People's Democracy

CITU Congratulates Workers For Nationwide Satyagraha

CITU workers staging a rail roko at Garhshankar, Punjab

CITU issued the following press release on December 5, 2007

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions congratulates the hundreds of thousands of workers from the organised and unorganised sectors, peasants and agricultural workers all over the country who have responded magnificently to the call of the Sponsoring Committee of Trade Unions and Industrial Federations to observe the Satyagraha programme of December 4 – 5, 2007 in support of the 18 point charter of demands and to protest against the apathetic attitude of the UPA government to the demands of the toiling people of the country.

Thousands of workers, peasants and agricultural workers demonstrated all over the country, held rasta roko, rail roko, dharnas etc., and courted arrest in various parts of the country.  In Delhi and the surrounding industrial areas including Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad etc., more than 25,000 workers participated in the two day programme; more than 15,000 were arrested including Md Amin, general secretary of CITU and other trade union leaders. More than 20,000 were arrested in Madhya Pradesh. Around 5,000 workers, peasants, agricultural workers including a large number of tribals courted arrest on the first day of the two day protest programme in Orissa.

Massive meetings, demonstrations and dharna programmes were held in West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states. A huge meeting was held in Kolkata; thousands participated in the meeting in Agartala, which was addressed by MK Pandhe, president CITU. Workers and employees held massive demonstrations in Mumbai and other districts of Maharashtra; several workers including women were injured in the police lathi charge in Parbani.

Thousands of workers and peasants participated in the rail roko, rasta roko and dharnas and courted arrest in Punjab, Assam, Bihar and other states. Chakka jam was observed in the entire coal belt of Chattisgarh; demonstrations and dharnas were held in Bhilai, BALCO.

The CITU demands the government to take note of the massive discontent among the workers, agricultural workers and peasants in the country and take immediate steps to fulfil their demands.