People's Democracy

DYFI�s Statewide Jatha Demands Employment With Social Security

S P Rajendran

THE Tamilnadu state committee of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) organised a huge state wide cycle jatha from December 13-28, 2008 which began from three centers in the state and culminated at Chennai. The jatha covered nearly 3000 kilometers, campaigned in about 600 centers and conducted above 100 public meetings. In each district, hundreds of DYFI members joined the jatha.

S Kannan, DYFI state secretary led the jatha from Kaliyakkavilai in Kanyakumari district. S G Ramesh Babu, state president led the jatha from Coimbatore and R Velmurugan, state joint secretary led the jatha from Rameshwaram. D Moni, former MLA and freedom fighter, U K Vellingiri and M Sivaji, both CITU leaders, flagged off the jatha from the three centers. Earlier, in all these three centers, massive public meetings were held.

A huge public meeting was organised in Chennai on December 28. L Shanmugasundaram, DYFI North Chennai district secretary presided over the meeting. S Kannan, state secretary, announced the future course of struggle to take forward the demand of 'employment with social security'. He called upon all the units of Tamilnadu DYFI to picket the government offices on February 18, 2009 demanding the DMK government to fill up the thousands of vacant posts in government services. DYFI general secretary Tapas Sinha, general secretary of All India State Government Employees Federation, R Muthu Sundaram, DYFI former state president and CPI(M) MLA S K Mahenran, DYFI state leaders S Kannan, S G Rameshbabu , S Muthukannan, R Velmurugan , S Lenin, S Bala, Meenakshi and SFI state president, N Rejis Kumar addressed the meeting. Earlier, in Kanyakumari district, DYFI all India president, P Sri Ramakrishnan addressed the public meeting.

The unemployment scenario is very grim in Tamilnadu. Nearly fifty lakhs of educated youth are waiting for reply from employment offices. And equal numbers of uneducated or unskilled youth are waiting outside without any registration, and they are wandering, migrating in search of coolie work. From the southern districts of Tamilnadu, thousands and thousands of youth and young women are migrating to Tirupur, Coimbatore like cities and to other states as unorganised coolie workers.

The state government is indifferent towards the unemployment issue. Every week the DMK government is signing MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with many multinational companies and the chief minister M Karunanidhi keeps announcing that thousands of crores of rupees investment would come and thousands of jobs would be created.

By these weekly announcements, he has already created 20 lakhs of job opportunities on paper!

In many industries, degree holders, diploma holders and unskilled youth are working as contract laborers. In textiles mills situated at Coimbatore, Tirupur, Dindigul, Madurai, Rajapalayam and Tirunelveli, there are slavery schemes for young women. Thousands of young women are working as slaves under �Sumangali scheme� �Mangalya scheme� for three years to earn just Rs 25,000.

After the rapid implementation of the LPG policies, the IT sector, construction, private finance companies, hotels, and mobile phone services etc., were in a boom. Educated, migrated youth got jobs in these services. But all these were temporary. In the later months of 2008, the financial crisis of US and the global meltdown mounted an attack on these jobs in Tamilnadu. IT companies, BPO, KPO companies, textiles, garments export and automobile industries are heavily hit by the slowdown and have thrown away lakhs of workers. In Chennai, IT companies served �pink slips� to thousands of staff. Last month, they earned above Rs 25000, but now they are wandering for coolie work.

In Coimbatore, Tirupur, Sivakasi, Sirperambudur and Ambattur like industrial towns, nearly all the major and minor industries stopped recruitment. The selected candidates in campus interviews were not given appointment orders for which they are waiting for the past six months.

On the other hand, above one lakh posts are lying vacant in Tamilnadu government services and thousands of teaching posts are vacant in Tamilnadu government schools. In government hospitals, primary health centers, government transport corporations and in state owned industries, thousands of posts are unoccupied. The much awaited Sethu Samudram channel project is freezed. The UPA government in centre, which is supported by DMK, is trying to compromise with the religious and superstitious interpretations and delaying the process of the early completion of the project. This project, if completed, will be a great contribution to the industrial development of the southern Tamilnadu, which has many unemployed people. And, the NREGA�s implementation is very poor in Tamilnadu. Proper implementation, expanding it to the urban poor and fixing the wages minimum as Rs150 are urgently required. Therefore, �employment with social security� is the need of the day.

The cycle jatha touring the state campaigned on these issues. The DYFI team from Kanyakumari started on December 13, 2008 and covered Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Virudhunagar, Madurai,Dindigal, Karur, Trichy,Perambalur, Neiveli, Villupuram, Kanchipuram and reached Chennai. The team from Coimbatore, campaigned through Tirupur, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Tiruvallur and the team from Rameshwaram reached to Chennai covering Ramanathapuram, Sivagangai, Pudhukottai, Tanjavur,Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, and Puducherry. Each team consisted of 35 members including five young women. On the way, all these teams were received by hundreds of youth, students and workers. Particularly, in all places, women gave a warm welcome. On the roadsides, Iyappa devotees and bus commuters too extended a warm welcome.

The DYFI volunteers dressed in white and wearing a red cap, rode with their cycles decorated with DYFI's White Flag. On roads, at every center where they were received, they looked like fresh white flowers. They were not tired even when they faced rainy mornings, sunny days and cold evenings. Each member of this team has earned rich experiences throughout the way and learnt from the real life of the people.