People's Democracy

THIS All India Trade Union Convention --- representing all sections of the working people, both from industries and services, and organised jointly by the central trade unions, viz AICCTU, AITUC, CITU, HMS, TUCC, UTUC, UTUC(LS) and all the major employees federations of the central and state government employees, railways, bank, insurance, defence and all other industries and service sectors --- expresses grave concern at the ongoing hectic exercise by the government of India to unleash a regime of retrenchment, downsizing of the existing workforce and onslaught on labour rights in various ways as an integral part of its policy of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG).

The reports of all the three committees appointed by the government, viz the Geethakrishnan committee (Expenditure Reforms Commission), Rakesh Mohan committee (pertaining to railways) and Montek Singh Ahluwalia committee, have already been made public, bearing ominous portents for the country’s economy as well as for the working class. Those committees, constituted by the government with handpicked bureaucrats and academics, have made their recommendations absolutely in line with the prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF and of the employers’ lobby.

The report of the Geethakrishnan committee contains prescriptions for dismantling public services through closure of numerous government departments, besides reckless downsizing of workforce through retrenchment and various other routes and curtailment of various rights and facilities. The committee has gone to the extent of recommending a ban on increase in wages and even dearness allowance of the employees. The committee has also recommended drastic cuts in subsidies on food and fertilisers, which would affect the poor people at large. Along with that, the department of expenditure of the government of India has suggested measures to compel the state governments to implement the committee’s recommendations through dubious pressure tactics.

The Rakesh Mohan committee has recommended virtual privatisation of Indian Railways in phases through allowing multiple operators on the countrywide infrastructure created by public money, operation of railways purely on commercial basis along with the provisions for increase in passenger fares at an annual rate of 8 per cent, hiving off of all six major well-equipped production units, zonal railway workshops, privatisation of medical/educational facilities, quarters/colony maintenance, catering, etc, and drastic pruning of the workforce by 20 per cent or more.

The Ahluwalia committee, while dealing with the issue of employment generation, has recommended the dismantling of all regulatory mechanism in the economy (whatever still existed after a decade of liberalisation) and also prescribed drastic pro-employer changes in all labour laws as to make retrenchment hurdle-free and allow contractisation of all work. The representatives of employers were also represented in this committee. The committee, entrusted with the task of finding ways and means of employment generation, has ultimately ended in recommending further degeneration in employment situation, both in terms of quantity and quality. In fine, conditions of slavery are sought to be imposed on the working class.

The government of the day has already demonstrated its inclination to accept the retrograde recommendations. The union finance minister has, in his budget speech, already declared the government’s intention to amend the Industrial Disputes Act and Contract Labour Act to make ‘hire & fire’ easy by removing the so-called restrictive provisions in these acts. Following it, the prime minister has, in his address to his Economic Advisory Council (and earlier at the Indian Labour Conference), declared that the amendments to labour laws, will be introduced, with or without the labour ministers’ concurrence. This is a challenging situation.

The process of implementation of these recommendations has already started in many government departments and the concerned employees have been voicing their protest through various forms of agitation in different sectors. On behalf of the participating organisations, this convention extends full support to these struggles and calls upon the constituent unions to act in solidarity with all the ongoing struggles in various sectors against downsizing, retrenchment and attacks on labour rights.

This all-India trade union convention notes with satisfaction that the entire trade union movement in the country has already voiced its strong opposition to these anti-people exercises, expressing its resolve to resist these onslaughts on the toiling people. The urgent need of the hour is to build up countrywide determined united struggle against these nefarious designs. This all-India convention decides to meet the prime minister in a joint delegation of all trade unions to demand rejection of the reports of all these three committees. The convention also calls upon the working class in general, and the affiliates of the participating organisations in particular, to jointly organise intensive grass-roots level campaigns throughout the country by way of meetings, conventions, seminars, etc, to build up greater awareness and unity and prepare for a countrywide struggle against these anti-people, anti-national and anti-working class policies.

This all-India convention also reiterates the call for the countrywide observance of Protest Day Against Globalisation on November 9, 2001, given jointly by all the central trade unions in the country, endorsing the call for Global Protest Day against Globalisation given by all the international trade union organisations, viz the ICFTU, WFTU and WCL.

The convention appeals to all trade unions to be prepared to go on strike on the day the anti-working class bills, viz the Industrial Dispute Act (Amendment) Bill and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Amendment Bill, are brought in the next session of parliament.

This convention strongly protests the ordinance issued by the government of India in the guise of fighting terrorism. The experience of the trade unions is that the Defence of India Rule (DIR), MISA and TADA were recklessly used against the working class and the trade union movement and to curb the democratic rights of the people.

In a situation of war on the borders of India and on the background of worsening economic situation, the danger of attacks on the working class and on the democratic rights of the people is bound to increase. Therefore this convention demands the government to withdraw the ordinance.