People's Democracy

MAHARASHTRA

Workers Unite for All India Strike

Dr S K Rege

OCTOBER 20, 2012 witnessed a grand state level joint convention of all the trade unions, organised in the Central Railway Welfare Hall, near Parel Workshop of the Central Railway in Mumbai. It was organised by the Trade Unions Joint Action Committee (TUJAC) of Maharashtra.

All the central trade union organisations and federations as well as state level unions participated wholeheartedly in the joint state level convention. These included the INTUC, BMS, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, AICCTU, UTUC, TUCC, IFTU, NRMU, Bharatiya Kamgar Sena Mahasangh, State Government Employees Federation, MSEB Workers Federation, Municipal Mazdoor Union, AIBEA, BEFI, All India LIC Employees Federation, National Federation of Postal Employees, Airport Authority Employees Union, Air Corporation Employees Union, Kamgar Aghadi, Bombay University and College Teachers Union, Mumbai Regional Junior Teachers Union, BSNL Employees Union and many other unions.

The presidium elected to conduct the proceedings of the convention was based on R G Karnik (State Government Employees Federation), Anna Dhumal (BMS), Devraj Singh (INTUC), Y G Joshi (NRMU), K L Bajaj (CITU), M A Patil (NTUI), Rohan (AITUC), Jairam Vishwakarma (AIUTUC) and Suryakant Mahadik (BKS Mahasangh). Besides the members of the presidium, senior leaders like Narsayya Adam (CITU, Maharashtra state president), Sukumar Damle (AITUC), Suryakant Bagal (HMS), Uday Bhat (AICCTU), Milind Ranade (NTUI) and Dr K K Theckedath (BUCTU) were also seated on the dais.

Several leaders spoke on behalf of their organisations and supported both the resolutions placed before the conference. They included S Anna Desai (BMS), R P Bhatnagar (CRMS-INTUC), Sukumar Damle (AITUC), Suryakant Bagal (HMS), Narsayya Adam (CITU), S K Bose (NRMU), Advocate Navnath (Municipal Mazdoor Union), Uday Bhatt (AICCTU), Dr K K Theckedath (BUCTU), Sharad Nanal (All India LIC Employees Union), Milind Ranade (NTUI), Vishwas Hotgi (AIBEA), Ravindra Joshi (IFTU), K S Ahire (Kamgar Aghadi), Suryakant Mahadik (BKS Mahasangh) and R G Karnik (State Government Employees Union). All the speakers lambasted the anti-labour and anti-people policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation of the central and state governments and appealed to the audience present at the convention to support the action programme placed before them, with all their might.

The conference passed two resolutions --- one on the countrywide action programme and the other on the state level demands. Both the resolutions were passed unanimously by the convention.

Through the first resolution the convention decided to hold district level joint conventions of all trade unions in the months of October and November 2012 in all the districts of Maharashtra. They will also organise programmes of civil disobedience by courting arrest in mass in all the districts and major trade union centres of Maharashtra on December 18 and 19, 2012; participate in the All India Rally of Workers on December 20, 2012 in Delhi, and also participate in the countrywide strike on February 20 and 21, 2013.

Through the second resolution the convention decided to oppose the amended Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) tooth and nail, to demand a minimum wage of Rs 10,000 for every worker in Maharashtra, to demand  supply of 12 cylinders of cooking gas per year at subsidised rates for all families having an income of less than Rs 5 lakh per year, to demand the filling of all vacant posts in state government departments and especially in the labour department immediately, and to demand strengthening of the public distribution system (PDS) the from central and state governments respectively.