New Delhi, March 5; GANASHAKTI: The Central Trade Unions and independent federations organised a workers convention at Constitutional Club Annexe on 5th March, 2019, with a view to adopt a Workers Charter of Demands to be placed in the electoral process about to begin for constitution of 17th Lok Sabha.
The Convention began by observing a minute’s silence to pay homage to the Pulwama martyrs of a terrorist attack.
The meeting was presided over by were Deepak Sharma, Mohan Sharma C A Raja Sridhar, Hemalata, RK Sharma, Probir Banerjee, Lata, Santosh Rai, Jawahar Singh and Ashok Ghosh.
The speakers stressed that the reason for organising this Convention was that as the elections are drawing near, the incumbent government of BJP-RSS, which has failed on all promises by which it came to power, would try to divert the attention of toiling people by war hysteria, loud cries of nationalism, respect for the armed forces and so on. The Convention is meant to keep in clear focus the issues of toiling people, and not allow the pro-corporate forces to cheat them again in the name of whipped up non-issues.
They said we the workers along with the peasants and other toiling people produce the wealth of our country. It is we who contribute to the economic growth our country. Yet our burning issues, our serious problems, and our urgent demands have been totally neglected by the government at the centre. The joint trade movemennt has been repeatedly raising the issues of concern to the working valss for last many years. We have repeatedly tried through various means, the latest being the two days country wide general strike which has received massive support from all sections of the toiling people, to bring our demands to the notice of the government and sought redress, but to no avail. Today the country is in deep crisis. All aspects of our daily life,as that of peasants and agricultural workers and other working people are in crisis. The hard won trade union and labour rights are under attack. Agrarian crisis and rural distress, continue upabated. Thousands of areas and are migrating to the cities in large numbers competing with the unorganised sector workers for low paying jobs without any social security.
They said tht we the workers have been unitedly figthing against these policies since the last two decades. We have jointly conducted 18 countrywide general strikes during this period in addition to scores of sectoral strikes, The participation of workers in these strikes has been continusiosly increasing.
Our issues, our demands ,the issues and problems relating to a decent and humane living and livelihood get nolace in the discourse during elections.Some political parties try to consider people as vote banks on the lines of religion,caste or sub caste demads are raised to provoke and polarise people for their electoral benefits.After coming to power ,we are totally neglected by the parties.Those is government start obeying orders of their corporate donors and enrich themselves in the process.
How long should this continue? While we need to defeat the present BJP led government whuch has been aggressively pursuing anti worker,anti people and anti national policies,we should also demand reversal of these policies and formulation of alternative pro worker and pro people policies whichever government comes to power at the centre.
It is time that workers' issues are raised during the elections.It is time that workers issues form a major part of the discourse elections.Let us place our demands,the workers charter,before the political parties and compel them to concretely express their stand on these issues before we decide whom to vote.
Among those who spoke Tapan Sen general secretary of CITU said that the Charter of Demands should be used as a weapon to oust the Modi Government. He gave the call Modi Hatao -Desh Bachao. The other speakers, Ashok Singh of INTUC, Harbhajan Singh Sidhu of HMS, Amarjit Kaur of AITUC, Satyavan Singh of AIUTUC, G. Devarajan of TUCC, Sonia George of SEWA, Rajiv Dimri of AICCTU, Rashid Khan of LPF and Shatrujith of UTUC endorsed the Charter of Demands and reiterated the call to oust Modi Government.
The Convention, while reiterating the long standing 12-point charter of demands, further expanded it to include various other sectoral demands, in view of the struggles of various sections that have gone on prior to and even after the historic 8-9 January 2019, all-India strike. The main demands in the Workers’ Charter of Demands included:
1. Fix national minimum wage as per the recommendations of 15th Indian Labour Conference and Supreme Court judgement in the Raptakos & Brett case, which has been reiterated unanimously by later Indian Labour Conference.
2. Abolish Contract Labour system in perennial nature of job pending which strictly implement equal wage and benefits to contract workers doing the same job as permanent workers, as per Supreme Court judgment.
3. Minimum Support Price for the produce of the farmers as per the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission, strengthen public procurement system.
4. Loan waiver to farmers and Institutional credit for the small and marginal farmers.
5. Comprehensive legislation covering social security and working conditions for all workers including agricultural workers.
6. Check unemployment on war footing.
7. Assure minimum pension of Rs 6000 per month and indexed pension to all.
8. Recognise workers employed in different government schemes.
9. Immediately revoke ‘Fixed Term Employment’.
10. Stop disinvestment/strategic sale of public sector undertakings. Give revival package to the important PSUs in the public interest.
11. Scrap NPS and restore the Old Pension Scheme.
12. Stop anti worker and pro employer amendments to the labour laws and codifications. Ensure strict implementation of the existing labour laws.
13. Implement paid maternity leave of 26 weeks, maternity benefit and crèche facilities for women workers no incentive be given to employers who are following amended provision of Maternity Benefit Act as proposed by the Government.
14. Strict measures to stop the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. Compensation, as per Supreme Court judgment, to the families who die while cleaning sewers.
15. Protection of street vendors should be ensured. States should frame rules accordingly.
With the accepted amendments, the Charter of Demands was adopted unanimously.
The Convention ended with slogans of resolve to throw out the Modi Government as a precondition for securing the Charter of Demands.
