There is no doubt that the government does not take the Central Trade Unions seriously. The call for the 28th February Strike was issued by all the 11 recognised Central Trade Unions and more than 5000 independent All India Federations/Unions months back and the government was fully aware of it. In the recent Indian Labour Conference which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh himself, the Central trade Unions have brought these issues including their decision to go on strike. But the PM did not even assure anything. Instead he stressed the need to liberalise the labour rules to benefit the corporates and the employers.

The last-minute appeal by the Prime minister is only an eyewash to hoodwink the people. Mallikarjun  Kharge has also appealed for withdrawal of the strike stating that almost all the issues raised by the unions have been addressed. There is nothing more untruthful than this. None of the issues raised in the charter has been settled. Instead, more and more issues are coming due to the aggressive implementation of the neo-liberal policies and decisions by this government.

The lakhs of workers in the private sector, public sector, central and state government employees, unorganised workers – all are determined to make the strike a big success and continue the struggle. The option for the government is to discuss these issues with the trade unions and settle them at the earliest. More and more unions and workers are joining the strike call.

It will be one of the biggest and massively participated in the history of Independent India. It will be historical and a stern warning to the Government to change its anti-worker policies. BSNL Workers will also participate in this great struggle in full strength.

Workers across public & private institutions, large & small, across all trade unions bring the country to a grinding halt on 28th February 2012. It is historic, that 11 trade unions, disregarding their political affiliations, have stood up for the rights of their primary constituents, the workers. INTUC, BMS, HMS & other central trade unions have rallied around CITU & AITUC to create a modern milestone, since neo-liberalisation took control of industrial relations. What is epochal is the support of farmers, small & mid-sized shops & unorganised labour! Let’s take a look at the broad scenario of increasing exploitation of the workers. Total employment in the organized sector has come down from 2.82 crs in 1998 to 2.75 crs in 2008. Let’s look at the criminal appropriation of the value created in the manufacturing sector. The share of wages in the net value added has declined from 30% in 80s to around 10% in 2008-09. On the other hand profits have gone up from being at 20% to about 60% in 2008. The neo-liberal policies of the US led Congress & BJP governments in the center have systematically achieved the objectives of their primary constituency, ‘Capital’. These governments have also systematically emasculated the collective bargaining capability of the Indian worker. They have successfully ‘contractualised’ Indian labour. Not only has the private sector been allowed to flout all rules in keeping a majority of their working force contractual & this may I remind, even before neo-liberal labour reforms are legislated, the government itself has been a perpetrator of exploitation in its PSUs. It has not only increasingly allowed permanent workers to be replaced by contract labour, it has used outsourcing to deprive workers of their rights. It is shocking to see that the majority of the workers in the PSU mining sector are contractual. These contract employees are not only deprived of security of tenure but also of social security benefits. The Indian governments have also not shied away from letting the meager pensions & PF of its PSU workers remain unpaid for years. Let’s take a look at the Mamata run government in West Bengal. It stopped the salaries & pensions of its transport corporations right after it came to power. It took a worker’s suicide to move the government. The share of the contract workers have grown from 20% in 1999-2000 to 32% in 2008-09. The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised sector (NCEUS) has reported that out of a total workforce of 45.6 cr in India in 2004-05, the informal sector accounted for 39.3 cr, 86% of the total. It is this segment which is the most exploited resulting in 77% of the Indian population spending less than Rs.20 per day. The government has sharpened its anti-people policy of creating the cheapest possible ‘reserve labour force’ over the last 2 decades since the inception of neo-liberalisation. While the country has grown in GDP & inflation terms, the agrarian sector has seen a growth of suicides. Over 2.5 lakh small farmers have taken their lives in the last 15 years, as per NCRB records. 75% of this sector which comprises 65% of the Indian population is forced to migrate to the cities & work as slave-like labour in the cities. The ever-greedy capitalist class wants further labour reforms on top of this, which the US-led government is more than happy to provide. The left trade unions have been fighting this for decades & have finally been able to unite all unions to fight this nihilistic government. The 10 unions to come together are CITU, AITUC, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AIUTUC, AICCTU, UTUC, TUCC, LPF, SEWA. The united front had warned the government with a massive ‘Satyagraha & Jail Bharo’ Campaign on the 8th of Nov but having failed to move the government one bit, they have taken this decision of a nationwide General Strike with all employees of the Oil & Petroleum sector, the mines, the banks, Telecom, government, et al . They have raised a comprehensive list of demands, the 5 points jointly formulated by the Central Unions & Federations are: 1)    Concrete measures to contain price rise 2)    Concrete measures for linkage of employment protection with the concession/incentive package offered to the entrepreneurs 3)    Strict enforcement of all basic labour laws without any exception or exemption. Stringent punitive measures for violation of labour laws. 4)    Universal social security cover for the unorganized sector workers without any restriction & creation of a National Social Security Fund with adequate resources in line with the recommendation of the NCEUS & Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour 5)    Stoppage of disinvestment in central & state profit-making PSUs. The Central Trade Unions also demand immediate action by the Government of India to ensure: 1)    No contractualisation of work of permanent/perennial nature & payment of wages & benefits to the contract workers at the same rate as available to the regular workers of establishment/industry. 2)    Amendment of Minimum Wages Act to ensure universal coverage irrespective of the schedules & fixation of statutory minimum wage at not less than Rs.10,000/- per month. 3)    Remove all ceilings on payment & eligibility of Bonus, Provident Fund. Increase in the quantum of gratuity. 4)    Assured Pension for all. 5)    Compulsory registration of trade unions within a period of 45 days & immediate ratification of the ILO conventions nos. 87 & 98. West Bengal, reeling under the tyrannical Mamata run govt has decided to call for a bandh apart from the strike. All govt. employees, merchants, students, women, rickshaw, auto & taxi unions are all committed to observe a 24-hour bandh against an absolutely anti-people state government. The peasants, led by the Kishan Sabhas are joining their toiling brothers across the state. The state is again a sea of red flags, with people marching in every ward, every village, blowing the conch of the start of a relentless ‘Class struggle’. This government, in turn, has exposed her true colours with the CM & senior cabinet ministers threatening punitive actions. It is already reached its logical cynical extreme that such authoritarian rightist formations have demonstrated over history. The people of West Bengal, bred on a history of struggle, be it freedom or class rights, demonstrated its ire with millions congregating at the Brigade last week & remains committed to deliver a stern warning to the profiteering establishment. (Courtsey : Ganashakti)

On the one hand the UPA government say they are labour friendly. But whatever actions/ decisions they are taking, they are all against the labour. They have changed the Pension Rules from defined pension to contributory pension through PFRDA Ordinance and are trying to make in to an Act through Parliament. They could not pass the bill due to objections from opposition as also from some of its allies. They are not prepared to increase the minimum wage. They support hire and fire policy demanded by the corporates and employers. They want to increase the working hours from 8 to 10 or 12 hours. They are refusing to grant registration to many eligible unions. Recruitment of regular workers has almost stopped and instead contract workers at very low wages are engaged for the regular work against the Contract Labour Act. Police support is given to the employers to break the strikes as we have seen in many recent strikes.

Now the new attack on labour is in the case of National Manufacturing Zones (NMZ) proposed to be constituted in about 8 places in the country. These are far bigger than the Special Economic Zones (SEZ), covering two or three states. The employers and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion wants that the labour laws in the country should not be applicable to these NMZs and an officer appointed by the NMZ will attend to these issues. The meaning is very clear. The labour machinery in the central or state will  not be able to intervene in any labour dispute like retrenchment, wages, working hours, social security measures etc.  Fire and hire will be the rule.

It is not surprising that the Prime Minister is on the side of the employers. He recently told to the Indian Labour Conference held at New Delhi that labour laws need modification, meaning that the existing labour laws need to be changed to suit the requirement of the employer.

It seems that the Labour Ministry is resisting this plan to torpedo the labour rules. But when the Prime Minister himself is in for  change of labour laws in favour of the employers, how the Labour Ministry can stop it. It can only be stopped by the mighty force of the working class.  It is the responsibility of the trade unions to oppose and defeat it.

The 28^th February Nationwide One day Strike is part of this great fight to save the labour from these attacks. Let us make it a big success and a warning to the government that the working class in this country will never allow the government to implement anti-worker decisions.

March towards 28^th February Strike with courage and determination !.

As expected, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has opposed the 28th February Strike called by the Central trade Unions and All India Federations on the charter of demands of the workers. She has  called upon workers to oppose the nation-wide strike on February 28. As per the W.Bengal chief secretary’s circular, employees staying away from work would face deduction of leave and salary and might also lose seniority or face discontinuation of service!

In  response to Opposition  criticism of her government for opposing the strike, the chief minister said, “I have told (Labour Minister) Purnendu Basu, if anyone does not want to work, relieve him. If someone wants to work, promote him. Enough is enough. I will not allow daltantra (party politics). There will only be democracy.”

Does Mamata wants a ‘Jayalalitha act’ ? (Chief Minister Jayalalitha dismissed, terminated and arrested thousands of workers when the T.Nadu state government employees went on strike a few years back.). The times have changed. The workers are capable of facing the threats and reacting.