The Government has approved a turn-around plan for the ailing Air India with infusion of Rs. 30,231 crore within 10 years with stringent conditions on operations and efficiency. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the plan yesterday. The restructuring of the Rs. 18,000 crore loan by banks is also planned. At the same time, it will also form two subsidiaries  and will shift 19,000 out of the total 27,000 employees to the subsidiaries. More FDI may also be brought in the meantime.

In the name of assisting the Air-India, the government is reducing the staff as also trying to bring more FDI. The present critical situation has been created only by the wrong and anti-PSU policy of the government. And now citing loss, the game of further privatisation and reducing employment are planned. While we welcome the allocation of Rs.30,000 crore, we have to be careful to ensure that the privatisation policy and job curtailment is defeated.

CITU has issued the following statement in connection with the legal action by a foreign private share holder against the PSU, Coal india Limited:

Rajya Sabha today expressed concern over the impending strike threat on Air India and urged Government to consider special relief for the national carrier to resolve the salary and arrear payment issues of its employees. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Ram Chandra Khuntia (Cong) said the arrears of Air India employees have not been paid for four years and they have not received salaries also for a long time even as the government has been spending thousands of crores to bail out Air India. Drawing the attention of the Upper House to the notice given by Air India workers to stop work from April 2, he said the airline faces repeated strikes even as its Chairman has been changed. Pointing towards Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, who was present, Khuntia said the minister should see into the matter and resolve the problem of pending arrears and salary dues of employees by April 1 so that the strike is prevented. “If required Government of India should give some special relief to Air India,” Khuntia said. As members from almost all parties supported Khuntia’s contentions, Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan observed “it is entire House’s sentiment. Government should take notice.”

It is really surprising. On the one hand Air India is in dire straits even for paying salaries to its staff. The Air India unions have decided to go on strike if the pending salaries are not paid. The company has been made in to loss by the anti PSU policy of the government, especially the interference by the former Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

And yesterday to a question in the Parliament, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has stated that the government is to pay an arrear of Rs. 574.67 crore to the Air India as outstanding amount. Prime ministers office owes 200.40 crores, Defence Rs. 13-56 crore etc.  This is, simply to say, non-sense. The Government should immediately pay its outstanding dues to the Air india.

Wage Agreement has been signed in the Coal sector for the five-year period from 01-01-2011 to 30-06-2016. The earlier agreement was also for five-year from 2001 to 2006. The workers will get a minimum of 25% fitment.

It is also agreed that contract labour will be granted al rights provided in the rules and government acts and the management as the Principal Employer will ensure that these are implemented by the contractors.

My congratulations to the workers and unions in the Coal industry. We have to try to get the five-year negotiation and settlement in BSNL also.

Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister of Labour and Employment has informed Rajya Sabha last week that the Government has allocated Rs. 9.9 crore for implementation of VRS(Voluntary retirement Scheme) in certain PSUs in the financial year 2012-13.  Certainly it should be the Minister for Labour and Employment who should take initiative in sending out workers from their jobs after giving some pittance. Government has no money to give employment, but has sufficient money to send them out to the streets.

It is to be remembered that for the last 25 years, there has been no recruitment in the Central government and the PSUs. Mostly contract workers are engaged by giving a small amount to do the job of the regular employees. Government itself is exploiting the workers, instead of granting them minimum wage and social security. It will be appropriate if the minister is called Minister for Unemployment and Exploitation of Labour.

The Central Government has received Rs. 16,767 crore as interim dividend from 17 PSUs this year. Some more are yet to declare their dividend. Coal India, ONGC and NTPC tops the lists with dividend of Rs. 5,400, Rs. 4853 and Rs. 2,439 respectively. Last year the interim dividend paid was only Rs. 12,254 crore. The aggregate dividend paid last year was to the tune of Rs. 26,507. This year it is expected to be more.

As seen above, the PSUs are hens giving golden eggs. But the Government wants to hand over them to the private companies to benefit them instead of the government and the people. For the government, the rich and affluent 1% of corporates and big business are more dear than the 99% of the common people. It is not only in US, but in India also the 99% has to fight for their right to live.

Beware. The government is on a head-hunt of the Public Sector. The budget has proposed for PSU disinvestment to collect Rs. 70,000 crore in this financial year. The budget did not increase the corporate tax but want money to be collected by selling the property of

The Finance Minister plans to generate Rs. 30,000 crore from stake sales in PSUs, despite the fact that the targets set for 2011-12 were missed. “In 2011-12, as against a target of Rs. 40,000 crore, the government will raise about Rs. 14,000 crore from disinvestment. For 2012-13, I propose to raise Rs. 30,000 crore through disinvestment,” he said, and asserted that the government would maintain at least 51 per cent ownership and management control in the PSUs.

It means that in many PSUs, the government is proposing to disinvest up to 49%. This will be for the present. Next time it will cross the 51%,which will virtually mean that it will become a private company as it happened in the case of Maruti Udyog Limited and other PSUs.

A strong protest movement to save the property of the people being gifted to the MNCs and corporates should start immediately.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has got 5.6 per cent shares  in 42 PSUs as on the end of this financial year 2011-12. This will come to about  Rs 68,000 crore value at current prices. It recently purchased shares of ONGC worth Rs.15,000 crore.

The government is using the LIC to purchase the shares of other PSUs and get the money in to its coffers. This is not a healthy practice at all. LIC is being used as a milching cow. But on the other side, it is trying to bring Insurance Bill in the Parliament which will be  a great setback to the Insurance PSU and will help only the MNCs and big business.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the manufacturing company of Defence Aircrafts is going to be disinvested. HAL is a fully owned government company and it was expected that this strategic PSU will not be disinvested. No, the Government is on a mad run for privatisation and it is also going to be disinvested. I hope that there will be resistance from the unions in HAL.

Union Minister of State for Defence, Mr M M Pallam Raju, has stated that HAL will be disinvested shortly. It is stated that  the Book Running Lead Managers and the Legal Advisors have been selected for the divestment process.  The exact timing of the IPO would be decided by the Ministry of Defence/ Department of Disinvestment as per the report.