10 Central Trade Unions (CTUs) on Monday said that close to 25 crore people will protest against Government’s “Anti-People” policies. This will cause a nationwide strike on the 8th of January.
The 10 trade unions – Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), and Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC) – along with several of independent associations and federations, in September 2019, had already declared to undertake a pan India strike on the 8th of January 2020.
In a joint statement, the 10 CTUs said “we expect participation of not less than 25 crore of working people in the forthcoming National General Strike on January 8, 2020, to be followed by many more actions seeking reversal of the anti-worker, anti-people, anti-national policies of the Government.
In addition, they also said “the Ministry of Labour has failed to assure on any of the demands of workers which called a meeting on January 2, 2020. The attitude of the government is that of contempt towards labour as we construe from its policies and actions”.
According to the statement, almost 60 student organisations and elected office holders of various universities will be joining them in the strike to raise their voice against the government’s decision of raising the fess. In the first week of January, the Bank’s Unions also decided to go on strike on the 8th of January.
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The CTUs denounced the violence took place in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and other universities all across the nation and expressed their firm stand with the faculty members and students.
The CTUs are also unhappy with the government’s action of privatisation and merger of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) along with no Indian Labour Conference has been carried out since July 2015. Also the CTUs are unhappy with the codification of Labour Laws, which fuses 44 labour laws into four codes—Wages, Industrial relations, Social security and safety, Health and working conditions.
The statement by CTUs also said “As many as 12 airports are already sold out to private hands, 100 per cent sale of Air India is already decided, decision to sell BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) taken, BSNL-MTNL merger announced and 93,600 telecom workers already thrown out of jobs under the garb of VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme)”.
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Additionally, CTUs are also against the privatisation of the railways and also the corporatisation of almost 50 defence production units along with forceful merger of Banks.Over 175 joint platform of Farmers and Agricultural Workers Unions will also stand beside the CTUs in the Gramin Bharat Bandh on the 8th of January 2020.
