People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Vol. XXXI

No. 40

October 07, 2007

Public Sector Workers Chalk Out Nationwide Movement

 

Swadesh Dev Roye

 

AN extended meeting of the Committee of Public Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU) chalked out the programme of phased movement culminating in a nationwide strike to achieve the long-pending demands of public sector workers. A 'National Protest Day' would be observed on November 7 and later countrywide satyagraha programme would be observed in the form of dharnas, picketing, jail bharo etc on December 4 and 5 for implementation of their 18-point charter of demands.

 

These decisions were taken at the meeting of the CPSTU held at Nashik on September 16. Around 300 delegates representing different affiliated and independent trade unions functioning in the Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) attended the meeting.

 

The meeting was conducted by a presidium consisting of Ardendhu Dakshi (CITU), H Mahadevan (AITUC), Sudhakar Apraj (HMS), D Anantha Padmanabha (Joint Action Front, Bangalore) and B N Sudarshan (PSU Employees’ Coordination Committee, Hyderabad). M K Pandhe, Jibon Roy and Swadesh Dev Roye from the CITU center also attended the meeting.

 

BACKGROUND NOTE

 

M K Pandhe, president CITU through his inaugural speech formally placed the Background Note and thereafter the central leaders of the constituent organisations of the CPSTU spoke in support.

 

It has been mentioned in the Background Note that the disinvestments onslaught had been kicked off by the then Congress party government in 1991 and has been continuously pushed forward by successive governments at the centre. However, the worst attack came during the tenures of the BJP-led NDA government. The hired pen-pushers carrying out orchestrated campaign in favour of the neo-liberal doctrine have applauded the disastrous actions of that government thus: “The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of Atal Behari Vajpayee attempted some real disinvestments by privatising 13 PSUs by selling majority stakes to private bidders. In addition, 18 hotels under Indian Tourism Development Corporation and two units of Hotel Corporation of India were sold off”. And the commentator went on to say, “Even after 16 years of experimenting with disinvestments […] a little less than a quarter of the total disinvestment proceeds have come through genuine privatisation […] and about two-thirds of the proceeds have come from what are actually fake dininvestment”. What has been finally prescribed is a matter of grave concern for the trade union movement in the public sector: No so called fake but ‘genuine’ disinvestments aimed at complete privatisation and ‘freeing’ the public sector from government control !

 

By outright selling and disinvestments of equity of the CPSUs by the central governments at different points of time an amount of Rs 51,609 crore has so far been mopped up against the total budgeted target of Rs 96,800 crore. However, although the present UPA government could not budget any targeted amount to mop up funds through disinvestments, it did try to go for disinvestments of CPSUs including the ‘nav-ratna’ and ‘mini-ratna’ ones. Actually the UPA government initially wanted to go for disinvestment to the extent of 49 per cent in all the profit-making CPSUs. But they had to give up the attempt due to the strong objection of the Left parties. It has been commented by the advocates of disinvestments, “That it (UPA government) did not set any target is a comment on its inability to convince the Left allies to move ahead on disinvestment”.

 

DISCUSSION

 

A total of 33 representatives from amongst the delegates took part in the discussion. A very encouraging development noticed during the course of the discussion was the ever-heightening understanding among the trade unions of permanent workers to effectively fight the growing menace of contractorisation in the CPSUs. The meeting expressed serious concern at the continuously swelling number of executive category employees in the CPSUs on the one hand and on the other the continuously declining numbers of permanent workers. This disturbing situation is further aggravating with the phenomenon of constantly increasing engagement of huge number of contractor workers in the CPSUs and that too in the strategically important permanent and perennial nature operational activities. This is seriously affecting the trade union movement and also ultimately the existence of the undertakings in public sector.

 

Thus permanent workers are becoming acutely smaller in size as compared to the combined numerical strength of officers and contractor workers in most CPSUs in the country. The consequence is that the permanent workers are fast loosing trade union strength. Their right to strike and right to collective bargaining is also getting affected. The speakers were very candid in their firm assertion that it is high time to strengthen the coordination and cooperation between the trade unions of regular workers and contractor workers. Moreover, demand for recruitment of permanent workers was in focus of the deliberations.

 

Summarising the two-day long deliberations, the Core Group finalised the Declaration of the meeting incorporating the concrete demands and programmes of action. Swadesh Dev Roye, secretary, CITU moved the draft Declaration and the same was adopted unanimously by the meeting.

 

The H A L (ND) Employees Union, Nashik, played host to the CPSTU meeting. The efficient arrangements at the meeting venue, including mobilisation of sufficient volunteers from amongst the workers of HAL Nashik, provided excellent environment for the effective proceedings of the CPSTU meeting. While Pandhe delivered the wrap-up speech, Dakshi in his speech on behalf of the presidium proposed vote of thanks to all concerned.

 

DECLARATION

 

The following are excerpts from the Declaration adopted by the meeting:

 

THE extended session of the CPSTU held at Nashik on September 16, 2007 noted the compounding challenges before the trade union movement in the CPSUs arising out of the continued onslaught of hostile policies arbitrarily pursued by the successive central governments including privatisation through different routes such as disinvestments, attack on job security through casualisation, contractorisation, outsourcing, ban on recruitment of workers, continued shunning of bilateralism and imposition of unilateralism resulting in curtailment of right to collective bargaining, atrocious attack on trade union rights.

 

In the last round of wage revision for workers and executives, relativity has been wildly widened. And now the gap is poised to widen further. Before the last round of wage negotiations the relativity was 1:6. After implementation of Justice Mohan Committee it reached to 1: 9 and now some of the Officers’ Associations in their presentation to Justice Rao Committee have demanded relativity to be 1:15.

 

That spate of contractorisation has assumed a distinctly disastrous dimension in the post-liberalisation period. Number of regular workers is declining every day owing to stoppage of fresh recruitment of regular workers along with periodical separation, both normal and pre-mature. As a result the employment profile in most of the public sector units have undergone a drastic change with the contract workforce in many PSUs are double the number of permanent workers. The government has failed to honour the assurance given by the former union labour minister on the floor of parliament to rescind the notification on term based employment by the previous government.

 

The UPA government has not taken concrete steps for implementation of the revival schemes in respect of the sick CPSUs. In the meantime workers of the sick CPSUs continue to suffer from acute economic hardship and traumatic mental sufferings. Not only have they been denied pay revision for about last two decades even the percentage pattern of revised D. A. which is meant for neutralisation of hike in price index continues to be denied to these workers. In many cases the workers are not getting salary for years together. The workers who have retired from the sick units are even not getting the statutory dues. CPSTU reiterated that trade union movement in CPSUs, particularly pertaining to the techno-economically sound ones, must rise to the occasion to ensure justice to the workers in the sick units.

 

The Nashik session of the CPSTU once again resolutely reiterated the following cardinal issues of policy perspective centering round the 7th Round of Wage Negotiations for the workers of CPSUs, which had been formulated at the November 2006 Bangalore session. These issues must constitute our core concern among others and receive our priority attention without any compromise.

 

The CPSTU strongly demanded that IR must be granted to all the executives covered by Justice Rao Committee and Workmen in the CPSUs within the jurisdiction of 7th Round of Wage Negotiations & adequate proportionate relief to all the categories of contractors’ workers in all the CPSUs.

 

CPSTU resolutely demanded stoppage of deduction of Income Tax on Perquisites or Perks forthwith as such act of the government is totally unjustified and atrocious. Residential accommodation and other facilities at the industrial township is not an extra income to the employees concerned but an essential infrastructural support for safe and efficient running of the concerned industries.

 

PROGRAMME OF ACTION

 

The Nashik session of the CPSTU adopted the following programme of activities and action aimed at addressing the issues and the achieving the demands detailed above: