HEARTY GREETINGS ON THE OCCASION OF BAKRID AND ONAM TO ALL OUR VISITORS, FRIENDS AND COMRADES!

The strike by the Postal workers has started from the morning of 23rd August 2017 demanding implementation of the favourable recommendations of the GDS Commission, Recruitment of employees, statutory pension for the post-2004 recruitees etc. It was a complete success all over the country. The Dharna organised after a procession by Postal Employees on strike at Kozhikode was inaugurated by V.A.N.Namboodiri. Leaders of NFPE, BSNLEU, AIBDPA, AIPRPA and others addressed.

Revolutionary Greetings to the striking workers. Our solidarity to you!

The festival season is  fast approaching. Contract workers in BSNL, as other workers, are waiting for Bonus to be paid before the festivals, including Onam, one of the state festival of Kerala.

The Circle Committee of Kerala CCLU, which met at Thrissur on 20th August 2017 has decided to organise Protest Sathyagraha for two days on 24th and 25th of August in front of the CGM Office Thiruvananthapuram demanding Bonus. In case the issue is not settled, serious action will be organised immediately.

Bonus is the Right of the Workers. We will not allow the workers to be cheated of it. Organise the programme in such a way that the management is compelled to settle the issue immediately..

Thousands of people are killed or maimed yearly due to serious Railway accidents. The latest is the Kalinga Utakal express accident yesterday in which more than 20 are killed and more than 400 severely wounded as per  reports. We express our heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased. 

It is reported that the terrorist angle is being examined. May or may not be.

But the reports of most of the accidents have pointed to old tracks and lack of timely repairs. Number of trains and speed is increased but there has been no increase in workers. Actually the number of workers are reduced. 

Wake up Railway Minister! It is the valuable lives of people that are at stake. If you feel that you are unable to improve the present situation, it is better to get out and entrust to a better man.

Head hunters are on the prowl. RSS head hunters have offered lakhs of rupees for eliminating Communist Chief Ministers of Kerala  and Tripura.

• Of course these head hunters are irritated at the progress being made in these two states. More than that, they have utterly failed to counter the bold initiatives of these two CMs. It is  the Communists who are steadfastly and thoroughly exposing the RSS communal agenda.
• Let these head hunters remember that it was the Communists who raised Red  flag in Berlin demolishing  the fascist and Nazi state.

Public Sector Units were formed since 1947, to improve the infrastructure, for industrial growth and with many other objectives for a welfare society. Profit-making was not the motive, but almost all the PSUs were posting profits.

It is only due to the neo-liberal policy adopted by the government, which is really anti-PSU, that many of the PSUs became loss making. The workers are not responsible for this. In fact, in most of the PSUs, the productivity has increased, as in BSNL, due to the efforts of the workers.

If you take BSNL, it has posted more profits than loss during the entire 17 years period. It may be with other PSUs also.

The Government should, therefore, order for wage revision for employees in all the PSUs, overriding the recommendations of the III Pay Revision Committee.

Iraq: WFTU in solidarity with the Iraqi workers and their federations against the new law on social security.
15 Aug 2017IRAQ, MIDDLE EAST
The World Federation of Trade Unions, which represents more than 92 million members in 126 countries all over the world, firmly supports the workers of Iraq, who are opposing the new law on social security approved on 1st of August 2017 by the Iraqi cabinet.

This law does not meet the international labor standards which protect the rights and needs of workers and retirees and appears to have been based on suggestions of the World Bank to the Iraqi government, pressuring the government to pass it as a pre-condition so that Iraq can receive new loans.

According to the Conference of Iraqi Federations and Workers Unions [CIFWU] the new law integrates the Pension and Social Security Fund with the National Pension Fund, raises the retirement age of workers from 63 to 65 in all work sectors, does not allow retired workers to access the privileges approved by Law No. 39 of 1971 and includes other negative regulations that seriously affect the lives of Iraqi workers.

As class oriented world trade union movement, we are joining our voice with the workers of Iraq and their Trade Union Federations, demanding the withdrawal of the draft law and we are calling them to continue their struggle for dignified work with social security rights.

The working class is determined to fight against the anti-worker policies of the government squarely. The Central Government employees went on strike on 16th March this year. Bank employees are going on strike on 22nd August followed by Postal employees on 23rd August 2017. BEML employees went on strike last month as also BSNL employees on  27th July 2017.

The central trade unions have already decided for massive Parliament March followed by a strike, the number of days of which will be decided later.

Yes, 2017 is the year of struggle by workers against the anti-worker, anti-people policies of the government. The working class will never surrender to the attacks by the government.  They will never allow the government to suppress their organisation and their demands. Unity and Struggle is their weapon.

UNITY FOR STRUGGLE, STRUGGLE FOR UNITY AND UNITY & STRUGGLE FOR VICTORY.