People's Democracy

CONVENTION’S DECLARATION

THE all-India convention of industrial unorganised and agricultural workers and peasants, jointly convened by Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU), expressed its grave concern at the deteriorating working and living conditions of the vast masses of workers and peasants with the advent of globalisation. While most of the rise in national income during the last one and a half decade has been cornered by big capitalists, landlords and rich peasants, rising prices and unemployment have made large sections of workers and peasants destitute.

With the absence of land reforms in most of the states, agrarian crisis in the country has hit hard the small, middle and marginal farmers and agricultural workers. With crores of acres of land garnered by big landlords and rich peasants, they have been able to monopolise agricultural implements, vehicles, pump sets, tube wells, seeds and fertilisers, and water and electricity resources. On the other hand, vast sections of peasants are suffering from rising indebtedness and rising cost of cultivation, and are victims of distress sale by 33 lakh impoverished farmers every year. There is no wonder that 2 lakh farmers have committed suicide during globalisation while landlessness among the rural poor had risen to 32 percent in 2002 as against 22 percent in 1992, and has further increased today.

Steep increase in input prices, highly fluctuating and decline output prices, non-availability of credit have made the agricultural unviable, wherein 70 percent of Indian population is involved. Cut in subsidies on fertiliser and other inputs and absence of comprehensive insurance schemes have worsened the situation.

As a result of reduction in import duties and withdrawal of quantitative restrictions in imports our agricultural exports have declined while domestic market is facing stiff competition due to heavy subsidized imports. Over 40 percent farmers are compelled to search other avenues of livelihood due to uneconomic cultivation, while workforce in agriculture and allied services has gone down to 58 percent in 2004-2005 from 62 percent in 1993-94. Due to stagnation of foodgrain production, per capita availability of foodgrains has gone down. Instead of attending to the serious problem by increasing public investment and giving required subsides to farmers, the government of India is resorting to imports of food products.

With the opening of the Indian market for multinational corporations’ reckless entry, multinational companies are increasing their share in industrial production, banking, insurance and other service sectors. With the withdrawal of import restrictions on over 1200 products, many small-scale and traditional industries are facing sickness and closure. The withdrawal of reservation of several products for small-scale industries, the big business houses are throwing them out of the market: The opening of the retail trade for foreign direct investment and big business houses have threatened the livelihood of 4 crore retailers all over India.

The disinvestments and privatisation of public sector undertakings have severely affected self-reliance in Indian economy. Large-scale contractisation and outsourcing of permanent and perennial nature of jobs has brought down sharply the regular jobs in both public and private sectors. The drastic reduction of manpower is taking place in the name of voluntary retirement schemes. Non-implementation of labour laws is leading to introduction of 12 hours working day in several establishments. In the name of abolition of Inspection Raj, violation of labour laws has become a matter of daily occurrence while hire and fire policy is sought to be implemented through enactment. Payment of Bonus Act is not amended to remove the ceilings, depriving lakhs of workers from its coverage. Minimum wages are not revised periodically and even the fixed wages are not being implemented. Fraudulent price index is depriving workers due compensation for rising prices while low PF interest rates and new pension scheme is making a mockery of social security measures. Ban on recruitment in government services and public sector, non-fulfilment of vacancies have led to reduction in manpower.

When the toiling classes are organising resistance against these attacks, governments are resorting to repressive measures while judiciary is announcing anti-working class judgements including denial of the right to strike. Women workers are suffering from unequal wages, sexual harassment and discrimination in employment. The promised comprehensive bill for the unorganised workers has yet to see the light of the day.

The special economic zones and corporate agricultural operations are violating the land ceiling acts, forcibly occupying the lands with inadequate compensation, tax free regime for the profit hungry Indian and foreign capitalists and non implementation of labour laws. Unless it is properly reviewed it would be an attack on the working class and the peasants all over India.

Agricultural workers in India are the worst suffers. The availability of job which stood at 100 days in a year in 1990 has come down to only 57 days today. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has not reached most of the rural workers and even proper wage is not paid to them. The real wages of agricultural workers have fallen drastically in the recent past. Migration of agricultural labour in search of jobs has grown sizeably in the recent past. Tribal labour is facing threat of evictions from forests despite enactment of Forest Rights Act. The provision of house sites for the rural labour is a far cry while the much promised agricultural workers bill in National Common Minimum Programme is not yet been adopted by parliament.

The communal and divisive forces in India are disrupting the class struggles of the working class and the peasantry and only helping the exploiting classes in the country. Unless their role is counteracted the issues of working and peasantry cannot be properly addressed today.

This convention therefore calls upon the working class and the peasantry to build a powerful alliance so that they can jointly fight the growing attacks against their working and living conditions. The 3 crore membership of CITU, AIKS and AIAWU can be a strong base for widening the united movement, if they are involved in concerted action against capitalist landlord offensive against them. Their unity can be an affective weapon to fight against depredation of the World Bank, IMF and the WTO in India. It is only through powerful united struggle that the working class and peasantry can resist attacks and improve their standard of living. This alliance has also a powerful potential to effect a social transformation in the present capitalist feudal system of exploitation of the vast masses of our population.

This convention of the CITU, All India Kisan Sabha and All India Agricultural Workers Union calls upon all of its affiliates and friendly bodies to organise joint campaign on the following demands so that it culminates into a countrywide powerful movement:

1. Check the rise in prices of essential commodities.

2. Revamp the public distribution system by strengthening procurement with remunerative prices to the peasant and ultimately making it universal.

3. Introduce in Parliament comprehensive bills on unorganized labour and agricultural workers.

4. Effective implementation of national employment guarantee scheme and making it universal by extending it to urban areas.

5. Withdraw cut in custom duties which adversely affect our agriculture and traditional industries.

6. Make ICDS universal and regularize Anganwadi workers and helpers, pending which improve their working and living condition.

7. Give cheaper credit to farmers and agricultural labour and cancel debts of the poor under distress.

8. Give land to the tiller, with special emphasis on SC/STs.

9. Implement all the labour laws and minimum wages.

10. Amend SEZ Act and Rules to protect the interests of the peasants, agricultural workers and other affected people.

The convention decides to hold state and district level conventions to plan struggles on these common issues. Joint committees at different levels should be formed to lead these struggles all over the country.

The convention further agrees to prepare for massive demonstrations at district headquarters and state capitals, culminating in a powerful demonstration before parliament to highlight these burning problems faced by the working class and the pleasantry all over the country.