'CITU not opposed to SEZs if leads to eco devp'

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 30: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) today said it was not opposed to the ''concept of Special Economic Zones'' in the country if it led to economic development and protection of the working class.

Demanding a review of the laws governing the SEZs, CITU President M K Pandhe told a news conference that the CITU opposed ''the very concept of non-implementation of labour laws in SEZs.'' Referring to China, which had developed SEZs not by private parties but by the government itself, he said the concept of SEZs in India was totally different, which helped only the real estate business.

''We are opposed to converting farming lands into SEZs. Moreover due compensation is not being given for the land acquired,'' Mr Pandhe said.

The CITU had always said that only 25 per cent of the land thus acquired, should be allowed to be developed for purposes other than setting up of units, he said and added that the SEZs in West Bengal were different from that in other regions. ''The Bengal government had given due compensation and also had seen to it that no farming land was acquired,'' he said.

Noting that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had failed to implement most of the assurances contained in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), Mr Pandhe said all the trade unions had decided to launch a nation-wide strike on December 14 against the "anti-labour policies" of the Centre.

Detailing the reasons for the strike, he said the UPA government had failed to bring in a bill for the unorganised sector, which it had promised in the CMP. The Trade Unions had given a number of suggestions in this regard to the government but nothing concrete had come out. The CMP also promised to bring in a bill for the agriculture workers, which was still to be addressed by the Manmohan Singh government, he added.

Moreover, the government's proposal to bring in a new legislation giving the employer more powers like hire and fire, was against the government's assurances.

Alleging that the Centre had manipulated the price index, he said the Centre was more interested in keeping under control the price index instead of actually bringing down the prices of commodities. The Public Distribution System had completely shattered with procurements coming down and prices of essential commodities soaring high.

The reconstitution of the Index Review Committee, which was promised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was still on the cards, he said.

Noting that FDI in retail sector would throw small traders out of jobs, Mr Pandhe alleged that the government which had promised to create more jobs was today engaged in reduction of jobs.

Regarding trade unions in the IT sector, he said trade unions would be formed at the national level in the near future as in some states, the IT sector was being organised. Demanding a separate law for IT employees, he said there was still far among the employees in getting organised.

UNI