People's Democracy

 SC VERDICT ON RIGHT TO STRIKE

Workers To Unitedly Intensify Struggle

 W R Varada Rajan

ON September 25 and 26, Delhi was the scene of working class determination against the retrograde pronouncements of the Supreme Court, a headlong attack on the workers’ right to strike. It witnessed articulated expressions of deep concern over the pronouncements by the Supreme Court on the right to strike in the recent judgement relating to Tamilnadu government employees. Though the judgement referred to the right to strike of the government employees, it has its wider implications for the general trade union movement in the country. The present stand of the Supreme Court on the right to strike is a total departure from the earlier pronouncements of the apex court and too ominous.

Coming in the wake of unprecedented attacks on the working class, random lockouts, enormous loss of jobs, more of mandays lost due to arbitrary actions of the management rather than the workers going on strike, indiscriminate privatisation, violation of labour laws, gross underpayment and defalcation of provident fund deposits, this attack on the right to strike poses a grim challenge, which the trade unions have to take on firmly.

The two events set the pace for the working masses to move into action opposing the judgement.

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

On the first day thousands of state and central government employees from all over the country assembled in Mavlankar Hall, New Delhi in a ‘National Convention against the Supreme Court’s Ban on Right to Strike.’ The All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF) and Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers (CCGEW) jointly organised the convention.

The convention was attended by leaders of state and central government employees from all over the country, representing all segments of state and central administrations. Somnath Chatterjee, CPI(M) MP, while addressing the convention, stated that the SC judgement denying the right to strike was an affront to democracy and the employees have to defend their right through united struggle. The convention was also addressed by Justice Rajinder Sachar, CITU general secretary M K Pandhe, AITUC deputy general secretary H Mahadevan, other leaders of central trade unions and several leading legal luminaries as well, who also extended solidarity and support to the forthcoming struggle of the government employees to defend their right to strike. In their deliberation, AISGEF general secretary Sukomal Sen, and CCGEW secretary general S K Vyas stressed the need for an intensive countrywide agitation and campaign on the issue of right to strike, followed by a countrywide strike action to assert the right to strike more forcefully. They also appealed to all the central trade unions to plan for concerted countrywide actions along with government employees in the days to come.

The convention demanded immediate reinstatement of all dismissed state government employees in Tamilnadu, restoration of recognition to all government employees’ unions and settlement of all their grievances through negotiation with the unions.

ALL-TU CONVENTION

On September 26, the National Convention of Trade Unions, held at V P House lawn, Rafi Marg, New Delhi, denounced the Supreme Court judgement banning the right to strike and called upon the working class to assert the right through countrywide united struggles.

The convention was called by all the central trade unions in the country, viz, the CITU, AITUC, INTUC, HMS, BMS, AICCTU, UTUC and UTUC(LS). At the last moment, the BMS decided to not to take part in the convention. The convention was attended by around 2500 delegates from all over the country, representing, besides the above-named central trade unions and IFTU, the federations of railway workers, bank employees, defence employees, employees of airlines, etc, and a large number of independent unions from all parts of the country.

This convention, which had a presidium of representatives from 8 national trade unions centres, was addressed by CITU general secretary M K Pandhe, AITUC general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta, HMS general secretary Umraomal Purohit, INTUC president Sanjeev Reddy, Swapan Mukherjee (AICCTU), Saral Dev (TUCC), Aboni Roy (UTUC), Krishna Chakravorty (UTUC-LS) and also the leaders of the IFTU and major employees’ federations, viz, the AIBEA, AIIEA, BEFI, FMRAI, AIRF, AIDEF, AISGEF, CCGEW, Air Corporation Employees Union and others.

M K Pandhe hailed the spontaneous opposition expressed against the Supreme Court pronouncement and the criticism it has received from the legal luminaries, including the attorney general of India. He exhorted the working people all over the country to prepare for a massive action including a strike.

Gurudas Dasgupta said this pronouncement by the Apex Court had come at a time when attacks on workers by way of loss of jobs, underpayments, defalcation in PF contributions and incidence of lockouts were on the increase. In this situation, the workers have no option but to intensify the struggle including going on strike. Sanjeev Reddy stated that the right to strike could not be given up. He said we are united on retaining this right to the working class. Umraomal Purohit said the right to collective bargaining guaranteed to the working class includes the right to strike. Depriving the workers of the right to strike will transform collective bargaining into collective begging.

THE TWO DECLARATIONS

The declarations adopted by the two conventions, held on successive days, manifested the resolve of the whole spectrum of trade union movement in the country to enter a phase of decisive action to defend the right to strike.

Both the conventions hailed the spontaneous and widespread opposition to the judgement, as also the opinion expressed by the country’s leading legal luminaries including the present attorney general, and called upon the entire people of the country to join the trade unions in opposing the judgement.

Both the conventions also demanded that the Tamilnadu government reinstate all victimised employees forthwith, withdraw the order of derecognition of all unions of government employees, rescind all repressive measures and initiate negotiations with them for an amicable settlement of their just demands.

Both the conventions demanded that the central government take appropriate steps to negate the pernicious impact of the Supreme Court judgement on the Indian workers’ right to strike. They declared that if the government of India remained insensitive to the demands of the entire trade union movement, there would be no alternative for the trade unions but to intensify their movement. They called upon the working class to be in rapt preparedness accordingly.

CALLS FOR ACTION

The convention of the state and central government employees resolved to organise a series of agitations and campaigns through state level conventions, rallies, etc, to be followed by a countrywide strike action at the earliest. The date of the strike will be decided by the secretariats of the two organisations in consultation with the central trade unions. The convention unanimously resolved that, since the working class the world over had established their trade union rights by ceaseless struggles and sacrifices, the most anti-worker ruling of the division bench of the Supreme Court should be opposed by a united nationwide strike. The convention strongly urged other trade unions to join so that the nationwide strike could become a totally united working class action.  

The national convention, called by the central trade unions and all-India federations, called upon the working class to launch a countrywide intensive campaign through state level conventions and other programmes in defence of the right to strike, and to build up mass awareness on the danger posed by the Supreme Court decision. It also called for organising demonstrations throughout the country and a massive rally in Delhi against the move to strike down the right to strike. This would be followed by a National Protest Day on the second day of the budget session of parliament in February 2004. The trade unions will collectively decide the form of action programme for the National Protest Day and the countrywide general strike.