NATIONAL CONVENTION OF WORKERS
PRESS
STATEMENT
WORKERS
TO STORM DELHI ON 9,10&11 NOVEMBER 2017
CENTRAL
TRADE UNIONS CALL FOR COUNTRYWIDE INDEFINITE STRIKE
AGAINST
ANTI PEOPLE ANTI LABOUR POLICIES OF NDA GOVERNMENT
The National
Convention of Workers held today, 8th August 2017 decided to
organise a ‘three day dharna’ on 9th,
10th and 11thNovember 2017 before Parliament mobilizing
lakhs of workers followed by indefinite General Strike against the anti people
anti labour policies of the NDA Government.
The convention was organised by the
joint platform of all the central trade unions- INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU,
AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC and LPF and national Federations
of State and Central Government employees, Banks, Insurance, Defence,
PSUs, Railways, Telecom, Electricity, Coal, Steel, Energy, Petroleum, Road
transport, Air transport, Water transport, Port and Dock, Metal and Mining, IT,
Scheme Workers, Pharmaceuticals, Construction, Plantation etc.
The
Convention noted with utter dismay that the Government has been continuing to
arrogantly ignore the 12 point Charter of Demands on minimum wage, social
security, workers’ status and pay and facilities for the scheme workers,
against privatization and mass scale contractorisation etc. being jointly
pursued by the entire trade union movement of the country, through numerous
nationwide joint strike actions participated by crores of workers. Instead, the
ruling regime at the centre has been increasing onslaught on the rights and
livelihood of the working people of the country.
Unemployment situation is getting
aggravated with employment generation practically turned negative even in the
most labour intensive sectors. The Government has been aggressively
pushing through its programme of pro-employer and utterly anti-worker labour
law reforms. The latest onslaught is the move to evolve a ’Social Security
Code’ by dismantling and demolishing the existing statutory Social Security
infrastructure.
Privatization of all strategic PSUs,
including Defence Production, Public Sector Banks and Insurance and also
Railways, public road transport, oil, power etc through disinvestment,
strategic sale, outsourcing in favour of private sector, promoting 100 per cent
FDI in many vital and strategic sectors are increasing day by day. Public
sector Banks are under attack through various legislative and executive
measures. The central government intends to get the new Motor Vehicle
(Amendment) Bill 2017 hastily passed in the current session of parliament which
will allow wholesale privatisation of road transport.
The National Convention of Workers
extended full solidarity to the fighting farmers in various states as well
as under the Joint National Forums of Peasants’
Organizations. The National Conventionstrongly
denunciated the communal and divisive machinations on the society being
carried on with the active patronage of the Government machinery under the
present polity.
The situation before the nation is
the deepening all round attack on the rights and livelihood of the working
class and the toiling people in general by the private corporate friendly
Government of the day.
The
Convention decided
1. To
work for achieving and accelerating united struggles in all the sectors of the
economy on respective demands, which has already begun
2. To
Organize Block/District/Industrial Centres/State level massive campaign,
mobilisation and convention in preparation to central mobilization to be
followed
3. Massive three days dharna at National
Capital on 9th,10th and 11th Nov. to
be attended by lakhs of workers from all over the country.
4. The National Convention calls upon the
working people to prepare for indefinite countrywide strike action against the
anti people, anti national activities of the Govt.
The convention was
presided by Ashok Singh(INTUC),Ramendra Kumar (AITUC) S N Pathak(HMS), Dr. K
Hemalata (CITU), Satyavan Singh(AIUTUC),Lata (SEWA),Uday Bhat (AICCTU),Satrujit
Singh(UTUC), V Subbaraman(LPF) and addressed by G Sanjeeva Reddy (INTUC),
Amarjeet Kaur(AITUC), Harbhajan Singh Siddu(HMS), Tapan Sen(CITU),
Shankar Saha( AIUTUC), Manali(SEWA), Rajeev
Dimri(AICCTU), Ashok Ghosh( UTUC) and M Shanmugam ( LPF).
Issued For
INTUC,
AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC, LPF
************************
NATIONAL CONVENTION OF WORKERS
8th
August 2017, Talkatora Indoor Stadium,New Delhi
DECLARATION
The
National Convention of Workers being held today, the 8th August
2017, in Talkatora Indoor Stadium, New Delhi jointly called by the ten Central
Trade Unions, in association with all independent National Federations of Workers and Employees
of both Industrial and Service sectors, expresses serious concern over the
deteriorating situation in the national economy due to the pro- corporate,
anti-national and anti-people policies pursued by the Narendra Modi Government,
grievously impacting the livelihood of the working people across the country.
The Convention
notes with utter dismay that the Government has been continuing to arrogantly
ignore the 12 point Charter of Demands on
minimum wage, social security, workers’ status and pay and facilities for the
scheme workers, against privatization and mass scale contractorisation etc. being
jointly pursued by the entire trade union movement of the country. Despite numerous
nationwide joint strike actions, the most prominent being those of 2nd
September 2015 and 2nd September 2016, participated by crores of
workers against the policies of the Governments, the ruling regime at
the centre has been increasing onslaught on the rights and livelihood of the
working people of the country. Both the organized as well as unorganized
sectors are victims alike.
The National
convention unanimously condemns in strongest term the conspiratorial and
authoritarian attack of the BJP government to deprive the biggest central trade
union in the country, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) from all
representations in the tripartite and bipartite forums and committees including
in the international forum. This is nothing but a severe and henous onslaught
on the rights of the entire trade union movement. It will be unitedly fought
back and national convention pledges for that.
Unemployment situation
is getting aggravated with employment generation practically turned negative even
in the most labour intensive sectors. The phenomenon of closure and shut-down
of industries and the forecast of huge job-loss in the IT sector is adding fuel
to the fire. Price-rise of essential commodities including public transport,
electricity, medicines etc is mounting pressure on daily life of the people in
general leading to widening as well as deepening impoverishment. Hasty
implementation of GST has added fuel to fire. Drastic cut in Government expenditure in
social sector and various welfare schemes has made the conditions of workers,
particularly those in unorganized sector more precarious.
The anti-labour
authoritarian character of the Government is all the more evident in their
refusal to implement even the consensus recommendations (in which the Government
was also a party) of the successive Indian Labour Conferences in respect of
equal pay and benefits for equal work for the contract workers, formulation of
minimum wage on the norms agreed by 15th ILC/Supreme Court Judgment and workers status for the scheme workers
viz., Anganwadi, Mid-Day-Meal and ASHA etc. Shockingly Modi Government is even refusing
to implement the recent Judgments of the Supreme Court of the country on the
most genuine issue of “equal wage and benefits for same work” and on EPS, 1995
on contribution and calculation of pension on actual pay and dearness
allowance.
Despite
opposition of all the trade unions in the country irrespective of affiliations,
the Government has been aggressively pushing through its programme of
pro-employer and utterly anti-worker labour law reforms which is aimed at
imposing the condition of slavery on the working people. The latest onslaught
is the move to evolve a ’Social Security Code’ by dismantling and demolishing
the existing statutory Social Security infrastructure under Employees Provident
Fund Organization, Coal Mines Provident Fund and Employees State Insurance
Corporation and many others welfare statutes, abolition of welfare related
cess, and usurp the huge social security fund subscribed by the workers
amounting to more than Rs.20 lakh crore and make them available for the
speculation in share market under the most deceptive and fraudulent camouflage
of ‘universalisation of social security’.
Privatization
of all strategic PSUs, including Defence Production, Public Sector Banks and
Insurance and also Railways, public road transport, oil, power etc through
disinvestment, strategic sale, outsourcing in favour of private sector,
promoting 100 per cent FDI in many vital and strategic sectors are increasing
day by day. Moreover stripping all the cash rich PSUs from the investible cash
reserves are added assaults. In fact Defence Sector privatization move is
actually designed to destroy manufacturing capability and Research initiatives
developed by the country over last six and half decades. The worst and most
dubious is the game plan to outsource more than 50 per cent products including
weapons and critical equipments, so long being produced by the Ordinance
establishments. Complete privatization of the Railways, step by step,
are going on. Operating private trains in the existing tracks built by Railways
is being permitted. Moreover free access to railway yards, sheds and workshops
for maintenance of private coaches, wagons and engines etc are being offered to
private operators. Already 23 railway stations in all metro cities have been
shortlisted for privatisation. Railway employees shall be worst victims of
privatization in terms of job security, democratic trade union rights and
protection of achievements in the areas of pay, perks, social security etc. Like
Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC), a Railway Development
Authority (RDA) has been created. Given the sky-rocketing increase in
electricity tariff by CERC, under RDA railway fare and goods freight is poised
to be hiked hurting the common people and benefiting the private profiteers.
Public sector
Banks are under attack through various legislative and executive measures. The
ultimate target of the Government is privatization and to extend undue favour
to the same private corporate crooks, whose default of paying back the loan has
put the banking sector in severe difficulties. The retrenchment of contractual
employees has been resorted to already in some banks. Insurance sector is also
under such attack. Legislative measures to pave the way of privatization of our
major ports are also in the advanced stage. CPSUs even including the core and
strategic sectors like Energy, Petroleum, Telecom, Metal, Mining, Machine
Building, Road, Air and Water Transport, Port & Dock and more are under the
privatization onslaught of the Government. The Convention notes that workers of
these industries are fighting sectoral battle unitedly. United struggles have
been launched by the workers and employees of Government Services Sector
including the Scheme Workers as a whole. The Convention extends full support to
these struggles.
Attempts are
being made by the state governments to dismantle Public sector road transport
by issuing route- permits to private parties. The central government intends to
get the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment)
Bill 2017 hastily passed in the current session of parliament which will
allow wholesale privatisation of road transport. The convention while taking
note of the protest action by transport workers, condemns the state govts. and central govt’s anti people and anti
worker moves in the transport sector.
The National
Convention of Workers extends full solidarity to the fighting farmers in
various states as well as under the Joint National Forums of Peasants’
Organizations. It is the same set of pro-corporate, pro-landlord policies which
have created a severe crisis in agriculture, biggest livelihood provider in the
economy leading to continuing increase in spate of suicides.
This National
Convention of Workers records its strong denunciation against the communal and
divisive machinations on the society being carried on with the active patronage
of the Government machinery under the present polity. The peace loving secular
people in the country are facing a stark situation of terror and insecurity all
around. Communal forces are cultivating an atmosphere of conflicts within the
society on non-issues. It is disrupting the unity of the workers and the
toiling people in general, so vital to carry forward the ongoing struggles
based on our 12-point Charter of Demands as detailed above. Working class must raise
their strong voice of protest.
The situation
before the nation is the deepening all round attack on the rights and
livelihood of the working class and the toiling people in general by the
private corporate friendly Government of the day. On the other hand the working
class has achieved solid unity of the trade union movement and also achieved
unprecedented response in the ongoing struggles including the strikes actions
opposing such suicidal anti-people policies.
The task before
the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and independent national federations
is to further intensify the surging struggles in various sectors through a
concerted united agitation and mobilization at national level to be followed by
countrywide general strike action as a culmination and consolidation of all
sectoral struggles. The National Convention of workers therefore adopts the following
programmes:
1. To work for achieving and
accelerating united struggles in all the sectors of the economy on respective
demands, which has already begun
2. To Organize Block/District/Industrial
Centres/State level massive campaign, mobilisation and convention in
preparation to central mobilization to be followed
3. Massive three days dharna at
National Capital on 9th,10th and 11th Nov. to be
attended by lakhs of workers from all over the country.
4. The National Convention
calls upon the working people to prepare for indefinite countrywide strike action against the anti people,
anti national activities of the Govt.
The National
Convention calls upon working people across the sectors and throughout the
country irrespective of affiliations to
make the above programmes a total success.
12 POINT CHARTER OF
DEMANDS
1. Urgent measures for containing price-rise
through universalisation of public distribution system and banning speculative
trade in commodity market
2. Containing unemployment through concrete measures for employment generation
3. Strict enforcement of all basic labour laws without any exception or
exemption and stringent punitive measures for violation of labour laws.
4. Universal social security cover for all workers
5. Minimum wages of not less than Rs 18,000/- per month with provisions
of indexation
6. Assured enhanced pension not less than Rs.3,000/-
p.m. for the entire working population
7. Stoppage of disinvestment in Central/State PSUs
and strategic sale
8. Stoppage of contractorisation in permanent
perennial work and payment of same wage and benefits for contract workers as
regular workers for same and similar work
9. Removal of all ceilings on payment and eligibility
of bonus, provident fund; increase the quantum of gratuity.
10. Compulsory registration of trade unions within a
period of 45 days from the date of submitting application; and immediate
ratification of ILO Conventions C 87 and C 98
11. Against Labour Law Amendments
12. Against FDI in Railways, Insurance and Defence
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