Unorganised sector on strike to demand social security

New Delhi, Aug 8 (UNI) In an unprecedented action, more than 50 million workers in the unorganised sector today struck work and took to the streets almost all over the country to press for a comprehensive legislation to provide among other things social security and statutory minimum wages.

'Rail roko' and 'rasta roko' action programmes sponsored by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) not only threw life out of gear in Left-ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura but also brought the agricultural markets, cottage industry and transport business to a halt in Punjab, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

This is the first time that a central trade union has organised the action in the unofficial sector on a national scale to prevent the UPA government from hurriedly bringing a Bill for the unorganised sector in the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament which has already been rejected by all the trade unions, including the BMS, INTUC, AITUC and HMS.

At a press conference, CITU President M K Pandhe said,'' we have organised this action programme individually to impress upon the government that it should not bring another 'skeleton bill' but should come out with a comprehensive legislation, fully funded by the Centre, which contains provisions like guaranteed job security, fixed working hours, equal pay for equal work and uniform application of labour laws in the unorganised sector.'' All these provisions should be contained in the Bill which should be put in the Ninth Schedule, he said adding that no social security scheme without the legal sanction could become operational.'' We hope that the government will soon talk to the trade unions on this issue before finalising the Bill.'' An immediate fallout of the strike is that the Andhra Pradesh government has set up a committee of Principal Secretaries of Finance, Labour and Municipal Administration Departments to suggest ways and means to provide social protection to the unorganised sector in the state.

The committee will visit West Bengal on August 16 and 17 and the other two states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu later to study the prevailing welfare schemes there.

The CITU President said if the government went ahead with the introduction of the Unorganised Sector Social Security Bill in its present form and tried to play another deceit on the working classes, '' it would face a much bigger united action of the trade unions.'' CITU leaders and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MPs Mohammad Amin and Tapan Sinha, All- India Coordination Committee on Unorganised Sector Convenor P K Ganguly and CITU Secretary Hemlata also addressed the news conference, detailing the ''unprecedented response'' to the strike in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Assam.

''We have receieved response more than our expectations which should not only serve as a warning signal to the government but also throw a great challenge to the trade unions to organise the 370-million strong unorganised sector which contributes over 65 per cent of the GDP,'' said Mr Pandhe, who is also a senior Polit Bureau member of the CPI(M).

Replying to a specific query, Mr Sinha said the response to the strike was even quite good in the BJP and Congress-ruled states like Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.'' This demonstrates people's great frustration and anger against the government which has never bothered to look after the unorganised sector.The manufacturing units in this sector contribute over 35 per cent to the country's total exports.'' The CITU President said this is also for the first time that the government under pressure because of the strike had agreed to re-draft the Bill which is to be taken up by the Group of Ministers before it is sent to the Cabinet for approval prior to it being tabled in Parliament.

''If the Bill again turns out to be one of those earlier drafted 14 times, our Left MPs will block it at the introduction stage itself in Parliament. The trade unions have been demanding for the last 20 years or so enactment of a Bill which incorporates the welfare measures adopted in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

These are - Provident Fund scheme covering 10 lakh unorganised workers in West Bengal and as many as 45 welfare schemes for the sector in Kerala. Even Tamil Nadu has good welfare schemes for the unorganised sector,'' Mr Ganguly said.

In response to the query of a correspondent on Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes's announcement that the Bill would not be delayed any further and that it would be definitely introduced in the coming session of Parliament, Mr Pandhe quipped,'' let us see how the Bill comes out.'' Ms Hemlata recalled that the successive governments had shown utter apathy towards the miserable plight of the work force in the unorganised sector as they had so far done nothing in black and white.'' We have met the Prime Ministers, the Finance Ministers, the Labour Ministers and submitted joint memorandums to them but they always chose to ignore our demands on the Bill.'' The strike is the offshoot of the deadlock over the government's insistence to provide social security to the unorganised sector in a phased manner while the trade unions want it in one go thereby meaning provision of Rs 35,000 to 40,000 crores for pensions and other benefits.

Eds: pick up suitably from earlier series.

UNI