People's Democracy

  Public Sector Workers To Join Sept 29 Strike

CITU president M K Pandhe addressing the convention

A NATIONAL convention of central public sector workers has appealed to public sector workers of the country, irrespective of affiliations, to join the September 29 countrywide strike called by central trade unions. The convention unanimously adopted the declaration of the July 9, 2005 convention of national trade unions held at Delhi, calling for the strike.

Around 370 trade union representatives from the entire spectrum of public sector industries of the country participated in the convention which was held under the auspices of Committee of Public Sector Trade unions (CPSTU) at Kolkata on August 16. It may be noted that amongst the united trade union platforms in the country, CPSTU has the distinction of longest active existence. The central public sector workers have fought many a battles under the banner of CPSTU against the disastrous economic policies of the successive governments at the centre.

CITU president M K Pandhe placed the background note in the convention while the operative resolution was moved by CITU secretary Tapan Sen. A presidium consisting of Swadesh Dev Roye (CITU) Gaya Singh (AITUC) Jaganath Banerjee (HMS) Michael B Fernandes (JAF, Bangalore) and A Rajeshwar Rao, (Coordination Committee of Hyderabad PSU Trade Unions) conducted the proceedings of the convention.

Some of the salient points featured in the background note are briefly given below:

 The current tactical resolve of the UPA government on disinvestments is to accomplish disinvestments up to the extent of 49 per cent in all the profit-making CPSUs and at the next earliest opportunity to go for full privatisation. It is astonishing to note that up to 49 per cent equity-holding of the government has been termed by the Department of Disinvestments (DoD) as “surplus government holding” and it is estimated at Rs 1,19,263 crore on the basis of the market price of the equity of the listed CPSUs and net worth of the unlisted CPSUs as on March 31, 2003.

 The contribution to central exchequer by the CPSUs by way of excise duty, customs duty, corporate tax, interest on central government loans, dividend and other duties and taxes has gone up by Rs 19,060 crore –– from Rs 62,866 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 81,926 crore in 2002-03. The total reserve amount of the top ten CPSUs together as of March, 2005 was of the order of Rs 1,51,000 crore.  The list of such CPSUs include the recently divested power giant NTPC with an amount of Rs 33,530.80 crore. This also testifies the assertion that, privatisation and disinvestments move is actually governed by the doctrine of the World Bank and the IMF and not real requirements of funds by the government as such. On the other hand, the private sector industries thrive not on their own resources but on public money – resources supplied by the nationalised banks – and this further justifies and strengthens the slogan – ‘privatise the private sector first instead of running after the public sector for a sell off in haste’.

The hot pursuit of anti-public sector polices pursued by the government of the day is also affecting the service conditions and trade union rights of the CPSU employees. The World Bank has been successively publishing so-called study reports depicting distorted picture about the compensation package and other service conditions of the public sector workers as well as on performance of the CPSUs. A deeper understanding of the intention of the World Bank will reveal that it is signaling to the government to impose restriction on right to collective bargaining and right to association, on the one hand and directing the government to dismantle the PSU network through privatisation.

Noting that public sector workers’ movement, under the leadership of the CPSTU, had always been the crucial component of the countrywide working class struggles, the convention called for carrying forward this tradition.  It stated that the CPSTU, as a leading and vital component of the trade union movement, has to play a frontline role in uniting the public sector workers in particular and strengthening the countrywide struggle of the toiling people in defence of their rights and also in defence of the public sector.

RESOLUTION

The text of the operative resolution of the convention is appended below:

The National Convention of the Committee of Public Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU) held at Kolkata on August 16, 2005, while endorsing the Declaration adopted in the National Convention of Trade Unions held on July 9, 2005 at New Delhi, calls upon the public sector workers and trade unions irrespective of affiliations to go in for countrywide strike action on September 29, 2005 to press for 16-point charter of demands adopted by the July 9, 2005 convention and also to protest against the anti-PSU polices of the government of India and the onslaught on labour rights including the social security measures for the workers. The strike notice will be served by the PSU unions on September 15 through demonstration. The CPSTU also records its emphatic protest against

• The disastrous move of disinvestments in profit-making PSUs

• Government’s inaction to revive the sick and potentially viable PSUs within public sector framework

• Attack on social security benefits and the move to slash down and privatise pension scheme

• Discriminatory policies against the PSUs affecting their economy, efficiency and competitiveness

• Contractorisation, casualisation and outsourcing and gross underpayment to the contract workers.

• Handing over of Coal and Oil blocks to the private sectors including MNC’s

The CPSTU also decided to hold a national workshop to formulate strategy framework on the wage-pattern and other demands of the PSU workers in November/December of this year. The core group of CPSTU will meet immediately after the September 29 strike and decide on the details of the same.

The CPSTU calls upon the pubic sector workers all over the country to make the general strike on September 29, 2005 a total success and appeals to all trade unions irrespective of affiliations to join the countrywide strike action.