laxman Bhattacharya who presided over the open session of the convention.