People's Democracy

 

 

 

 

Transport Workers to Observe Protest Day, Feb 12

 

TAKING place in New Delhi on January 30, 2013, the national convention of the road transport workers has called upon transport workers all over the country to observe a Protest Day on February 12, 2013 against the decision of the UPA government to withdraw the subsidy on diesel for the bulk consumers from January 18, 2013. The convention also adopted a resolution unanimously to declare that transport workers in the country would paralyse all transport across the country by participating in the two-day strike on February 20-21, 2013.

The national convention of road transport workers was jointly organised by the All India Road Transport Workers Federation (AIRTWF, affiliated to the CITU), National Federation of Indian Road Transport Workers (AITUC), Bharatiya Parivahan Mazdoor Mahasangh (BMS), Indian National Transport Workers Federation (INTUC), Road Transport Workers Federation of India (HMS), Tamilnadu Government Transport Corporation Employees Progressive Union (LPF), Uttar Pradesh Roadways Samyukts Karmachari Parishad, Gujarat State Transport Workers Federation, DTC Workers Unity Centre (AICCTU), Uttarakhand Roadways Karmachari Samyukta Parishad and Bharatiya Private Transport Mazdoor Sangh.

R Lakshmaiah (AIRTWF), B Rama Rao (NFIRTW), Awadhesh Kumar Sharma (BPMMS), Tej Bahadur Singh (INTWF), Prakash Angrekar (RTWFI), Pechi Muttu (LPF), Girish Chandra Mishra (UP) and K P Brumh Bhutt (Gujarat) presided over the convention.

INTUC president G Sanjeev Reddy, while addressing the convention, assured that the central trade unions in India would stand behind the transport workers’ struggle for their just demands.  He also appealed them to take part in the February 20-21 strike against the anti-people and anti-working policies of the UPA government.

AITUC general secretary Gurudas Das Gupta supported the demands of the transport workers and appreciated their leadership for taking a decision to participate in the February strike.

CITU secretary Swadesh Dev Roye greeted the transport workers for coming together on a common platform against the policies of the government. He said the government was pretending to be deaf and dumb, not listening to the problems of workers in the country.  On the other hand, it is succumbing to the pressures coming from the World Bank and the MNCs. He appealed to the transport workers to teach a lesson the UPA government by participating in the all-India strike on February 20-21.

Other speakers too expressed their anger against the wrong policies being pursued by the UPA government and urged the workers to make the February strike a grand success.

AIRTWF general secretary K K Divakaran explained how the UPA government was throwing away each of the state transport undertakings into a debt tap. He criticised the government for withdrawing the subsidy on diesel for bulk consumers like the state transport undertakings and Railways. He also exposed the experts committee’s recommendations which are aimed closing down the state transport undertakings in the country in favour of private transporters. He said it was due to a prolonged struggle that the government entrusted the task of studying the problems of road transport workers to the V V Giri National Institute of Labour.  However, even though the institute submitted its report to the government three years back, the government did not have any time even to open the report. In this background, Divakaran urged upon the transport workers to join the strike on February 20 and 21 throughout the country.  

NFIRTWF general secretary M L Yadav moved a resolution at the convention to propose the observance of Protest Day on February 12 and participation in the February 20-21 strike to make it a grand success. The convention unanimously adopted the resolution by raising slogans for workers’ unity.