People's Democracy

THE working class of the nation, braving all prohibitive orders, responded magnificently to the call for countrywide general strike on February 24, 2004, given by the major central trade unions, state and central government employees, and many important federations.

The strike call was given to assert the right to strike in the face of the prohibitive order by the Supreme Court and also to protest against the disastrous economic policies of the central government, which are resulting in deepening poverty, growing unemployment, reckless privatisation and closures etc. The massive response evoked to the strike action thoroughly exposes the ugly face of hundreds of crores of rupees lie-campaign unleashed by the NDA government regarding the so-called "feel good factor".

The INTUC leadership, despite committing for a favourable decision in support of the general strike, backed out subsequently. The BMS leadership stayed away from the general strike despite their declared opposition to the judicial ban on right to strike as well as to the economic policies of the central government. The HMS did not sponsor the strike call. But, at grass root level many of their affiliates and followers joined the strike action in a big way. The INTUC union at Bharat Electronics Ltd, Ghaziabad, joined the strike along with others by serving strike notice. The state level INTUC leadership in the Andamans along with their affiliates joined the day-long dharna of the striking workers and employees at Port Blair. The INTUC-led union of the government employees in Kerala, and the INTUC and BMS affiliates in the banking and insurance sector have also joined the strike throughout the country by serving strike notices. Thus, the ninth countrywide general strike by the working class against the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation and against the attack on labour rights has reflected much broader unity at the grass root level.

Around five crore workers and employees took part in the countrywide general strike braving police lathicharge and arrests in many places. As per reports received at the time of writing this, in Jahangirpuri industrial area at Delhi, police lathicharged the striking employees and arrested around 100 workers. In Haryana, lathicharge and arrests have taken place in Jind, Rohtak, Karnal and Panchkula. At Rourkela steel town in Orissa, around 500 striking workers were arrested. Pondicherry reported arrest of 136 striking workers. In Assam, nearly thousand workers were arrested in different parts of the state.

The general strike has drawn solidarity support from various organisations within the country and abroad. The World Federation of Trade Unions and CGT, France, have sent messages expressing solidarity to the strike action. The All India Kisan Sabha, DYFI, All India Agricultural Workers’ Union and All India Democratic Women’s Association have conveyed and given their support. The Students’ Federation of India also resorted to a countrywide strike on the same day.

The unity of the working class movement got a new dimension through this general strike. The time-tested truth: "unity of the working class is meant for action and built through action only" was reiterated. That "such urge for action and unity at the grassroots level can ensure and sustain tangible unity in the trade union movement" would be apparent in the forthcoming struggles.

The government employees, against whom the ban on strike was directly thrust upon, gave a befitting reply to such vindictive arrogance of the State machinery by staging the biggest ever countrywide strike action in all the state government offices and establishments. We must note, for the government employee, this general strike is not merely a bold assertion of their right to strike but also a brave defiance of the unjust prohibition thrust upon them by the powers that be. It is the pioneering initiative of the government employees which played the most crucial role in the ultimate materialisation of the countrywide general strike by the entire working class on such a crucial issue.

Preliminary reports show that not less than 80 lakh state government employees, employees of state-PSUs, zilla parishads, gram panchayats and government teachers throughout the country joined the strike action defying the judicial order. Barring one or two states, almost everywhere the strike was near total. Even in J&K, government employees responded magnificently to the strike action. Also notable was the response in Gujarat, where, unlike previous occasions, the state government employees and the employees of central sector took part in the strike in a big way.

In the central government sector, nearly 30 lakh employees joined the strike. The overwhelming majority of employees in the telecom, postal departments, AG office, Income Tax and Audit offices took part in a big way throughout the country braving threats and prohibition. More than eighty per cent of the defence sector employees working in ordinance factories and depots under Army, Navy and Air Force and the MES offices all over the country have joined the strike action at the call of the All India Defence Employees Federation.

The general strike of February 24 got converted into a complete bandh in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. Also a bandh like situation was created in Assam, Haryana, Orissa and Jharkhand and certain districts of Karnataka owing to massive participation of workers cutting across the affiliations. The massive support received from the people in general created such a situation.

The general strike has drawn participation of workers from all sectors. The entire financial sector covering the banks and the insurance companies witnessed almost total strike throughout the country. Of the six-lakh coal workers in nine companies, more than 4.2 lakh workers joined the strike action. In the non-coal mining belt – spread over Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh – the strike was near total.

The public sector workers throughout the country also joined the strike action in a big way. Bangalore and Hyderabad, the centres of concentration of public sector units in the country, witnessed massive strike in all the PSUs there. In Port & Dock sector, despite opposition by some of the major unions, the strike was massive at Kolkata, Haldia, Cochin, Gujarat, Paradip, Tutikorin and JNPT(Mumbai) and it was partial in other ports. In steel sector, the strike was total in Durgapur, Burnpur while 60 per cent workers joined the strike in Salem. In other places, the strike was partial.

Electricity workers joined the strike en masse in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Jammu& Kashmir, and some others, while in UP, Rajasthan,Himachal etc, they staged a walk-out and held massive dharna which has drawn participation of workers of other affiliations as well.

In the plantation sector throughout the country, both in tea and rubber plantation, massive strike has taken place. The unorganised sector workers in brick-kilns, head-load, beedi manufacturing and mandis took part in the strike in a big way. The construction workers, both from the organised and unorganised sector, responded to the strike call magnificently. The construction workers in all the hydel-projects under construction in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu were on complete strike. Anganwadi workers throughout the country also participated in the strike in a big way. There was massive participation of Oil sector workers in the strike. In the installations in Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and in the southern states, the strike was total whereas it was partial in other areas. In many states the flights have been rescheduled owing to the impact of the strike.

As noted earlier, the general strike was transformed into a total bandh in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. In these areas, even the INTUC and BMS affiliates joined the strike action. The states witnessed day-long processions, dharnas, rallies participated not only by workers but also by students, youth, peasantry, women etc. And in many other states bandh like situation was created in many districts and areas.

Tamilnadu: Industrial workers, central government employees, financial sector employees and unorganised sector workers in Tamilnadu responded magnificently to the all India general strike. It was complete in major industrial establishments in and around Chennai, including Ashok Leyland, Ennore Foundries, WIMCO, MRF, Enfield India, Eveready Industries, EID Parry, Tube Products of India, Sinhua chemicals, Audco India, ALLSTOM, Hindustan Motors car plant, Engine valves and Balmer Lawrie. Workers from Madras Export Promotion Zone (MEPZ) and in the Electronic Industrial Estate in Tiruvanmi- yur and Industrial estate in Ambathur participated in the strike. Industrial workers from Textile, Engineering and other sectors from different parts of the state participated in the strike. In Tiruppur, hosiery workers participated in full strength. The strike in public sector units like BHEL, Neyveli Lignite, Salem Steel was partial. Unorganised sector workers from construction, auto rickshaw, beedi, handloom etc participated in the strike in large numbers. Striking workers took part in court-arrest demonstrations in different parts of the state.

Karnataka: Workers in all PSUs struck work. In other industries as well workers, cutting across political affiliations, joined the strike in a big way. Auto-rickshaw workers participated in the action fully. More than 50 per cent of public transport was crippled. Virtual bandh like situation was there in Gulbarga, Gangavati, Kushtagi, Davanagere etc.

Maharashtra : The industrial centers of Navi-Mumbai/Thane, Nasik, Pune, Solapur, Ichhalkaranji, Nagpur etc reported massive response to the strike call. There was enthusiastic participation from both the organised and unorganised sector workers. Private transport, auto rickshaws etc were off the road in most of the cities in the state. In Mumbai, besides the total strike by state government employees and in banks and insurance, the response to the strike by the central government employees and workers in other private sector industries was quite good. In Port and Dock, the strike was partial. Reports of massive mobilisation by the striking workers and other mass organisations of kisan, students and youth, women to organise road-blockade at different parts of the state was reported.

Delhi: The industrial areas at Okhla, Tughlakabad, Patparganj, Jahangirpuri, Mangolpuri, Wazirpur, Kirti-nagar, Mayapuri, Samaypur Badli etc reported good response to the strike action by industrial workers. Processions by thousands of striking workers were taken out in Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Mangolpuri and Patparganj. At Jahangirpuri, the striking workers faced lathicharge and arrests by police. Delhi University Teachers Association and University and College Employees Union supported the strike and in JNU, the students went on strike in solidarity.

Uttar Pradesh: Besides massive strike action by the employees of banks, insurance, govt employees, good response to strike by industrial workers was reported from Kanpur, Varanasi, Saharanpur, Bulland-shahar, Sonbhadra, Jhansi and other industrial centers. In Ghaziabad and adjoining areas,, in Sahibabad industrial area, strike was near total. Massive demonstration and rally was held by the striking workers at Noida.

Haryana: Complete participation of the Haryana Roadways workers gave the strike a virtual image of statewide bandh. It was total in state government offices. Around 60,000 workers in 350 brick-kilns in the state went on complete strike on this day. The industrial areas of Sonepat, Panipat, Panchkula, Faridabad and Gurgaon reported good response. A massive road block was organised by the striking workers at Panipat. The Anganwadi workers statewide went on complete strike and held demonstrations in many places. In all the 90 blocks in Haryana, joint demonstrations by the government employees and industrial workers and workers of the unorganised sector were held. All the four universities were closed as the teachers, employees and students went on strike.

Rajasthan: The industrial workers in all the industrial centres of Jaipur, Kota, Ganganagar, Jhunujhunu, Bikaner, Sikar, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Chitorgarh, Rawatbhata etc joined the strike in a big way. Strike in Khetri Copper Complex and J K Tyre at Kankroli, Kamani Engineering at Jaipur was near total. The same was the case in all the three agricultural farms under central government at Sardargarh. They staged a day-long dharna. Unorganised sector workers in loading-unloading in the mandis also joined the strike paralysing the transactions in the Mandi. Processions and demonstrations were organised throughout the state.

Orissa: It was a bandh like situation in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sundargarh and in few other districts owing to the overwhelming response to the strike call from workers, employees and other sections. In particular, the mining belt witnessed a total bandh. NALCO witnessed a total strike.

Assam: Besides complete strike in banks, insurance, BSNL and other government offices, the refineries, paper mills, private motor transport and small scale industries reported total strike. In tea plantations, the strike was total in around 60 per cent plantations. In different parts of the state, police arrested around thousand workers and leaders from the rallies organised jointly by AITUC, CITU, UTUC-LS and AICCTU. In the district towns of Digboi, Tinsukia and some areas of lower Assam, the strike got converted into a bandh as the public transport got paralysed and shops remained closed. The N F Railway Headquarters at Maligaon wore a deserted look owing to 90 per cent employees staying away from work. Railway services were also affected by the striking pickteers.

Punjab: The industrial centers of Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mandigobindgar, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar etc reported massive response to the strike action by industrial workers, particularly the textile workers. Amritsar witnessed a virtual bandh. FCI godown workers went on total strike while Punjab Roadways workers staged massive demonstrations in many places while observing the strike for two hours. Workers of the unorganised sector, particularly from brick-kiln, responded to the strike call in a big way. The state government employees observed a half-day strike.

Gujarat: Response to the strike call among the government employees was quite good. Textile workers and transport workers from all affiliations joined the strike. Rallies and dhranas were organised at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and many other places by the striking workers along with the other mass organisations.

Andhra Pradesh: Hundred per cent strike was reported by the government employees, both the state and central and cooperative sector, banks and insurance. The participation in the strike by the state government secretariat employees, the panchayats employees and Telengana non-gazetted officers bears special significance this time. Public sector workers also joined the strike in a big way. The strike evoked good response from the Anganwadi workers and gram sevaks. The response was equally good among the employees of municipality, panchayats. The strike was near total in various industrial centers. Public transport services throughout the state were severely affected as nearly 60 per cent road transport workers joined the strike. The response to the strike from the unorganised sector workers was also magnificent.

Jharkhand: The strike was near total in the collieries and the industrial units of Ranchi, Dhanbad,Tatanagar. Unorgani -sed sector workers from beedi, quarry also joined the strike in a big way. Public transport services were affected in many areas in the state creating a situation of virtual bandh. In TISCO and Bokaro steel plant, the strike was partial. Massive rallies and demonstrations were held at Dhanbad and Ranchi.

Madhya Pradesh: In colliery belt, the strike was more than 70 per cent. The industrial centres of Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Guna and the areas adjoining Bhopal reported good response to the strike.

Chhattisgarh:The respo- nse of the state government employees to the strike call was good. Employees of central services also joined the strike in substantial numbers. In Collieries, the strike was effective in nearly 60 per cent area.

Himachal Pradesh: In the hydel projects under construction, the strike was total. All the Anganwadi projects were closed throughout the state as the workers joined the strike en masse. In industrial units, workers cutting across political affiliation joined the strike.

At the time of writing this, reports are reaching us of the good response to the strike call from various parts, including Bihar and Uttaranchal.