31 Friday May 2013
Posted in General
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A massive demonstration was held in Kolkata today, 31st May, by the Left Front protesting against curbs on the democratic rights of the people and also demanding immediate enquiry and action against the brutal murder of SFI leader Sudipta Gupta. and against the Saradha Group for cheating the people. The protesters including the leaders were arrested and later released.
31 Friday May 2013
Posted in TU News - International
Employees of Wal-Mart, the biggest retail corporate in the world, will organise protest demonstration on 7th June at the HQ of the company at Bentonville, Ark in USA. They are protesting against the low wage and other unsatisfactory conditions and demanding better wages, more full-time jobs and respect for the employees. The protest demonstration is being organised by Organisation United for Respect at Wal-Mart, an organisation of the employees. The date fixed for the protest is on which the meeting of the Annual Shareholders meeting is being held at Ark.
The workers from all the Wal-Mart stores in US will be moving to Ark for the protest. They call the March by name Ride for Respect.
31 Friday May 2013
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The central government has cleared the long pending proposal of erecting 2199 towers in the naxal affected areas in A.P., Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, M.P.,Odisha, UP and W.Bengal in order to cover the so far not-covered areas by mobile connections. The proposal has been pending for some years. The recent drastic attack by the naxalites and killing of senior leaders of Congress in Chattisgarh have woken up the sleeping ministry which took the decision now.
The 3,046.12 crore project will be funded from USOF and no tender need be floated. BSNL will be entrusted with the work. Of course, the government very well know that no private telco will take up this dangerous task in the naxalite areas.
BSNL is dedicated to the nation and it will take up the responsibility. The Government should remember that it is only BSNL which it can depend upon any emergency and security of the nation and the people.
31 Friday May 2013
Posted in TU News - International
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Due to the recession and austerity measures in Spain, the unemployment has increased multi-fold and even the highly qualified youngsters are finding it difficult to get jobs. The government jobs have been reduced drastically.
‘The unemployment rate for those between the ages of 16 and 24 has soared to 57.22 percent, and a record 27.16 percent overall, at the end of the first quarter as the country struggles through a double-dip recession sparked by the collapse of a decade-long building boom in 2008’, according to a report from Madrid, the capital of Spain. Another report says that the youth feel that they are the ‘lost generation’.
It is not only Spain, but almost all the countries in Europe are facing the serious aftermath of the recession.
31 Friday May 2013
Posted in Telecom
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The DoT has suggested to the government to increase the penalty for illegal phone tapping from the present Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 crore. The increased illegal activities of phone tapping has been on the increase resulting in much complaints.
DOT has proposed the higher penalty to be included in the proposed ‘Right to Privacy Bill’ which the government in preparing. This proposal is welcome. But at the same time it also should be ensured that even the government should not tap the telephones, except in case of national security etc.
31 Friday May 2013
Posted in Telecom
MTNL, the telecom PSU providing services in the metropolitan cities of Delhi and Mumbai, has posted a loss of Rs. 1,985.93 crore for the financial year 2012-13. This is more than the loss posted in 2011-12, which was Rs. 1,236.99 crore. MTNL is in loss for the last four years.
BSNL management has stated that the loss is due to the increased salary expenses of the employees. The employee expenses increased from Rs.1,236.99 last year to Rs. 1,927.33 crore this year. But this argument is faulty since it is normal for the salary increase in every year due to increments, pension contribution paid to the government etc. How can any management think that salary will not increase.
The real issue is that the revenue has not increased. It is the responsibility of the management to ensure that the business improves as also the revenue. The management has utterly failed in this and hence the loss. Further the government has been squeezing the company by imposing high charges for spectrum and increased contribution to pension by taking the maximum of the pay scale for calculation of the pension contribution to the government. Further the arrears to be collected are huge and probably a good amount will be due from the Central and State governments.
Whatever are the reasons for the loss, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the PSU is supported financially for its revival. Of course, the workers have got a major role for improving the services to the people.
30 Thursday May 2013
30 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Telecom
It has become a routine for the private telecom companies to continuously violate rules, regulations and licence conditions to garner big profits. From the latter part of the 1990, when the private companies have been allowed to provide telecom services, these violations also started. This is despite the large concessions and benefits allowed to them by the government, to increase the teledensity in the country.
But even after these violations are exposed, the government machinery moves very slowly resulting in either that necessary actions are not followed to penalise them or they are taken very late and the offenders go scot free.
The latest example is the case of Airtel whic has cheated the government from paying the comparatively higher taxes for roaming and STD/SLD calls by converting them as local calls and paying the lower taxes. This relates to the period 2003 to 2005 with regard to 13 circles. Though the cheating was found out and notice issued, nothing was done.
At last now, the DOT is proposing a penalty of Rs. 650 crore to be paid by the Airtel. But whether it will be approved by the government / Minister is one question. There is no doubt that Airtel may approach court. Again the decision will not be implemented. And at last some understanding will be reached by reducing the penalty.Vodafone ( Hutch period) also is involved in similar cheating.
Another example is the Income Tax of Rs.14,000 crore to be paid by Vodafone. it is pending for many years. The government earlier stated that they will take a tough stand. But now, the same government is in a move to reach a consensus, which will mean, reducing the tax amount substantially and help the company.
These vacillations of the government are not a coincidence. In fact, it is part of the neo-liberal policy being persued by it. These wrong policies should be thoroughly exposed and defeated.
29 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in TU News - India, Uncategorized
| The Immediate tasks outlined for the coming period by the 14th AIC of CITU is reproduced below:
1. Week-long intensive campaign at all workplaces and industrial areas commencing from CITU Foundation Day on 30th May 2013 focusing on demands; i) Minimum Wage at not less than Rs 10,000 per month and its linkage with consumer price index for the purpose of Dearness Allowance; ii) Same Wage as regular workers for same and similar work for the contract workers in respective industries and establishments to be enforced stringently through appropriate amendment of Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition ) Act 1970; and iii) Universal Social Security coverage and assured pension for all workers both in unorganized and organized sector; – Covering widest spectrum of workers and activising all union level committees; – Widespread distribution of handbills; pasting posters, holding gate-meetings, shop level meetings, at workers’ residential colonies, area level meetings etc to be decided by the state/district/area/union level committees; – Aiming to reach widest sections of workers irrespective of their affiliations; – State committees monitoring and sending reports to CITU centre with every details including number of printed materials circulated and number of workers directly covered. 2. The campaign is to culminate in next week-long massive mobilization and agitation, the form to be decided by the state committees, at district/block/ tehsil level or staging dharna before the central/state government offices.
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29 Wednesday May 2013
Posted in TU News - India
On 30th May 2013, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) completes 43 years of fruitful service to the workers. It was formed on 30th May 1970 at the Conference of progressive workers held at at Calcutta from 28th to 31 May 1970. The first President was Com.B.T.Ranadive and General Secretary Com. P.Ramamoorthy. Comrades Samar Mukherjee, E.Balanandan, M.K.Pandhe, Chittabrata Majumdar and Mohammed Amin also occupied the posts of President/General Secretary during later period. At present Com. A.K.Padmanabhan is the President and Com. Tapan Sen the General Secretary. The 14th All India Conference was conducted at Kannur on 4-8 April 2013.
It will be only appropriate to reproduce a small note on the CITU from the documents of the organisation itself which will give a brief picture of CITU.
| “The CITU represents workers in every field of trade activities including the workers in industrial and service sectors like Coal, Electricity, Steel, Heavy Engineering, Construction, Electronics, Oil & Natural Gas – production and refining, Petrochemicals, Fertilisers, Pharmaceuticals, Rail, Road, Air & Water Transport, Port & Docks, Telecommunications, Textile, Financial & other service sectors, Plantation, etc. Apart from the organised sector, the CITU has got pioneering role in organising the unorganised and informal sector workers, which dominate the numerical strength of the work force in India. Yet another important segment of the trade union movement in the country is the working women. Organising the working women is a priority agenda of CITU. The All India Coordination Committee of Working Women (CITU) had been functioning for over two decades, focusing its attention on mobilising the women workers and promoting women cadres to leadership position in the trade unions. The CITU has fraternal links with the trade union centres in several countries and frequent exchange of views/communications, mutual visits by delegations are regularly taking place. The CITU has been participating in seminars, workshops and other meets organised by different agencies at national and international levels on various issues, especially pertaining to the working class and trade union movement. The CITU is bringing out its official monthly organ `The Working Class’ (in English) and “CITU Mazdoor” (in Hindi). The CITU has published a large number of books and pamphlets, both in English and Hindi, covering various subjects of interest to the working class. At enterprise level, activity of the CITU unions pertains to organising workers for achieving better wages, service condition, health and safety, etc and through those activities consolidating the collective strength and consciousness of the workers. Besides the above, the CITU unions also intervene in the various aspects of management of the enterprise seeking greater involvement of the workers in the efficient running of the enterprise and for strengthening participative mechanism at enterprise-level. The CITU unions also carry on detailed study of the technology at the industry level to equip them for effective intervention. Side by side the CITU unions have undertaken the task of uniting other trade unions and also officers’ organisations in the enterprise level to pressurise the management, government and the related agencies for redressal of workers’ grievances at the enterprise/industry level. Apart from the fight against the onslaughts of imperialist globalisation in general, the CITU is engaged in particular in the fight against the anti-people policies of liberalisation and privatisation. The important issues before the trade union movement in the country, inter alia, are attacks on trade union right, right to strike, right to collective bargaining, pro-employer retrograde changes in the labour laws, reduction of social security, closure of industrial units and massive retrenchment of workers, outsourcing and casualisation/informalisation of employment, menacing growth of unemployment, etc. In India, the present coalition government at the national level has been promoting religious fanaticism and engineering sectarian violence to divide the working class and the people in the country on religious communal lines. They are employing such notorious tactics to cover their failure on all fronts and to divert the attention of the people from the hardships of life and livelihood. The CITU is engaged in the struggle against such divisive forces, defending the unity of working class. At macro level, the CITU has undertaken the task for uniting the trade union movement as a whole in the struggle for reshaping the government policy in the overall interest of the national economy, sustainable and self-reliant industrial development, the working class and common people. The CITU has been playing pivotal role in strengthening the unity and struggles of working class in the country. Widespread agitation in different forms all over the country, local and national levels demonstrations by millions of workers and countrywide strikes have been organised jointly by the central trade unions and federations of industrial workers and government employees. While pursuing this task, the CITU also took initiative in uniting the mass organisations of peasantry, agricultural workers, students, youth, women and other professionals also. This led to formation of National Platform of Mass Organisations, a platform which organised many countrywide strikes and various other agitations and campaigns. Recently, the apex judiciary in the country, the Supreme Court of India, came out with a judgement, with pronouncements denying the workers of their ‘Right to Strike’. The CITU, along with the other CTUs had been spearheading the resistance struggle to get the pernicious impact of the judgement nullified. The period ahead is slated to witness nationwide united strikes to defend the right to strike, as well as more anti-privatisation strikes in the different industrial sectors like Coal, Oil & Refinery, Electricity, and Financial Sectors.” |
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| On the 43rd foundation anniversary of CITU, I convey my Revolutionary Greetings and Best Wishes to CITU, its leaders and members throughout the country! | ||
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