People's Democracy

THIS national assembly of workers being held at Talkatora indoor stadium, New Delhi with more than 5000 delegates representing the central trade unions, federations and independent labour unions on behalf of the broad section of the workers and employees of the country raises its indignant voice of protest against the new economic policies of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation of the central government and firmly opposes the reckless reform that seek to pass the entire burden of the economic crisis on the working masses, resorting to wage cut, job cut, cut in existing benefits, aggravating poverty and unemployment.

The national assembly notes with deep anguish that the central government despite all round rising wave of massive national protests led by the trade unions, even after its policy did not succeed to rejuvenate the economy, does not appear to be in a mood to review the policies and look for alternative path for reviving the economy, did not think it fit to call the trade unions for talks. It is clear that the government, working at the behest of the World Bank and WTO desperately looking for foreign patronage for the implementation of its economic programme, has turned insensitive and refuses to accept the realities of the fiasco of its policies. While the central government is bartering away the economic sovereignty of the country, the national economy dips into further crisis. The down turn in the industrial production continues unabated. The worst hit are the small-scale units due to the policy of dereservation. The latest Economic Survey dishes out the sordid story of increasing closure of industrial enterprises throwing out of job lakhs of employees and workers. As on March 31, 2001, 2,52,947 large, medium and small units had turned sick, many of them have already been shut down. Sickness in the industries is on the rise and the government must take an objective view for their revival. While the industries become sick, the promoters turn rich.

With slow down all round, market demand remaining stagnant, additional investment tapering off, off-take of bank credit going down, job cuts on the rise, it is difficult to believe that economic growth shall improve in the coming period. Stagnation of demand due to the loss of the purchasing power of the people due to job cut, wage cut, decline in job opportunities and pauperisation of the peasantry. It is the stagnant demand that has brought down the inflation rate to an all time low.

The creation of additional job opportunities has declined to a meagre less than half percent. Unemployment is menacingly on the rise, threatening to destroy the social fabric of the nation. Moreover, millions of workers are rendered jobless by closure, VRS and downsizing. Nearly 2 crore workers have been thrown on to the streets, in the course of economic reforms. Only in the factory sector, 700,000 workers have lost jobs in two years. Add to this the decision of the central government to reduce its strength by 10 percent. More than 40,000 have been displaced in central public sector undertakings recently. The annual data of Central Statistical Organisation indicates a fall of the number of employees in the country by 5 percent on the top of 3 percent in the previous year. The decline of employment by 8 percent in two consecutive years is alarming.

The Second Labour Commission report submitted to the government says "According to one estimate we may add 70 million unemployed in the next ten years. There are limits to which agriculture can absorb new entrants. Thus there is a ‘jobless’ growth and the rate of unemployment as measured by NSS surveys has increased after 1991, unemployment increasing from 6 percent in 1993-94 to more than 7 percent in 1999-00"

The private corporates have also downsized their human resources with vengeance. Nearly 3,90,000 workers have lost jobs in the textiles alone. Industrial giants IISCO, TELCO, Bajaj Auto, Voltas, ACC, Philips India, Larsen Toubro, Reliance Industries, ABB, Unilever have got rid of 50,000 workers in the last two years. The much hyped IT sector has axed 10,000 jobs last year.

Women are the worst victims of economic reforms --- underpaid, discriminated, harassed, thrown out of job more easily than men.

The shift of employment in the informal sector is tremendously on the rise. The outsourcing of jobs by the employers has accentuated the process of informalisation. Workers in agriculture, rural industries, beedi industry, construction, handloom, shop and establishment, restaurant and hotels, migrant workers and head loaders are compelled to work without minimum wage and statutory benefits. Even then the government refuses to make laws to protect the interests of unorganised labour and provide social security.

The government’s unashamed appeasement of the Indian corporate and transnational companies is appalling. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act is being amended to facilitate out-sourcing and cut down labour cost.

The government has refused to amend the Payment of Bonus Act denying payment of deferred wages to the vast majority of workers and employees. The rate of interest on Provident Fund is being brought down year after year. The leave travel concessions are suspended. The fringe benefits available to the workers have been dragged into income tax net. The payment of minimum wage, even dearness allowance is sought to be linked with productivity. The reduction of interest rate on small savings has gravely hit the working population. While violation of labour laws are allowed to be done with impunity, the government seeks to further amend the labour laws to benefit the employers and allow intensification of exploitation.

The national assembly of workers opposes the anti-labour recommendations of the Second Labour Commission and calls upon the trade unions to collectively fight against the dilution of Industrial Disputes Act, Contract Labour Act and increase in the daily working hours in the factories and reduce the factory holidays.

The national assembly deeply deplores the projection of privatisation as the panacea for all the economic ills of the country as advocated by World Bank-IMF-WTO combine.

The government of India is now on a selling spree of even blue chip and potentially viable public sector undertakings with huge asset base unmindful of the harm it causes to the economy. The public sector undertakings are national assets, built over years with people’s money and the precious wealth of the nation is being handed over to the greedy private corporates for a song. Without a strong and powerful base of the public sector, economy cannot advance and basic human problems cannot be addressed.

The national assembly of workers unequivocally condemns the campaign that the public sector units are economically loss making and perennially dependent on budgetary support and, therefore, must be closed down or privatised. Contrary to this propaganda, what is found out is that net profit of the PSUs has increased, return on equity has augmented, investments improved, even the combined turnover has expanded. While the private corporates are guilty of tax default of over Rs.62,000 crore, the contribution of public sector to the national exchequer is up by Rs.4,821 crore. Even the foreign exchange earnings have registered an increase. The reckless disinvestment, also privatisation, is nothing short of criminal betrayal of national interest.

Agriculture is the mainstay of our national economy. It provides employment to nearly 60 per cent of the country’s economically active population. Agriculture is in shambles. Aggressive liberalisation has deprived the farmers and agricultural workers of the little protection that was available, resulting in large scale unemployment and pauperisation of the rural masses. The Indian government has withdrawn the agricultural subsidies. But the advanced countries had been doling out subsidies to their own national agriculture and as such the withdrawal of quantitative restrictions has resulted in the easy import of agricultural commodities to the great detriment of our rural economy. The dumping of cheap foreign agricultural products seek to ruin India’s agriculture. The farmers are in deep distress and suicides in Andhra, Karnataka, Orissa and even in Punjab are pointers to gravity of the situation. The national assembly strongly deprecates the delay in brining a comprehensive bill for agriculture workers.