DECLARATION: MAHARASHTRA STATE CONVENTION OF WORKERS: DEFEAT THE ANTI-WORKER MODI GOVERNMENT
The Kamgar Sangathana Samyukta Kruti Samiti, Maharashtra, is holding today the Maharashtra State Convention of Workers in continuation of the chain of its consistent agitation programmes – three day mahapadav at Delhi on 9th-10th-11th November , 2017 , January 6th 2018 Nashik convention and campaign, and the historic two day All India Strike on 8th, 9th January 2019.
This convention congratulates the workers of the defence sector undertakings for their three day strike against the policy of the Central government to undermine and dismantle the defence public sector . We congratulate the Mumbai BEST bus transport workers for maintaining their unity and conducting their successful nine day strike in January this year. We support the demands of the workers to save BEST, and to save public transport.
This Maharashtra State Convention of Workers being held today, of both organized and unorganized sector workers, jointly called by the Central Trade Unions, in association with independent National and state Federations of Workers and Employees, of both Industrial and Service sectors viz., Banks, Insurance , Defence Production employees etc., expresses serious concern over the deteriorating situation in the national economy due to the pro- corporate, anti-national and anti-people policies pursued by the Central Government, grievously impacting the livelihood of the working people across the country.
This Convention unanimously condemns the attack of the present Government to deprive the biggest Central Trade Union in the country, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) from all representations in the tripartite and bipartite fora and committees, including the international forum. This is a severe and heinous onslaught on the rights of the entire trade union movement. It will be unitedly fought back .
Kamgar Virodhi Modi Sarkar
This Convention notes that the Modi Government has been continuing to arrogantly ignore the 12 point Charter of Demands on minimum wage, universal social security, workers’ status and including pay and facilities for the scheme workers, against privatization of public and government sector including financial sectors , mass scale contractorisation, ratification of ILO Convention 87, 98, 177 and 189 being jointly pursued by the entire trade union movement of the country. The ruling regimes at the Centre and state have been increasing their onslaught on the rights and livelihood of the working people of the country. Both the organized as well as unorganized sectors are victims of this assault.
All Round Attack On Labour Rights
Despite opposition of all the trade unions in the country irrespective of affiliations, the Government has been aggressively pushing through its programme of pro-employer and anti-worker so called labour law reforms. The Modi Government has decided to eliminate 44 hard-won Central Labour Laws won over 125 years of trade union struggles. It is attempting to enact 4 anti-worker, pro-employer Labour Codes to facilitate the employers to hire and fire in the name of ‘Ease of doing Business’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Start Up’ etc. These labour codes will impose the conditions of slavery on the working people and destroy our unions.
It is intent on demolishing the existing statutory Social Security infrastructure under Employees Provident Fund Organization, Employees State Insurance Corporation and many other welfare statutes, abolition of welfare related cess, and hijack the huge social security fund contributed to by the workers, amounting to more than Rs.24 lakh crore and make it available for speculation in share market under the most deceptive and fraudulent camouflage of ‘universalisation of social security’.
For the establishment of modern labour slavery system, the Modi government has introduced Fixed Term Employment through backdoor, has permitted putting children below 14 years age to work in a family establishment, has brought in pro-employer changes in Apprenticeship Act. The latest attack has come on the Trade Union Act 1926. The malafide intention is to have Government interference in the functioning of trade unions in order to dictate on its whims in the internal matters of unions. It seems like a move to derecognize the status of Central and State level pro-worker trade unions.
This convention firmly declares that the Modi government will not be allowed to take away the rights of the working class which we have won over 125 years of struggle.
Unemployment
Unemployment situation is getting aggravated with employment generation turning negative even in the most labour intensive sectors. Closure and shut-down of industries and the forecast of huge job-loss in the IT sector is adding fuel to the fire. The after effects of demonetisation and faulty GST are resulting in a deep employment crisis . Lack of job opportunities on one hand and continued job losses, retrenchments, illegal closures on the other hand, are imposing miserable conditions on the ordinary families for their food, education of children, medical care of the sick and elderly. In private sector also, massive downsizing has become a regular phenomenon. The estimates by independent surveys and those sponsored by employers’ organizations revealed loss of 110 lakh jobs in the last year, with closure of 2.34 lakh small factory units in the first few months of demonetization. There is livelihood loss of another 6 crore people in informal economy . Regular Employment Survey which was conducted by Labour Ministry has been discontinued. To cover its failure to create jobs, the government is resorting to suppressing the data on employment.
Price Rise
Price-rise of petroleum products, cooking fuel, essential commodities including public transport, electricity, medicines etc is mounting pressure on daily life of the people in general, leading to widening as well as deepening of impoverishment. Drastic cut in Government expenditure in social sector and various welfare schemes has made the condition of workers, particularly those in unorganized sector more precarious. Direct Benefit Transfer scheme is practically a preparation for weakening and finally dismantling the Public Distribution system. Bureaucratic Aadhar card regulations are resulting in denial of food security to lakhs of the poorest citizens and starvation deaths.
Attack On Scheme Workers And Contract Workers
The anti-labour authoritarian character of the Government is all the more evident in their refusal to implement even the consensus recommendations (in which the Government was also a party) of the successive Indian Labour Conferences (ILC) in respect of equal pay and benefits for equal work for the contract workers, formulation of minimum wage on the norms agreed by 15th ILC/Supreme Court Judgment and workers’ status for the scheme workers viz., Anganwadi, Mid-Day-Meal, ASHA, MGNREGA etc. The present Government is even refusing to implement the recent Judgments of the Supreme Court on the most genuine issue of “equal wage and benefits for equal work” and on Employees Pension Scheme 1995 on contribution and calculation of pension on actual pay and dearness allowance. The Maharashtra government is resisting the implementation the historic Supreme Court judgement regularising the services of 2700 contract safai karmacharis.
The lives of unprotected workers are lost wholesale in mine accidents , while cleaning sewers, in fires and building collapses.etc due to the complete neglect of safety issue by the government.
United struggles have been launched by the Scheme Workers. When the anganwadi workers of Maharashtra launched their historic one month strike last year, the Phadnavis government threatened to use MESMA against them. This Convention extends full support to these struggles.
Attack on Unorganised Sector
The central and state governments are deliberately rendering non-functional the welfare boards provided under law for Construction workers and domestic workers.
Nearly 2.5% of the population of every city are the Street Vendors. “The Street Vending (Protection of Livelihood and regulating Street Vending) 2014 has been enacted to protect them, but it is being scuttled systematically. Bidi workers’ employment and welfare is also in danger with imposition of GST, whereas the Bidi barons refusing to acknowledge employer-employee relationship are in precarious condition.
The Modi government’s decision to allow 100 % FDI in the retail trade and encouragement to big corporates like Amazon, Walmart and Jio are undermining the livelihood of 4 crore small retailers many of whom are compelled to close their shops.
Attack on Public Sector And Public Services
Privatization of strategic PSUs, including Defence Production, Public Sector Banks and Insurance and also Railways, public road transport, oil, power, steel, coal etc through disinvestment, strategic sale, outsourcing in favour of private sector, promoting 100 per cent FDI in many vital and strategic sectors are increasing day by day. Defence Sector privatization move is actually designed to destroy manufacturing capability and Research initiatives developed by the country over last six and half decades. The worst and most dubious is the game plan to outsource more than 50 per cent products including weapons and critical equipments, so long being produced by the Ordinance establishments. Defence PSUs and Shipyards are also being subjected to discrimination in respect of work orders while private corporates are being patronized by the Government in defence procurement deals. It is the policy of the Modi government to undermine the public sector undertakings like BSNL and Air India in order to facilitate the private players like Jio, and Indigo etc. A government which undermines its own institutions has no right to continue.
Privatization Attack on Transport Sector
Step by step privatization of the Railways is going on. Operating private trains on the existing tracks built by Railways is being permitted. Moreover free access to railway yards, sheds and workshops for maintenance of private coaches, wagons and engines etc. is being offered to private operators. Already 23 railway stations, all in metro cities, have been shortlisted for privatisation. More than 600 Railway Stations along with land around them have been identified for development through private players in the name of “redevelopment of Railway Stations and land around them”.
Legislative measures to pave the way of privatization of our major ports are also in the advanced stage. CPSUs even including the core and strategic sectors like Energy, Petroleum, Telecom, Metal, Mining, Machine Building, Road, Air and Water Transport, Port & Dock and more are under the privatization onslaught of the Government.
Attempts are being made by many state governments to dismantle Public sector road transport by issuing route-permits to private parties. The central government intends to get the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2017 hastily passed in the parliament which will allow wholesale privatisation of road transport on the one hand. and impose repressive measures on the road transport workers including those in private sector. This Convention while taking note of the fighting protest action by transport workers in Rajasthan , Haryana and other states, condemns the action of the Phadnavis government to deduct 8 days wages for one day strike taken against the State transport workers in Maharashtra. We salute the BEST workers of Mumbai who demonstrated rock hard determination, commitment and unity while observing 9 days strike to press for their genuine demands despite use of all repressive measures by the Maharashtra Government .
Loot of Public Sector and Financial Institutions
Public Sector Banks are under attack through various legislative and executive measures. The ultimate target of the Government is privatization and to extend undue favour to the same private corporate sector, whose default in paying back the loan has put the banking sector in severe difficulties. NPAs have crossed Rs. 13 lakh crores.
Instead of addressing the problems of NPA and fixing the corporate defaulters, the Government is going ahead with its scheme of merger of banks, which in reality leads to closure of numerous branches, resulting in job-losses and narrowing of the outreach of the PSU Banks.
Loot and Corruption
After Vijay Mallya, Neerav Modi and Mehul Choksy, every week the names of bigger and bigger bigger defaulters like Videocon’s Dhoot, DHFL, ILFS and Anil Ambani are coming to light, showing the real face of development under Modi government. Crony capitalist friends of the Modi government are indulging in loot of Indian people’s money. The stripping of the cash rich PSUs to address NPAs are a loot of the nation. The funds and cash reserves of ONGC and LIC are being misused by the Modi government . The exposures of various corruptions by the BJP led NDA Govt. in the centre shows the real face of the ruling clique. The Rafale deal is biggest scam yet being unearthed step by step.
Protection to Corporate Looters. Banking Scams
The Government brought FRDI Bill which was opposed tooth and nail by the unions forcing Government to withdraw it. But now the Government has come out with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, which is aimed to facilitate the corporate defaulters and banking scamsters to go away with major part of the debt default under the camouflage of so-called “resolution process of insolvency”. Banks will get back hardly 30 per cent of their due loan amount. This is another big scam in the making which would further damage the crises ridden economy. Insurance sector is also under such attack.
Support to Farmers
This Maharashtra State Convention of Workers extends full support to the demands of the fighting farmers in various states as well as under the Joint National Forums of Farmers Organizations, including the struggle for immediate drought relief measures and of adivasis for implementation of Forest Rights Act. It is the same set of pro-corporate, pro-landlord policies which have created a severe crisis in agriculture, biggest livelihood provider in the economy, leading to continuing increase in spate of suicides. The promised Minimum Support Prices, one and half times the cost of production, to farmers was not accomplished, rather further fraud was committed on the farming community with the kind of announcements made on MSP for their crops. The latest budget proposals are an insult to the farmers facing severe crisis due to drought and indebtedness. We the working people- workers and farmers, will together join hands in solidarity to defeat the anti-people Modi government.
Defeat Communal Divisive Forces. Defend Secularism
This Maharashtra State Convention of Workers records its strong denunciation against the communal and divisive machinations on the society being carried on with the active patronage of the Government machinery. The BJP Governments are using draconian UAPA, NSA as well as misusing the agencies of CBI, NIA, IT to harass and suppress any dissenting opinions. The systematic undermining of and misuse of the government agencies like CBI is an attack on our democracy.
The peace loving secular people in the country are facing a stark situation of terror and insecurity all around. Mob lynchings in BJP ruled states are another serious threat to our democracy. Communal forces are cultivating an atmosphere of conflicts within the society with the intent of bringing about communal polarization of the electorate. The blatantly communal Citizen (Amendment) Bill is playing havoc with the unity of the country especially in the North East. The communal forces are trying to disrupt the unity of the workers and the toiling people in general, so vital to carry forward the ongoing struggles based on our worker’s Charter of Demands. It is the historic duty of the Working Class to defend secularism at this critical time , and defeat the divisive ideology of the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, with our alternative message of class and national unity, communal harmony and secularism.
Modi Sarkar Hatao. Kamgar Adhikar Bachao
This all-round anti-people, anti-workers and anti-national policy regime of the Modi government has not only been imposing increasing miseries on the toiling people at large, it is also severely damaging the national economy and destroying its indigenous productive and manufacturing capabilities to serve the interests of the multinational companies with Indian corporates as their junior partner. This anti-people and anti-national policy must be defeated squarely to force the pro-people changes in policies on all fronts. The all-round assault on the livelihood and rights of the working people by the Modi government is a political attack, which has to be fought back and defeated politically.
The government which works for removing the rights of the working people must be removed from power.
This convention appeals to all workers in the organized and unorganized, to all trade unions and mass organizations, to work unitedly to defeat the Modi government in the forthcoming 2019 general Lok Sabha elections.
Top - Home