It was on this day, 19th September, 43 years back, the Central Government employees of the country created history by going on a One Day Token Strike which rocked the entire country and the government itself. The strike was only for one day, but the effect of the strike continued for years. None of the employees, who participated in the strike, will ever forget the hard experiences and the brutality of the government in dealing with the fully justified strike of the workers.
The five days strike of the Central Government employees in 1960 was suppressed by the government utilising all the anti-workers laws and brute police force. The demand for a need based minimum wage was denied. The Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance (ESMO) was issued for the first time in Independent India to crush the workers. The government thought that the workers will never come up again.
But within eight years, the workers organised another strike. This time it was for only one day, 19th September 1968. Learning from the 1960 experience, the strike was well planned. Leaders of the Confederation and the CGE Unions toured all over India and convinced the workers on the need to fight for their rights and demands including the minimum wage. Massive propaganda was made for the strike.
This time the Government issued the ESMO in advance and wanted the state governments to arrest, jail and take all punitive actions against the strikers. It issued orders to suspend, terminate and issue charge sheets and punish the employees going on strike. The ruling Congress party called to its cadres to help the police in arresting the strikers, act as witnesses etc. to punish the strikers. The government treated the strike as a civil rebellion.
But the lone Left Front Government at that time, the EMS Ministry in Kerala, refused to implement the ESMA in the state. The Central government even threatened that the ministry will be dismissed.
Even before the strike started, all India, circle and local level leaders and activists were arrested to prevent the strike. But huge majority of the workers went on strike completely paralysing the Government machinery. It hit back with arrests, retrenchment, termination, charge sheets and so on. It was only a one day token strike, but the victimisation was beyond imagination. Comrades like me were suspended and charge sheeted and was taken back only after a period of three years, that too after transferring out of the district to distant stations. Criminal cases were filed against us by the instructions of the central government, since the state government in Kerala refused to file cases.
The fight against the victimisation went for years together. But nobody left the union or went against it. They very well knew it was only due to the efforts of the union that the demands are achieved. They stood solidly with the union.
On the 43rd Anniversary of the historic 19th September strike, I pay respectful homage to those valiant comrades who became martyrs at the hands of the police and the government during the strike! I take this opportunity to call upon our workers to remember all those lakhs of comrades who were victimised in one way or other. All those comrades who were in service at time have since been retired
The workers struggles have always been tried to be suppressed by the government and the powers that be. But they will rise again like Phoenix. It happened after 1969 strike also. During the last 20 years alone, the Central Government employees and BSNL employees have gone on 13 strikes along with the Indian Working Class. That is the lesson of the history of the working class.