People's
Democracy
(Weekly
Organ
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)No. 09
March 02, 2003
(Weekly
Organ
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVII
No. 09 March 02, 2003 |
Massive
Workers
March
to
Parliament
THREE
lakh
workers,
toiling
in
the
fields,
factories
and
offices
all
over
the
country,
converged
in
New
Delhi
on
February
26
to
stage
a
mammoth
‘March
to
Parliament’.
It
was
an
unequivocal
declaration
by
the
toiling
masses
of
the
country
of
their
unrelenting
struggle
against
the
Government
of
India’s
disastrous
anti-people,
anti-worker
and
anti-national
policies.
These
policies
have
led
to
the
surrender
of
the
country’s
economic
sovereignty
to
the
international
financial
institutions
and
the
multinational
corporations,
resulting
in
utter
pauperisation
of
the
masses.
This
march
was
the
culmination
of
the
present
phase
of
working
class
resistance
against
the
reckless
pursuit
of
the
new
economic
policies
of
liberalisation,
globalisation
and
privatisation,
as
a
part
of
which
lakhs
of
workers
courted
arrest
on
January
8
this
year,
staging
rail
roko,
rasta
roko
and
jail
bharo
programmes.
The
February
26
march
highlighted
the
following
eight
point
demands
formulated
jointly
by
all
the
central
trade
unions
and
independent
unions
and
federations
in
the
country:
·
Halt
to
privatisation
of
profit
making
and
potentially
viable
public
sector
undertakings
·
No
change
in
the
labour
laws
in
favour
of
the
employers
and
against
the
interest
of
the
workers
· Immediate enactment of comprehensive legislation for agricultural workers
·
No
to
policies
leading
to
severe
aggravation
of
joblessness
and
unemployment
·
Widen
comprehensive
social
security
schemes
for
all,
including
workers
in
unorganised
sector
·
Restoration
of
quantitative
restrictions
on
imports
·
Amendment
of
Payment
of
Bonus
Act
by
removing
all
ceilings
·
Restoration
of
12
per
cent
interest
rate
on
P
F
Deposits.
FAILED POLICIES
But, the government had chosen to turn a deaf ear to the countrywide waves of protest and is carrying forward its retrograde policies that have failed.
Contrary
to
the
government’s
claim
of
having
put
the
national
economy
back
on
rails,
the
economy
is
going
down
the
disaster
lane,
with
the
lowering
of
the
growth
rate
of
GDP,
per
capita
income
and
agriculture-growth.
The
economy
is
reeling
under
a
severe
demand
recession
due
to
loss
of
the
purchasing
power
of
the
people,
consequent
upon
proliferation
of
job
cut,
wage
cut,
decline
in
job
opportunities
and
pauperisation
of
the
peasantry.
While
the
NDA
government
had
been
making
a
ridiculous
claim
of
creating
one
crore
jobs
every
year,
there
has
been
an
alarming
decline
of
employment
by
8
per
cent
in
two
consecutive
years.
Unemployment
is
menacingly
on
the
rise,
threatening
to
destroy
the
social
fabric
of
the
nation.
Nearly
two
crore
workers
have
been
thrown
to
streets,
in
the
course
of
economic
reforms.
The
mad
spree
of
downsizing
is
threatening
the
livelihood
of
the
workers
in
all
sectors.
The
shift
of
employment
to
the
informal
sector
is
tremendously
on
the
rise.
Outsourcing
of
jobs
by
the
employers
has
accentuated
the
process
of
informalisation.
Workers
in
the
unorganised
sector
are
compelled
to
work
without
minimum
wage
and
statutory
benefits.
Women
are
the
worst
victims
of
economic
reforms
–
underpaid,
discriminated,
harassed
and
thrown
out
of
job
at
the
will
of
the
employers.
ATTACK
ON
A
concerted
onslaught
is
unleashed
on
the
workers.
Trade
unions
are
being
suppressed
ruthlessly.
The
government
is
all
set
to
implement
the
recommendation
of
the
Second
National
Commission
on
Labour
dismantling
all
rights
of
the
workers
and
facilitating
hire
and
fire
of
workers,
indiscriminate
out-sourcing
of
jobs
and
closure
of
industrial
units.
The
government
is
moving
arbitrarily
to
introduce
the
Unorganised
Sector
Workers
Bill
2003,
brushing
aside
the
demand
of
the
trade
unions
that
the
Bill
should
address
issues
of
employment
regulation,
improvement
in
service
conditions,
provision
of
health,
safety,
social
security
and
welfare
of
these
workers,
comprising
over
90
per
cent
of
the
workforce
in
the
country.
TOWARDS
COUNTRYWIDE
The
workers
assembled
at
different
points
in
Delhi
marched
through
three
different
routes
in
impressive
processions
to
assemble
at
the
Ramlila
Maidan,
from
where
a
huge
procession
started
out
to
move
towards
the
Parliament.
They
were
stopped
by
the
Delhi
poice
at
the
interjection
of
Maharaja
Ranjit
Singh
Road
and
the
Barakhambha
Road.
A
massive
gathering
which
squatted
all
along
the
Ranjit
Singh
flyover
was
addressed
by
the
leaders
of
the
central
trade
unions
viz.
the
CITU,
AICCTU,
AITUC,
HMS,
INTUC,
TUCC,
UTUC
and
UTUC-LS,
along
with
the
leaders
of
industry-wise
federations
in
Railways,
Banks,
Insurance,
Defence
and
the
State
and
Central
Government
employees.
HMKP,
Mumbai
based
Kamgar
Agadhi,
AIFTU,
IFTU
and
NTUI
also
joined
the
march
and
extended
support
to
the
declaration.
M
K
Pandhe,
general
secretary,
CITU,
while
addressing
the
meeting
congratulated
the
working
class
of
the
country
for
their
massive
participation
in
the
March
to
Parliament
programme.
Supporting
the
declaration
placed
for
adoption
before
the
gathering
he
exhorted
the
workers
and
the
trade
union
activists,
returning
after
participation
in
the
inspiring
march,
to
take
the
message
of
the
declaration
to
the
mass
of
the
workers
and
start
hectic
preparations
for
the
strike.
The
workers
and
employees
of
different
sectors,
who
came
from
far
and
near,
unanimously
adopted
a
declaration
putting
the
Government
of
India
on
notice
that
in
the
event
of
the
government
persisting
with
their
disastrous
anti-labour
and
anti-people
policies,
they
will
stage
an
all
India
general
strike
before
the
end
of
the
budget
session.
A
wider
consultation
meeting
will
be
held
in
New
Delhi
on
March
12
which
will
take
steps
to
broad
base
the
struggle
against
the
government
policies
and
also
decide
the
date
of
the
all
India
General
Strike.
The
huge
gathering
of
workers
also
condemned
the
US
move
for
launching
an
attack
on
Iraq,
by
adopting
unanimously
a
resolution
on
the
subject.
The
trade
unions
will
also
mobilise
all
sections
of
the
masses
to
oppose
the
unjust
war
on
Iraq
and
defend
world
peace.
