People's Democracy

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

Vol. XXXIII

No. 3

January 25, 2009

 


 

Demands Highlighted By The March To Parliament


  1. Stop retrenchment and wage cuts on the pretext of financial crisis

  2. No privatisation of profit making and potentially viable PSUs; expedite steps for revival of sick PSUs.

  3. Halt further deregulation of financial sector, strengthen public sector banks and insurance companies, impose embargo on non-banking and speculative activities by the banks and financial institutions including the foreign banks.

  4. Revise upward the minimum wages rate for both urban and agricultural workers and ensure strictest implementation of all labour laws, including the law on inter-state migrant workers.

  5. Universalise public distribution system (PDS) bringing within its purview all the 25 essential commodities to be supplied at subsidised prices.

  6. Universalise ICDS, which would provide employment to women besides helping in ensuring nutrition, health and education to the children

  7. Stop all speculative trading like forward trading etc for all the 25 essential commodities

  8. Aggressive procurement of foodgrains by FCI throughout the country with remunerative support price to the peasants including small farmers.

  9. Scrap PFRDA Bill; stop handing over provident-fund/pension-fund accumulations to private fund managers.

  10. Prioritise on relief to suffering millions than providing so called bail-out to a few corporates; any relief or concessions granted to industry, domestic or foreign, must ensure and guarantee protection of jobs and additional employment generation.

  11. Credit flow from financial institution to target agriculture and small-scale sector with top most priority, followed by industrial sector and not for stock-market operation.

  12. Contain speculation, ban participatory notes transactions, and impose higher capital gains tax, both long term and short term.

  13. Increase public investment in agriculture and infrastructure projects with specific thrust on power, road and waterways.

  14. Protection to domestic industries through increase in import tariff against possible dumping of industrial commodities in the background of falling prices in the international market owing to recession; India should not agree to any further cut in import tariff in the ongoing talks at WTO level.

  15. Debt waiver and relief to farmers indebted to private moneylenders.

  16. Reduce price of petrol and diesel by reducing tax burden and impose windfall tax on petroleum export above a cut-off point.

  17. Comprehensive legislation on service conditions and social security for unorganised sector workers and agricultural workers with central government funding.

  18. Reinforce predominant government control in core, strategic and infrastructure sectors of the economy.