The Centre seems to be staring at a full-blown crisis with the country’s main trade unions all set to go on a nationwide strike in protest against the government’s economic policies and labour laws on
The Centre seems to be staring at a full-blown crisis with the country’s main trade unions all set to go on a nationwide strike in protest against the government’s economic policies and labour laws on September 2. With Central government employees’ unions, university and college teachers’ unions, as well as bank unions deciding to join the stir, the nation could come to a standstill as all major public services are going to be affected.
Considering the gravity of the situation, labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday on the prevailing impasse. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who heads the five-member panel formed by Prime Minister to negotiate with unions on calling off the proposed strike, was holding discussions with a faction within the unions which is not in favour of the strike.
Amidst speculation that Mr Modi held discussions with key trade unions to ask them to call off the strike, trade union leaders dismissed any possibility of holding parleys with Mr Modi and stood firm in their resolve to organise the strike as per schedule.
The trade unions, barring the RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), have called a day-long general strike on September 2 against the government’s “hire and fire” oriented labour laws and have placed before the Centre a 12-point charter of demands seeking minimum index-linked wage of not less than Rs 18,000 per month for unskilled workers, and the assurance of enhanced pension of not less than Rs 3,000 per month for the entire workforce of the country, including workers in the unorganised sector.
CITU general secretary Tapan Sen told this newspaper that there is no question of holding talks with the Prime Minister or with the five-member inter-ministerial panel formed by him.
Stating emphatically that the strike is very much on, Mr Sen alleged that the government was trying to “sabotage” the strike and claimed that Mr Jaitley and Mr Dattatreya were holding discussions with a faction within the unions which are not in favour of the strike.
Former MP and CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta told this newspaper that “it will be a mammoth strike,” that’s “an expression of anger against the government’s economic policies and labour laws.”
BMS leader Baij Nath Rai made it clear that if the government did not to respond to the charter of demands by Tuesday afternoon (August 30), they too may join the nationwide strike.
All central trade unions, barring BMS, had categorically rejected the appeal made on August 26 by Mr Dattatreya to call off the September 2 all-India general strike.
An isolated BMS, which has had two rounds of talks with the panel headed by Mr Jaitley, is waiting to hear formally from the government before taking a call on joining the strike.
The inter-ministerial panel includes, apart from Mr Jaitley and Mr Dattatreya, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, power minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state in PMO Jitendra Singh.
The 12-point charter of demand of the trade unions is as follows: 1. Urgent measures for containing price rise through universalisation of PDS and banning speculative trade in commodity market.
2. Containing unemployment through concrete measures for employment generation.
3. Strict enforcement of all basic labour laws without any exception or exemption and stringent punitive measures for violation of labour laws.
4. Universal social security cover for all workers.
5. Minimum wage of not less than Rs. 18000/- per month with provisions of indexation (for unskilled worker).
6. Assured enhanced pension not less than Rs 3000 p.m. for the entire working population (including unorganised sector workers).
7. Stoppage of disinvestment in Central/state Public Sector undertakings.
8. Stoppage of contractorisation in permanent/perennial work and payment of equal wage and benefits for contract workers as regular workers for same and similar work.
9. Removal of all ceilings on payment and eligibility of bonus, provident fund and increase in quantum of gratuity.
10. Compulsory registration of Trade Unions within a period of 45 days from the date of submitting application and immediate ratification of ILO conventions C-87 and C-98.
11. No. FDI in Railways, Defence and other strategic sectors.
12. No unilateral amendment to labour laws.
