After the strike,
unions expect some budget sops for working class
The central trade unions, which organised a two-day general
strike which ended on Thursday, just before the budget session of Parliament,
expect some sops from the government for job protection and social security for
the working class.
“This government has a pro-capitalist and pro-rich policy. It
simply wants foreign direct investment, making rich richer at the cost of the
working class and the poor and we cannot expect much in budget 2013-14,” G.
Sanjeeva Reddy, president, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) said.
It is interesting that this statement comes from the leader of
the trade union, which is the labour wing of the ruling Congress. “We want a
budget in support of the people and the working class,” he said, warning that
addressing only the concerns of capitalists would leave the workers in the
lurch and ultimately harm the nation.
Abolish contract system
Gurudas Das Gupta, CPI MP and general secretary of the All India
Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said he did not expect much from the budget.
Since this would be the last one before the 2014 polls, the UPA-II government
would go in for populist announcements to gain votes. “But I will not be
satisfied till the government changed its economic polices which are harmful to
the working class and poor labourers.”
The government seemed indifferent to the demands of unions like
abolition of contract system, better social security for the unorganised
workers, and fixing the minimum wages at Rs.10,000 per month, he said.
A.K. Padmanabhan, general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade
Unions, the labour wing of the CPI(M), said the workers would be happy if at
least some of the 10 demands which the trade unions raised during the
country-wide strike, were accepted by the government in the budget.
He pointed out that job security had become questionable now as
more and more employment was given only on contract basis and any worker who
did not fall in line with the management could be thrown out any time without
much scope for judicial remedy.
While unions were questioning the steps taken by the government
for employment generation, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh
Ahluwalia has said: “India needs an ecosystem that facilitates an explosive
growth of medium-size companies to attain high levels of productivity and
catalyse the growth of employment generation and entrepreneurship.
“Employment can be looked at from two perspectives — one is
providing jobs and the other creating employment opportunities. For inclusive
growth which leads to faster and much better spread of employment
opportunities, we should aim to create quality employment prospects not just
provide jobs,” he said at a seminar here.
Referring to ‘Doing Business’ report brought out by the World
Bank (2011 edition) where India ranks 139th among 183 countries in terms of
ease of doing business, Mr. Ahluwalia said, the unfortunate fact was that this
ranking had declined from 120 in 2008 to 139 in 2011. “For a country that
aspires to be a global economic powerhouse, such a ranking reflects a highly
discouraging environment for investors. This is counterproductive to our goal
of achieving rapid and inclusive growth,” he said.
If unions are not engaged in talks, another strike will follow:
If unions are not engaged in talks, another strike will follow:
The two-day strike by the Central trade unions against the government’s
“apathy” towards the working class came up in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with
some members warning that there could be another agitation if trade unions are
not engaged in talks.
Raising the issue during zero hour, Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI), who
is also leader of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said 44 crore
workers, who were the mainstay of production in the country, were not getting
appropriate remuneration and the government was neglecting them.
Referring to the two-day strike, he said the trade unions did not
want to resort to such actions but were forced to do so by the government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made an “innocent appeal through press” for
talks. “The Prime Minister offers talks to trade unions through the press. Does
he talk to the corporates also through the press?”
Mr. Dasgupta said the Prime Minister had formed a committee of
four Ministers to talk to trade union leaders, but in the meeting that took
place, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was not present. Labour Minister
Mallikarjuna Kharge also called trade union leaders for talks, but he had
“nothing to offer.”
Mr. Dasgupta warned that if the government did not engage with
trade unions, there would be another nationwide strike.
CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia and Janata Dal (United) chief
Sharad Yadav associated themselves with Mr. Dasgupta’s views.
“Strike a success”
Meanwhile, the Left parties have congratulated the working class,
employees and other sections of the working people who made the two-day general
strike a “magnificent success.”
“The workers struck work in all industries and commercial
sectors. The strike was effective in the petroleum, coal, mining, port and
dock, banking and insurance sectors. State government offices were also
affected by the strike. The participation of workers in the unorganised sectors
was also notable,” a statement issued by the Left parties here said.
“The Central government has to immediately address the demands
raised by the general strike and take steps to fulfil them, otherwise bigger
actions will follow. This is a wake-up call to the government to stop the
anti-people and anti-working class policies,” said the statement issued jointly
by Prakash Karat, general secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist); S.
Sudhakar Reddy, general secretary, Communist Party of India; Debabrata Biswas,
general secretary of the All India Forward Bloc; and T.J. Chandrachoodan,
general secretary of the Revolutionary Socialist Party.
