Central PSU Workers Countrywide Strike On May 7, 2008

MORE than 400 delegates from all the major central public sector undertakings of the country met in a convention at Hyderabad on February 17-18, 2008 under the banner of Committee of Central Public Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU) - a united platform of trade unions of central public sector workers with various affiliations since 23 years. The meeting has decided to go for one-day countrywide strike by central public sector workers to be preceded by phased programme of campaign and agitation to press for their demands.

Among the prominent trade union leaders who attended the Hyderabad session included M K Pandhe, Jibon Roy, Swadesh Dev Roye, CITU; H Mahadeva, AITUC; R A Mital, HMS and members of parliament S Sudhakar Reddy, Tapan Sen and K Chandran Pillai.

Demands:

• No to disinvestment/privatisation and contractorisation/outsourcing in PSUs.
• Tenure of the wage agreement not more than five years. Relativity between workers and executives in pay and benefits turned widely adverse during last round of wage negotiations, must be restored.
• Annual increment system as percentage of basic pay to be calculated cumulatively every year.
• Wage rise for the contract workers in PSUs ensuring at least the minimum wage and benefits available to the permanent workers in all the respective PSUs.
• Merger of DA equal to 50 percent of the basic pay with effect from 1.4.2004.
• Financial and policy support for revival of sick PSUs and wage revision for the concerned employees.
• Filling up of all vacancies for workman category in PSUs through fresh recruitment of regular workers.

As a step towards prolonged action programmes for realisation of above pressing demands, CPSTU unanimously decided to go for a countrywide strike by workers of all central public sector undertakings on May 7, 2008 and has adopted the following programmes: