2nd September
2015
Press
Release
CITU Salutes the
Working Class of India for the Historic Strike
On 2ndSeptember
2015
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions
congratulates and salutes the working class of India for the unprecedented and
historic strike today against the anti worker, anti people and anti national
policies of the BJP led NDA government.
Over 15 crores workers employed in
almost all the sectors of the country’s economy covering the organised and
unorganised sectors, public and private sectors, the central and state
government sectors and the scheme workers participated in this strike. Protest
demonstrations, rasta roko and rail roko were held across the country in which
thousands of workers participated.
Police was used on the workers in
several states. The Trinamool government in West Bengal used the brutal force
of its police as well as its goons to physically attack the workers on strike.
In fact attack by Trinamool goons to foil the strike started at least three
days before the strike date and during this period several processions and
meetings for strike campaign in different places in the state were attacked,
offices were ransacked and many activists were injured. On the day of the
strike, police along with Trinamool goons carried on brutal attacks on the
strikers and TU activists throughout the state severely injuring many of the
activists including senior leaders. Workers and their leaders were
arrested in several places in the state. Police resorted to severe lathi charge
and arrests in many other states including Assam, Jammu and Kashmir etc. CITU
congratulates the workers, particularly in West Bengal for heroically resisting
these attacks and participating in the strike in a massive manner.
In many states, including West Bengal,
Kerala, Tripura, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh,
many districts of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh etc the strike turned into a
virtual bandh with road transport and normal activities coming to a grinding
halt. The manufacturing activities in several industrial clusters across the
country totally stopped due to the strike.
The unprecedented response to the strike
reflects the anger and resentment of the workers against the attacks on their
working and living conditions and the attempts to deny their basic rights by
amending the labour laws to benefit the national and multinational
corporations. It reflects the anger at ignoring their basic demands that were
being raised since the last several years. It also reflects the determination
of the working class to fight back the nefarious design of the
corporate-serving Govt at the centre to impose slavery on them through
draconian changes in all labour laws. Through this strike the working
class of India has warned the government that it was not going to take lying
down the attacks on its basic rights. It also warned the government that
policies that mortgage the country to corporate interests, both foreign and
domestic will not be tolerated.
The CITU extends its gratitude to the
massive support and solidarity extended to the strike by various sections of
the people including kisans, agricultural workers, adivasis etc.
CITU demands the government to scrap all
the anti worker amendments to the labour laws and take immediate concrete
action on all the demands raised by the joint trade union movement.
It calls upon the working class to
further strengthen the unity at the grass root level and be prepared for more
intense struggles if the government chooses to continue with its
policies.
Issued by,
(TAPAN SEN)
General Secretary
No comments:
Post a Comment