Call All India Federation of Trade Unions (New) (AIFTU-N)
Ensure Success of All India Strike on 8th and 9th
Jan. 2019 for Defence of Workers Jobs & Rights
Intensify Struggles against Central Govt’s Pro-imperialist-
Anti Worker and Divisive Policies
Comrades,
Since the assumption to power
by the BJP at the centre in 2014
the attacks on the working class
have intensified and it is becoming
more and more challenging today
to retain our jobs and our hard won
wages and rights. In the last four
and a half years there have been
many workers struggles at the local
levels in the country in defence of
their rights and for better conditions
of life. There have been sectoral
struggles in this period and in the
past three years two one-day
general strikes were organised on
a charter of demands touching the
issues of all sections of workers. But
the Modi sarkar under the facade
of achhe din to the common people
continues to put to affect its anti-
worker policies which are in
essence pro-big business. Ease of
doing Business is more “achhe din”
for the corporate and foreign
capital and not for the workers at
large.
The various anti-worker
policies-from making changes in the
existing labour laws to the fixed term
employment contract to all sectors’
are being pushed through
aggressively by the Central Govt of
RSS-BJP. While it is a known fact
that existing labour laws are rarely
implemented, the government at
the centre had been making
serious attempts to make
amendments in these laws in favour
of the managements. It has codified
the 44 labour laws in to four codes.
The BJP ruled states, starting from
Rajasthan, have already made
changes in the contract labour in
January - 2019
the Industrial Disputes Act etc
effectively putting out a large mass
of workers outside the purview of
benefits under the laws on the one
hand and giving a free hand to the
managements to hire and fire. The
policies of the government have
further hit hard on regular
employment and the process of
contractorisation has intensified.
The Constitutional principal of equal
pay for equal work, reiterated by the
Supreme Court recently is brazenly
violated by the managements of
both public and private sectors with
contract workers subjected to wage
and other discriminations. Added to
this, through an executive order in
2018, it extended fixed term
employment contract that was
restricted only to the apparel
industry to all sectors of industry
and services. This was in order to
facilitate “ease of doing business”.
The Modi government made tall
claims of providing 2 crore jobs per
year while the reality is that job
losses are on the rise. The MV
Amendment Act passed in the Lok
Sabha in 2016 was aimed at
privatising road transport in favour
of the corporate that would displace
thousands of small transporters.
There are workers who are denied
even the status of worker e.g
AASHA workers, sanitary workers
and other scheme workers. Despite
the Supreme Court rulings, all state
Governments continue to sit on
astronomical amounts collected as
construction cess and continue to
create new complications in the
construction worker’s access to this
money which is meant only for their
welfare. The Supreme Court
observed that huge amounts under
the cess meant for welfare of
construction workers are frittered
away and BOC Act is flouted with
impunity. Throughout the country,
the right to life of workers becomes
more expendable as seen in the rise
of so-called accidents at work
place. Labour law enforcement staff
is cut down and safety measures
are not enforced both in public and
private sectors. Statutory rights of
Minimum wages, ESI and PF are
also violated and accessed by a
diminishing number. The Central
Govt on its part is divesting public
sector built with public money and
also allowing 100 % foreign
investment in several sectors.
Railways, defence and other key
public sector industries have been
completely opened to foreign and
local corporate players. The people
of this country had experienced the
adverse effects of demonetization
and GST.
This government is unleashing
all-round attacks on the people.
The Central Govt, stands for and
backs attacks on people on cast
and communal lines to push
through its anti-national, pro
Corporate policies. Patriarchal
norms are upheld as are lynchings,
mob killings to advocate upper
caste chauvinism. Let us never
forget, that the first victim, Mohd
Aqlakh, was also an ex contract
worker at an MNC in Noida (UP).
We are also witnesses to the
various forms of state terror on
people’s movements as seen in
Thoothukudi killing.
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