People's Democracy

CITU 12TH ALL INDIA CONFERENCE CALL

Intensify Countrywide United Struggles!

G Mamta from Bangalore

A view of the massive rally held on the concluding day of the conference

The 12th all India conference of CITU held on January 17-21, 2007 at Bangalore called upon the working class to intensify countrywide united struggles against the anti-people economic polices of the UPA government. It has chalked out a future course of action entailing struggles across sectors and sections of people, including an All India Demands Day jointly with the All India Kisan Sabha and All India Agricultural Workers Union through out the country on various issues/demands of the toiling sections of the society (see box). 

This call was given in the backdrop of widespread resentment among the people against the disastrous fall out of the neo-liberal economic policy regime on their life and livelihood expressed through numerous actions by the toiling people not only in our country but throughout the world.

INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS

The composition of international delegation to the 12th conference of CITU reflected the expression of international fraternity of workers of the world, irrespective of political affiliations and having wide geographical coverage. Trade unions, affiliates of both the WFTU and ICFTU and many independent ones, from various parts of the world participated in the conference. Around 56 representatives of trade unions from 38 organisations and 28 countries attended the conference. The countries represented were France, Italy, UK, Hungary, Mexico, Cuba, Japan, Russia, Spain, Greece, USA, Austria, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Australia, Mauritious, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Srilanka, China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Cyprus and Venezuela. Leyla Tegmo Reddy, Director ILO and Phong Sul Ahn, Senior Specialist ILO also attended the conference. 

FRATERNAL GREETINGS

George Mavricos, general secretary, World Federation of Trade Unions, Leyla Tegmo Reddy, director, Sub-regional Office ILO conveyed fraternal greetings to the conference. The conference was also addressed by Nurul Huda of All India Kisan Sabha, Arun Kumar of SFI, M Adhyantaya, vice president INTUC, Gurudas Dasgupta, general secretary AITUC, R Shankar of AICCTU, Shivsankar of TUCC and K Radhakrishna of UTUC-LS, Sunit Chopra of All India Agricultural Workers’ Union, Samir Ghosh of All India Reserve Bank Employees Association, Dilip Mukherjee of All India Rural Bank Employees Association and D P Dubey of FMRAI, Tyagi of DYFI and Sudha Sundararaman of AIDWA, V A N Namboodiri of BSNL Employees Union, S K Dhar of All India Loco Running Staff Association, Pradeep Biswas of Bank Employees Federation of India, N M Sundaram of All India Insurance Employees Association, K K N Kutty of Central Government Employees Confederation and C C Pillai of National Federation of Postal Employees.

The condolence resolution was moved by CITU secretary Kanai Banerjee. 

GEN-SEC REPORT

Chittabrata Majumdar, general secretary of CITU, presenting the general secretary’s report in the delegate session pointed out that the conference was taking place in the backdrop of a massive countrywide general strike against the anti-people and anti-worker policies of the UPA government. The task intensifying the united struggle further to decisively halt these anti-people policies remains, he stressed.

The general secretary report ridiculed with concrete facts and figures the media-hyped euphoria on rising GDP growth rate. The GDP is growing accompanied by rising unemployment rate, deepening poverty, severe agrarian crisis and increasing suicides by farmers and widening disparity between the millions and a few rendering the entire policy model unsustainable. Despite that the same policies of complete deregulation of almost everything are being pursued, particularly the financial sector of the economy which would have ominous portents on the economy. In this background the onslaught on the rights and livelihood of workers is gaining momentum. Labour laws are being blatantly violated with active patronage of the government and the law and order machinery at the behest of the capitalist employers. Trade union free environment is being sought to be established in every workplace through mass scale contractorisation, downsizing and outsourcing methods. Social security benefits are also under severe attack with the fast declining interest rate on PF and small savings, aggressive move to privatise the pension system etc. The government is dragging its feet in the matter of legislating on the service conditions and social security measures for unorganised sector workers. In this background, the trade union movement shall have to advance combating all such assaults by intensifying struggle at the workplace level and simultaneously heightening the countrywide united resistance against neo-liberal policies. Mobilising people from all walks of life towards this end should be given top priority, Majumdar asserted. 

In this context, the report noted the distinct role of the Left Front and Left and Democratic Front governments in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. The Left-led state governments could demarcate themselves both politically and on economic policy matters and assert in favour of the rights of the toiling people. While the central government indulged in dilatory tactics on bringing the legislation on unorganised sector workers, the Left Front government of West Bengal has introduced provident fund/social security scheme for unorganised sector and agricultural workers; it also provided some relief to the workers of closed factories in the state, when the central government and other Congress and BJP run governments chose to leave them in the lurch. Not only that, the very existence of these Left-led governments constitutes, in a way, a hurdle for the blind pursuit of the neo-liberal policies by the central government, the report stated. 

It may be recalled that for the first time in India, the West Bengal Left Front government extended the right to strike to the state government employees. The Left-led governments have also ensured that during industrial disputes police do not intervene on the side of employers. The working class movement has to combat these offensive anti-Left campaigns and close its ranks in defence of the Left and Left Democratic Front governments in the country. 

To fight communalism, special steps are necessary for eradication of communal influence from the minds of the working class. This should be the foremost long-term task of the trade unions and for the CITU. It is not easy to eradicate ideas deep-rooted in human mind. This task has to be carried out as a part of the day-to-day trade union work. To be effective, the effort for secularising the workers will have to be blended with the class struggle of the working class.

Yet another threat that looms large before the working class of India is the ever-increasing attempts by the casteist forces to divide the working people on caste lines, seeking to achieve political clout through caste appeals. The jobless – rather job-loss – growth pattern has given rise to acute discontent among the youth, which the casteist forces are seeking to utilise for their own ends. It is, therefore, necessary for the CITU to address these social issues, apart from addressing the economic issues of the working class.

An NGO, however good it may be, is not a class organisation nor do its programmes envisage confrontation or conflict with the capitalist class. Advocacy process by NGOs remains confined to reconciliation with the capitalist system; it never questions or challenges the efficacy of the capitalist system as such. Thus, we must have a clear approach towards the activities and our relationship with the NGOs.

Chittabrata concluded saying, "The present situation facing us poses formidable challenges but it offers tremendous opportunity as well. The neo-liberal economic model is incapable of offering even a minimum solace to the mass of the people who were facing a profound crisis in their lives. The economy has never before witnessed this perverse development of increasing growth rate in GDP being accompanied by unmitigated sufferings of the people. This is reflected in the increasing protests from all corners of the country and from all segments of the population. The working class movement, as the most organised segment of the common populace, has to convert this rising disillusionment against the neo-liberal policies into countrywide organised struggle for change in the policy regime. 

“The working class movement has made a formidable contribution to this phenomenon. The working class movement must take the vigorous initiative to mobilise all sections of people in the resistance struggle against the retrograde economic policies. In the process, it can pave the way for developing the objective conditions for emergence of a third force with a common pro-people policy approach and a clear anti-imperialist content. The CITU has to take initiative in rallying the entire working class movement in that direction." 

RESOLUTIONS

The following resolutions were adopted unanimously in the conference:

1. On Central legislation for agricultural workers. 

2. On Support to jute workers’ struggle in West Bengal 

3. Against Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Fund 

4. On Price rise 

5. Ban on Export of iron ore 

6. On Availability of Production of Drugs and control of drugs prices 

7. On Rural Distress and solidarity with struggle of peasants 

8. Peasants struggle in Ganganagar, Rajasthan 

9. On India-US Nuclear Deal

10. On Right to Work 

11. On hike in insurance premium of Motor Transport Vehicles 

12. Disinvestment and creeping privatization 

13. Reservation in private sector 

14. Against reforms in financial sector 

15. On Extremist violence in Assam 

16. On revival of Bharat Gold Mines at KGF 

17. On ICDS

CREDENTIAL REPORT

This 12th conference of CITU was attended by 2,439 delegates including 32 office bearers and 297 (12.4 per cent) women delegates. Maximum number (1243) of delegates fall within the age group of 46-60 and only 134 out of the delegates are aged below 35. It is also interesting to note that 109 delegates are above 71. Among the delegates 1465 are working as wholetimers at various levels. Out of the total delegates, 612 comrades have served jail sentences and amongst them Dilip Biswas from West Bengal had been in jail for a total of over 7 years. Some comrades had to remain underground during different periods for some reason or the other and amongst them Samar Mukherjee had to remain underground for 8 years in all. 

MASS RALLY

The 12th CITU conference concluded with a massive rally and public meeting at Govt Arts College Ground in Bangalore city. The rally drew several thousands of workers, including huge number of women workers.

The rally was presided over by V J K Nair and addressed by S Prasanna Kumar, B Madhava, S Varalakshmi all leaders of Karnataka CITU and by M K Pandhe and Chittabrata Majumdar, the newly re-elected president and general secretary of CITU respectively.

All the CITU leaders who addressed the meeting attacked both the union and state governments and warned of "dire consequences" if they failed to correct themselves. “We have resolved to launch a series of agitations against the United Progressive Alliance government at the centre and the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government in Karnataka until both the governments corrected their present policies which are detrimental to the interests of farmers, workers and others in the unorganised sector”, they asserted. 

CITU president M K Pandhe hailed the governments of West Bengal and Kerala for their pro-worker and anti-exploitation policies, and contrasted it with the policies of the present coalition government in Karnataka. He said that the fight against communalism should be intensified. He charged the state government with stifling trade union activities. He called upon the people to join the CITU in fighting evils such as communalism and defeat "unethical" governments. Referring to issues such as mid-day meal scheme, waiver of farmers' loans, salary of anganwadi teachers, support price and suicides of farmers, Pandhe said the CITU would shortly launch a nationwide agitation in a phased manner. 

CITU general secretary Chittabrata Majumdar said the CITU would oppose the state government's plans to privatise gold mines. Commenting on the attack on the public sector units by the governments, he said such policies would endanger the very economy of cities such as Bangalore. 

G V Sreerama Reddy, CPI(M) MLA representing Bagepalli constituency, charged the state government of being irresponsible and that its announcements were a bundle of contradictions.

(Note: The discussion on general secretary report, the reply and the discussions in various commissions will be reported in the next issue – Ed)