Monthly Archives: May 2014

Ernakulam Bandh today to ‘SAVE FACT’.

12 Monday May 2014

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Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) is the major Public Sector Company in Kerala, which produces fertilisers and chemicals like ammonium. The FACT was started in 1943 by the Maharaja of Cochin, but later converted to PSU. This was giving sterling performance for many years. But due to the neo-liberal policies being implemented by the Central as well as the present UDF government in Kerala, the company is in loss and is in a critical situation.

A “Save FACT Action Committee” formed to rejuvenate the FACT, including all trade unions and political parties. The Committee has called for a Bandh today at Ernakulam and the same has been fully successful.

The Central and state Governments should immediately take necessary action to save the FACT and make it a profitable company as before.

 

 

Arab TUs meet in Athens on 11-12 May 2014

12 Monday May 2014

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Arab trade unions meet in Athens for the future of the arab class-oriented trade union movement. WFTU SG George Mavrikos giving the Inaugural Speech.

Arab trade unions have gathered in Athens, Greece in a two-days conference starting on May 11th, 2014 to discuss: “The developments in the Arab World and their consequences on workers and trade union movement. The role of the class trade union movement”.

George Mavrikos, General Secretary of the WFTU made the introductory speech and opened the floor for every trade union delegate to express their positions and proposals to be included in the final Action Plan of the WFTU for the Arab world.

The meeting will continue on 12th May. (Courtesy: WFTU)

The voting concludes today – Who will win?

12 Monday May 2014

Posted by in General, General Elections 2014

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By today evening, the general elections polling will be over. The results will be out by 16th May 2014.
The moot question is who will win? It is certain that no single party or alliance is going to reach the majority magic number of 272. As per the majority media reports Congress will lose heavily with no chance of forming the government. BJP may get the number one position, but no majority to form the government. Most of the regional parties have stated that they will have no truck with BJP.

There is a chance of formation of a third front government, if the regional parties come together with the support or at the initiative of the Left Parties. This will be the best option for the country. Congress may not like such a situation, but they may be compelled to support the third front, at least to avoid a BJP Government.

The exit polls will start coming by today evening and the results will be declared on 16th May. Let us wait for the same.

Condemn brutal attack on CPI(M) youth leader by Trinamool Goons.

11 Sunday May 2014

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I strongly condemn the brutal attack on Com. Sayandip Mitra, President DYFI and State Committee Member of CPI(M) W.Bengal (son of Com. Supriya Mitra, Circle Secretary AIBDPA) by the Trinamool goons yesterday in Kolkata. He along with some comrades were returning from the Police Station after filing an FIR against attack on the party office by the Trinamool goondas. He was smashed with bricks on his head causing serious injury. He was hospitalised. He is having seven stitches on his head. It is , however, reported that he is out of danger.
During the last two years after the Trinamool government has been formed, about 150 CPIM leaders/workers have been murdered. Party offices have been captured by the trinamool with the open support of the police. Even BSNLEU office at kolkata was attacked but our comrades defended the office and they could not do any damage.

We wish for the early recovery of Com.Sayandip Mitra. The entire democratic forces should condemn such attacks so that such criminal activities are put an end to.

WFTU Meeting of International Anti-imperialist TUs at Cochabamba, Bolivia

11 Sunday May 2014

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The WFTU is organising International Anti-Imperialist Meeting at Cochabamba, Bolivia on 30th June to July 2nd 2014.The meeting is co-organised by the COB Bolivia with the adherence of the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

It is appropriate and necessary that such an International Meeting is being held at a time when, the imperialism has sharpened its attacks on the working class all over the world. The wages are cut, the pensions are withdrawn and the trade unions rights being crushed by these imperialist countries. It is also important that the meeting is being held in Bolivia, where Che Guevara, the eternal Revolutionary, met his martyrdom, while fighting guerilla war to free the country from the US imperialism and its henchmen in Bolivia.

My Best Wishes for the success of the International Meeting. The workers expect important decisions to carry on the fight against imperialism.

10th May 1857 – Start of First War of Indian Independence

10 Saturday May 2014

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It is 157 back on this day, 10th May 1857, that the Sepoy Mutiny started at Meerut, which transformed in to the First War of Indian Independence.
The war continued for more than one year. The entire North Indian belt was captured or rather liberated by the sepoys and their leaders including many common people who took to arms. But it was difficult to hold the position before the mighty striking force of the British and their tactics of dividing the Indian rulers.
The valour of the leaders of the War of Independence like Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Tantia Topi, Kunwar Singh and others are even now sung in ballads in the north.
The end of the war saw the end of the rule of the East India Company and the direct rule of the British colonialists. The Mughal and Maratha empires were liquidated.
The Indians were defeated. But it was the start of a bigger war. Within 100 years, in 1947, British were compelled to leave India resulting in the Independence of the Country.
There are a large number of books written on the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Independence analysing the background, the actual war and the after-effects. That was the biggest military attack on the British colonialism by one of their colonies. While the Indians treated the war prisoners including women honourably to an extent, the British after their victory brutally shot and hanged thousands of the sepoys and the commoners who supported them. Even in the British Parliament, it had its ramifications.
On this day we remember those heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country.

General Election Campaign over, Last Phase on 12th May, Results on 16th May 2014

10 Saturday May 2014

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The campaign for the general elections 2014 is over by today, 10th May. The last phase of polling will be on 12th and the counting and announcement of the results will be on 16th May.
The biggest election process this time has seen many twists and turns as also fierce verbal attacks between the parties and even top leaders.The reason is very clear.This is a fight to the last. The Congress wants somehow to save its face, leave alone the question of winning majority seats to form the government. Its incumbency, non-governance, unlimited corruptions etc. may reduce its seats to may be less than three digits. BJP is putting a big show that it will win a majority. The corporates are making big propaganda through the media that BJP or rather Mody will get majority. But it is not the ground reality. There is strong opposition from all sides to the divisive and communal policy.
The common people do not want a strong government which will attack their livelihood further. That will be the case, if any of the two major parties get majority and power. A third alternative with the secular regional parties and Left parties will be the ideal. There is a good chance for the same.

Let us wait for the results on 16th May.

ANC wins Election in S.Africa for the Fifth time

09 Friday May 2014

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African National Congress (ANC) has won the elections to the President for the fifth consecutive time. Jacob Suma has been elected
for a second term with 62.5%. ANC under the leader ship of Nelson Mandela fought for freedom and Nelson Mandela was the first President. The South African Communist Party (SACP) is also part of the S.African Government.

Petition in SC against 4G Licence to Reliance Jio

09 Friday May 2014

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NEW DELHI, MAY 9:
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response of the Centre and telecom regulator TRAI on a public interest litigation filed by an NGO challenging grant of 4G licences to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL).

A Bench of Justices HL Dattu and SA Bobde issued notice to the Centre, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and RJIL on the petition of NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), which challenged the Government’s decision to allow Mukesh Ambani’s company to offer voice services on its 4G spectrum.

The PIL, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, also sought quashing of the permission granted by the Government to Reliance for providing voice telephony on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum and pitched for a court-monitored CBI investigation in the alleged ₹40,000-crore scam.

The petition said that the Centre’s decision to allow voice telephony has given undue benefit of about ₹22,842 crore to RJIL and corresponding loss to the Government and “is therefore arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory“.

It also alleged that the company was allowed “backdoor entry” into voice telephony using BWA spectrum by paying entry fee of meagre amount of ₹1,658 crore determined way back in 2001, a figure which was rejected by the apex court in its February 2, 2012, judgement in 2G spectrum allocation scam case.

Reliance Jio reaction
“We have not received any notice of any petition so far filed by Prashant Bhushan. This appears to be one more in a series of attempts to create a controversy in a next-generation foray which Reliance is determined to create in the service of the nation,” a spokesperson of Reliance Jio said. (Business Lines)

BSNL Management should correct its arbitrary decisions

09 Friday May 2014

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The BSNL Management has been issuing arbitrary orders with regard to the recognition of unions and as also on the Council meetings after agreeing for recognition of two unions. Some of these are given below:
1. The Management denied nomination of other union members in the Councils, which has been allowed till now. Hence, many of the council seats are not filled up yet.
2. The Leader and Secretary of the Staff Side are to be elected by the Staff Side till now. Management issued arbitrary orders that the Secretary and Leader Staff Side will be shared by both the unions, instead of the democratically deciding these posts.
3. Equal seats were allotted to both BSNLEU and NFTE in the committees instead of according to proportionate representation.
4. Against the usual convention of mentioning the name of the Main recognised union first, the name of the second union was mentioned in some of the orders.
5. Orders were issued that only working employees are eligible to become members of the Councils.
BSNLEU expressed strong protests in the undemocratic and wrong decisions of these and other related matters. Now the management has corrected their stand on some issues. One, the members in the committees formed by the National Council will be according to the proportionate representation. Accordingly the number of members in the Standing Committee is decided as 3:2 for BSNLEU and NFTE. Secondly the name of the unions are mentioned first the main Recognised Union and then the second recognised union. Thirdly clarifications have been issued now stating that retired employees can also be members of the councils.
In the name of democratic and better functioning the other issues also should be decided and orders issued.