One day Nation wide Strike - Make it a grand success

                              7^TH SEPTEMBER, 2010 – NATIONWIDE ONE DAY  STRIKE

Dear Comrades,

The second National Labour Conference held  on July14^th, 2010 at New Delhi has unanimously passed a resolution to oppose the policies of the Government which are against the interest of  the employees, workers and people and lodge a strong protest by organizing a one day nation wide strike on 7^th September, 2010. The policy offensive is continuing unabated, though surreptitiously. Dismantling of Public Sector is continuing. Out-sourcing  has entered each and every department of the Central and State Governments. Casual   work force is on increase while the permanent employees are dwindling alarmingly. Common man is reeling under the burden of sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities. Dismantling of Public distribution system has robbed the food security of the poor. Under these circumstances the Trade Unions and Associations which are conscious of the social responsibilities has tried to unite and halt this policy offensive of the Rulers against employees, workers and common people. The rich tradition of the Trade Union movement in this country established by the conscious struggles waged by the responsible Trade Unions and Associations against the LPG policies for more than a decade helped the nation to shield its economy from the global recession of recent times and averted a great calamity in the lives of the workers, employees and people of this country. We have heard the sordid stories from the Western part of the Globe, how the workers and employees were thrown out of jobs, how they became homeless, how the economic institutions collapsed like a pack of cards day in and day out, reducing its middle class to paupers. All this misery and sorrow is seeded by the neo-liberal economic policies propagated by the capitalistic countries ably aided by the institutions , IMF and World bank. The Rulers here in India have not taken a lesson from this calamity and still treading this path of suicide risking the lives of the vast majority of the people of this country. Hence, it becomes the duty of every patriotic person to caution the policymakers to veer away from this policy direction. That caution we are generating through our protest on 7^th September, 2010.

After the implementation of 6^th Central Pay Commission, there is a feeling that all is well with the Central Government employees. Due to this perception the Government is going ahead with its administrative reforms. The most visible activity in the Central Government Departments is the acceleration of the out-sourcing and privatization of jobs and drastic cut in the vacancies. The mighty railways, the single largest employer in the central sector lost its sheen and left with  12 lakhs of employees. Postal Department lost one lakh posts during the last 10 years. The story of Defence department is not different. The largest employment generator is the Public Sector. Now the policy makers are leaving no stone un-turned to reduce these “Modern Temples” to shambles. The private ` sector which is holding 99.2% of industries in its fold is merely employing 84.5 lakhs of employees. Whereas the Public Sector industries which comprise 0.8% are employing 180.1 lakh people (Industrial Policy and Statistics 2006-07). But the Government wants to sell away the shares of Public sector companies like SAIL, POWERGRID CORPORATION, COAL INDIA LTD.,HINDUSTAN COPPER, NATIONAL MINARAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, NYVELI LIGNITE CORPORATION, NATIONAL HYDAL POWER CORPORATION ETC., and earn 40thousand crores of rupees. This is nothing but transferring the people’s ownership to  private entities. This being the situation, how can we be the silent spectators?

The sky-touching prices have made the pay revisions a mockery. The 6^th Central Pay Commission has calculated the minimum pay of a Central Government employee based on the retail prices of the essential commodities as existed on 01-01-2006. Have a look at the prices of these items which were the inputs in arriving at the minimum wage of a Central Government employee and the price increase since then.

Sl.No	Name of articles	Price as 1.1.2006	As on date	%increase
1	Rice	18	38	120
2	Dhall 4 varieties; average	40	87	120
3	Raw vegetables	10	40	400
4	Green veg.	10	56	560
5	Other veg	10	40	400
6	Fruits	30	100	330
7	milk	24	32	40
8	Sugar,jiggery. average	24	43	95
9	Edible oil.3 varieties.average	50	95	95
10	Fish	120	300	150
11	meat	120	240	100
12	egg	2	3	50
13	Detergents/soap	200	350	75
14	Cloth	80	120	50
	Average increase :			174

On the face of such an un-checked price rise, the Dearness Allowance (35%) granted just fades away.  It shows how the real wages are eroded just within the span of 4 years. Think of the other vulnerable sections of the society who are not having even this façade of protection. The Public Distribution system failed the poorer sections. This being the situation, how can we be the silent spectators?

In the background of the continuing reluctance on recruitment, many of the Government organizations has resorted to outsourcing of their functions which are of permanent and perennial nature to agencies on fixed rates.  The very fact that the Government has made available funds for the Departmental heads to resort to outsourcing establishes the policy being pursued by the Government.   In the Postal Department Circle Heads are empowered to spend 25 lakhs p.a. on out-sourcing. The functions hitherto being carried out by the Group C employees and the Group B Non gazaetted are liable to be outsourced.  Once the system is established, there will be no likelihood of any fresh creation of posts in these cadres.  This paved the way for privatization of the functions of the Government. How, can we be silent spectators?

Casualization of the regular employment is the bane of the economic liberalization policy. This cruel policy ensures maximization of profit by ensuring the supply of cheap and hapless labour. In our own offices we became helpless witnesses to the plight and exploitation of the casual labour, who remain as casual workers for their entire life. Similar is the case of GDS employees in the Postal Department. They are exploited and discriminated in the matters of pay and bonus.  The ceiling on compassionate appointments is another heart-less side of the reforms. These are the manifestations of the policies, which the Government is practicing. How can we be mute to such injustice?

The State Governments are vying with each other to follow in the foot-prints of Central Government in implementing these new economic policies. Large tracks of fertile land is being given to SEZs, Private profiteers are making merry of lopsided mining policy and exploiting the natural resources. Corruption is ruling roost in public life and eating into the vitals of the Democratic Institutions of the country. Lakhs of vacancies are lying vacant in the State Governments. Services of the Contingent workers are not regularized for decades together in spite of the availability of vacancies. Contractorisation is the rule of the day. Innumerable State Public Sector enterprises are closed. To protest this all the State Government employees, Teachers, and State Public Sector employees are joining this struggle under the aegis of All India State Government Employees Federation.

The Parliament is going to enact the PFRDA bill and the new pension scheme is going to be thrusted on the employees. Postal Act Amendment Bill is also going to see the light of the day soon. With this the monopoly of the Department of Posts will end and the doors will be opened for privatization and corporatization. Health Services are already on the anvil of privatization. Government is taking care to tighten the noose of disciplinary rules around the neck of the employees. A Committee has already submitted its recommendations on the changes to be made in the CCS(CCA)Rules for the Central Government employees and the State Governments will follow soon. The Right to Strike has not yet found favour with the Rulers. Except in  the Left ruled States, no such statutory right is available to the Government employees.  With the growing pace of implementation of these new economic policies, the attempts to gag the voice of employees and people will also grow. Even on the face of such hostility, we cannot afford to be silent and mute spectators to the implementation of these pernicious policies. Hence, raise your fist. Raise your voice. Register your protest along with the entirety of the Working class represented by all the Central and State Trade Unions, including the INTUC, the trade union wing of the ruling party, demanding …

·       The arrest of price rise

·       The protection of all labour laws

·       The stopping of disinvestment of shares of profit making Public Sector

·       The filling up of all vacancies

·       The stopping of out-sourcing contractarisation & casualisation of jobs

·       The regularization of all casual and daily rated workers and Grameen Dak Sevaks

·       The scraping of new pension scheme

·       The removing of the ceiling on compassionate appointments

·       The right to strike

Don’t lose the right to question and raise your voice against the policies which are harming the interests of employees, workers and common masses. Don’t confine yourself to armchair talk in criticizing the pernicious policies which are the root cause of all the maladies. Here is an opportunity to join the common multitude of workers and employees to register the protest. Let’s unite and in unison roar our protest to reach as a thunder to the deaf ears of the rulers. Make the 7^th September strike a grand success.

With Struggle Greetings

T. Satyanarayana                                                   

  General Secretary