Confederation of Central Government
Employees and workers endorse the call of Central trade unions and appeal to
all Constituent organisations to conduct protest demonstration on 3rd July 2020
at all work places, maintaining all norms of social distancing and others of
Covid 19.
05th June, 2020
Central
Trade Unions call for 3rd July as Nation Wide Protest Prepare for Countrywide
Struggle of Non Cooperation and Defiance
The Central Trade Unions (CTUs) in their
meeting on 3rd
June 2020 congratulated the
workers for responding enthusiastically to the nation-wide protest call
demanding immediate halt to changes in labour laws, abrogating the rights won
over after a struggle of 150 years among other demands. The meeting took
serious note of the continuous aggressive attack on the workers’ rights
ignoring all the joint representations to the Government on the matter
including the nationwide protest on 22nd May
2020.
The Government not only failed in
getting its own orders and advisories implemented in regard to payment of wages
to workers, no retrenchments to be carried during lockdown period. Instead, it
withdrew its own decision in the face of the case in Supreme Court by the
employers of some companies. The Government did not heed to the demand of cash
transfer of Rs. 7500/- to all non income tax paying households including
unorganised labour (registered or unregistered) for the months of April, May,
June, neither the demand for Government support to pay the wages of workers of
MSMEs for these three months. The ration to all working people for at least six
months to be made available universally also did not find favour with the Government.
Neither our demand for workers safe journey home paid attention to.
The Supreme Court had to take cognizance
finally asking the Governments of Centre and States not to demand passenger
fares from workers, give them proper shelter and food till they are transported
to their homes. Nineteen High Courts had taken cognizance of workers, frontline
fighters and hospital services etc during this period.
We re-iterate that the Central
Government chose the cover of COVID-19 lockdown to push through its agenda of
disinvestment and wholesale privatisation of Public Sector Enterprises, 100
percent FDI in core sectors - Indian railways, Defence, Port and Dock, Coal,
Air India, Banks, Insurance etc., steps in favour Corporates of Indian &
Foreign brands to usurp natural resources and business of the country while
mouthing behind the slogan of Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat. The earlier decisions and
those taken during COVID-19 lockdown on privatization/corporatization/commercialization
in Defense, Coal, Space science, Atomic energy, Insurance, Banks and most of
the PSUs are being pursued with vigour and arrogance. The decision of DA freeze
of 48 lakh Central Government Employees and DR freeze of 68 lakh pensioners,
which is also having impact on the state government employees, is not withdrawn
despite vehement opposition from Government employees and CTUs.
In this back ground various sections are
now in agitation mode. The electricity workers and engineers have jointly
observed countrywide protest against Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 on 1st June 2020. While welcoming the sectoral
struggles which are developing in various sectors, CTUs support the protest
programmes taken up by Defence federations including “strike ballots” and those
in the coal mine sector on 10-11 June 2020.
The scheme workers, ASHA, Anganwadi, MDM, 108 ambulance
employees, etc and the nurses and doctors who are in the front ranks among the
front line warriors working at the community level for combating Covid 19
Pandemic are agitated for their demands for safety measures not being addressed
appropriately and neither they are provided proper health care on falling sick from
COVID-19 infection, nor the social security and insurance coverage being
extended to the families who are succumbing to the disease. The scheme workers
are also being denied payment of honorarium for lockdown
period.
ASHAs, anganwadi employees, Doctors,
Nurses, Safai Karamcharis, have been in the protests now and then in various
parts of the country on similar demands. The CTUs support all these agitations
on their just demands.
The so-called 20 lakh crore package of
the Government is nothing but a hoax and cruel joke on the suffering people;
this mainly comprises of loan guarantee to various sectors and the actual relief
package reaching people is not even 1 percent of GDP. Even, previously
announced budgetary allocations and welfare schemes such as PM Kisan Samman
Nidhi, Construction Workers Welfare Board and District Mineral Funds etc have
been unscrupulously repackaged to befool the people.
The workers who have reached back to
their villages would need work, so there is dire need of additional amount to
cover these workers also along with the existing needs of rural labours. But the
sum announced was paltry in face of demand at the ground level. We demand that
the coverage of MNREGA must be enhanced sufficiently to meet the demand for
livelihood and work for all including the returned migrant workers; similar
employment guarantee should also be extended for the urban areas to meet the
demand for work and livelihood for all including the most suffering unorganized
sector workers; they should also be provided universal social security
including health care and food support.
Now with the opening up of some
industrial units the complaints are that all workers are not being taken back,
only a small percentage is finding their place back in jobs and that also on reduced
wages and refusal to pay lockdown period salary. Such denial of employment and pressure
for wage-reduction have to be unitedly combated and we also demand upon the governments
for immediate corrective interventions in that direction.
The jobless are more than 14 crore and
if we add the daily wagers/contract/casual, it is more than 24 crores who are
out of livelihood at present. The MSMEs themselves are reporting that 30% to
35% units may not be in position to start their activities. The unemployment
rate is already reached 27%. ILO has said in its report that more than 40 crore
people would be pushed into deeper poverty. According to eminent scientists
& medical experts, India is faced with stark reality, that malnutrition
would increase, hunger deaths would become a daily reality, and there is real
threat of depression resulting in suicides amongst workers.
Modi Government has most insensitively
dealt with the problem of COVID 19 as law & order issue instead of treating
it as medical emergency for the human being and society. It has caused immense
miseries to millions of workers, farmers and other vulnerable sections of the society.
Whereas, Government stood only by Corporates & big businesses.
A Government which has no respect and
concern, towards the rights and basic survivalentitlements of workers and the
people does not deserve any co-operation. We the workers/employees and trade
unions need to do everything possible to be in solidarity with each other,
unitedly face the disease taking all precautions necessary, stand with each
other to defend our rights of unionization, collective bargaining, decent
working condition, wages & future securities etc. This Govt has
demonstrated cruel insensitivity of the basic human needs of the workers and
people. This cannot be endorsed and cooperated with.
We cannot accept lying down the designs
for imposition of slavery on workers through total nullification of all labour
laws; nor can we remain onlooker to the Govt project of wholesale privatization
of our PSUs through multipronged routes; we cannot silently accept the
aggressive structural changes in the agricultural economy in favour of
corporate-landlord lobby putting already distressed majority of the
agricultural populace in deeper miseries besides endangering food security for
the entire people. Trade union movement cannot endorse or cooperate with this
process; we have to totally non-cooperate, defy and resist through united
struggles such disastrous anti-people, anti-worker and anti-national designs
being imposed on the society taking advantage of the lockdown situation in an
unscrupulous manner. The Central Government has defied its constitutional
obligation.
Hence we the Central Trade Unions,
independent Federations and Associations in this background have jointly
decided to observe Nationwide Protest Day on 3rd July
2020, by the workers and employees of formal & informal sector and service
establishments, maintaining physical distancing and other precautions. This
programme is in preparation and prelude to further united struggle of prolonged
Non-Cooperation and Defiance of the anti-people, anti-national policies of the
Govt and in defence of our rights and basic entitlements. Preceding the
nationwide protest, to generate awareness about the changes being made in
labour laws and other policy issues, the state level joint
meeting/seminars/conventions may be held.
We demand upon the Government to
immediately hold the long overdue Indian Labour Conference to dwell upon the 12
point Charter of Demands, the labour and trade union rights, issues of job
losses, wages, job security, the migrant workers’ issues including their
journey to home and return journey to those who desire to join back their work,
instead of frequently meeting only the employers and corporates organisations.
We call upon the working class and trade
unions of all affiliations to make the programme of Nationwide Protest Day on 3rd July 2020 a massive success throughout
the country, in all workplaces and centres in preparation to countrywide united
struggles of Non-Cooperation and Defiance to anti-worker, anti-farmer,
anti-people and anti-national policies of the Govt for at least six-months
period to defend the rights of the people and save and defend the national economy.
The concrete form of Non Cooperation and Defiance including nationwide general strike
will be decided by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions and independent
Federations and Associations at appropriate time in the next phase after the
observance of the Nationwide Protest Day.
And Together with the
Federations and Associations of various sectors
