TUs to sink their differences to take on anti-worker govt

New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) Trade unions today vowed to sink their differences to take on the nearly three-year-old Manmohan Singh government for its "unending assault" on the workers by way of setting up SEZs, move to invest the Pension Fund in stock market, curtail the right to collective barganing, open violation of labour laws and rationalise the laws to allow' hire and fire' policy.

The top leaders of the AITUC, CITU, HMS and others, asserted that a unified struggle must be waged against the growing trend of "crony capitalism," employing contract workers in place of permanent jobs, disinvesting the profit-making PSUs to provide funds for the social welfare projects and the miserable plight of over 370 million unrogniased workers.

They were participating in the inaugural function of the new AITUC Bhawan built at the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg. The entire Rs one crore and thirty seven lakhs cost of the four- storey bulding, has been collected by the workers only, the organisers said.

Inaugurating the Bhawan, CPI General Secretary and AITUC Vice President A B Bardhan warned that" the Left parties and the trade unions would have to further come closer to start a countrywide struggle to force the government to change its economic policies. No single AITUC, or the CITU can perform this task single handedly.

For that we need greater unity of the working classes.'' Emphasising that if all the trade unions of Pakistan could come under one banner, what prevents the Indian TUS, Mr Bardhan said only the united action against the trend of crony capitalism even admitted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, widening the economic divide, growing number of billionaires in the country could face upto the grave challenges posed by the government economic policies.

Mr Bardhan, the veteran Communist and freedom fighter, also made an impassioned appeal to the judiciary, who, he said, had recently delivered quite a number of" anti worker" pronouncements. He cited the instance of the Supreme Court overturning a High Court judgment on reinstatment of workers with back wages.

Referring to the government suggestions to follow the Chinese example of economic reforms and their setting up the SEZs, Mr Bardhan said, while ''China has set up only six SEZs, the UPA government has proposals for at least 600 such industrial ventures." He made it abundantly clear that" we will not follow China this way, if the government is so keen to adopt the SEZ model of China why cant it follow that country's political model as well... We will follow our own model suited to our requirements, culture and the demands of the workers. But we cannot allow the industrialists and real estate agents to grab thousands of acres of land in the name of SEZ in connivance with the bureaucracy." AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said the AITUC dream of having its own office came true only after 77 years of its existence. He said a more vigorous and joint struggle would be waged to protest against the government's move to further reduce the PF interest to 8.25 per cent, the ongoing repression against the labour force, the Anganwadi workers and growing trend of employment of contract workers in Banks, LIC and other such departments.

CITU Secretary Deb Roy, HMS leader A B Nagpal, R K Sharma of UTUC(L-S) and Rajiv Dimri of AICCTU emphasised that the joint struggle of the workers against the government policies of privatisation, globalisation and liberalisation was the need of the hour.

Promod Gogoi, the AITUC president, said the TUs would have to iron out their "minor differences" to protect workers rights in the SEZs, PSUs and Private sector. "Now the workers are being forced to work between 10 to 12 hours a day." UNI