People's Democracy

GOVT EMPLOYEES' ‘RIGHT TO STRIKE’

5 Crore Signatures Petition To

Speaker On December 7

LOK Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee will receive a mass petition signed by 5 crore people on December 7, 2004 demanding legislation guaranteeing the Right to Strike for government employees. This mass petition will be submitted after an impressive ‘March to Parliament’ by tens of thousands of employees, workers on the same day.

The national council of the All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF) took this decision at its meeting in Patna on August 1-3. In a statement it said the decision was taken in consultation with the Confederation of Central Government Employees. The signature campaign will be undertaken among all state and central government employees apart from various other sections of the society. It may be recalled over 4 crore working people participated in a countrywide strike on February 24, 2004 on this issue.

The council meeting also adopted a 10-point charter of demands common to both central and state government employees. It decided to launch a united struggle on these demands and as a preliminary step a national convention would be organised at New Delhi on September 25, 2004.

The council meeting was attended by more than 500 delegates from all states of India.  The meeting welcomed the formation of the UPA government, supported from outside by the Left parties, and hoped that it will reverse the IMF-World Bank-WTO dictated anti-worker, anti-poor policies of the earlier NDA government. It hoped the new government would adopt policies which were in favour of the workers, poor farmers and the poor.

Some of the main demands adopted by the AISGEF are as follows:

• Legal Protection of  the right to strike of government employees.

• Repeal of British made slavish government servant’s Conduct Rules.

• Stop downsizing, closure, privatisation and corporatisation of government departments.

• Trashing retrograde reports of Expenditure Commission, Ahluwalia Committee and Rakesh Mohan Committee.

• Stop cuts on pension and other social security benefits earned by the employees movement.

• Immediate withdrawal of privatisation of pension.

• Lift ban on recruitment to enable unemployed youth find jobs.

• Restructure centre state financial relations and greater devolution of funds to the states.

• Restoring interest rate on PF and small savings to its earlier rates.   

(INN)