People's Democracy

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

Vol. XXXVII

No. 01

January 06, 2013

 

 

 

 

Chakka Jam in Punjab and Chandigarh

 

ON December 18, 2012, workers organised chakka jam at about 30 places in Punjab and Chandigarh, at the call of 11 central trade unions and federations of the centre and state government employees. Over 20,000 workers of various industries --- brick kilns, transport, forest, MGNREGA, construction, Anganwadi, ASHA, and mid-day meal workers --- participated in this action all over the state of Punjab and the union territory of Chandigarh.

 

Addressing the protest rallies at Ludhiana, Raikot, Sangrur, Barnala, Dehlon, Dhuri, Bathinda, Mansa, Moga, Garhshankar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Abohar, Amritsar, Nangal, Ropar, Pathankot, Sonam, leaders of the CITU and other trade union centres said the joint struggle against the anti-people policies of both the centre and the state governments, against the illegal contract labour system and outsourcing, and against the flagrant violation of labour laws would be further widened and intensified.

 

Those who spoke on this occasion included Raghunath Singh Vijay Mishra, Chander Shekhar, Jatinderpal Singh, Tarsem Jodhan, Mahinder Kumar Badhoan, Devraj Verma, Ranbir Virk, Jeetraj, Jagdish Chand, Sucha Singth, Fatehchand (all of the Punjab state unit of CITU), Bant Brar and Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal (AITUC, Punjab), Dr Subash Sharma, Ram Krishan Singh, Swarn Singh (INTUC, Punjab), Kartar Singh Rathour (BMS, Punjab), Kulwant Singh (HMS), Mod Gill and Balbir Singh BSNL Employees Union) and state leaders of various federations of the central and state government employees as well as other federations.

 

Raghunath Singh later informed that the satyagrah and chakka jam actions of the day got unprecedented response in the state and he also announced that around 20,000 workers from Punjab would participate in the march to parliament on December 20. He appealed to the shopkeepers and small traders to participate in the said parliament march and said that the CITU would support their agitation against FDI in the multi-brand retail market. The trade union leaders also called upon the workers to launch a massive campaign for the historic joint trade union strike on February 20 and 21, 2013, the call for which was given on September 4 all-India convention of all the central trade unions and federations.