INTUC to join Left trade unions'' protest march to Parliament

New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) Accusing the Congress-led UPAgovernment of failing to check inflation and adopting anti-labour policies, the Indian National Trade Union Congress(INTUC) today said it will join Left trade unions for aprotest march to Parliament on February 23.

"My own government sometimes is not doing justice tothe working class. It is our duty to remind them about thecommitments made to the poor and the ''aam aadmi'' duringelections. There is nothing wrong in it," INTUC President andCongress MP G Sanjeeva Reddy told reporters here.

He was asked how the Congress-backed trade union hadjoined hands with other unions to organise the protest marchhere on February 23 against the policies of the Congress-ledgovernment. The other unions participating in the protest areAITUC, CITU, HMS, UTUC, AICCTU and AIUTUC.

Interestingly, the BJP-backed union Bharatiya MazdoorSangh is not participating in the rally.

Asked about it, Reddy said, "They are the bestmasters" and claimed that BMS had signed the demand charteralong with other trade unions.

The major demands of the unions include ending ofdivestment of profit-making PSUs, implementing laws for thebenefit of unorganised sector workers, preventing violation oflabour laws and to protest against the rising prices.

Maintaining that INTUC had joined the Left unions twoyears ago, he said his union was clear that the benefits ofliberalisation was not reaching the poor but helping only therich. "Wealth is not being properly distributed to the poorpeople. It should be distributed to the poor people".

Reddy regretted the fact the Government never calledthe coordination committee of the Central trade unions fordiscussions on the pressing issues facing the vast sections ofthe working people across the country.

He said the Unorganised Workers Social Security Acthas not been implemented as yet and the Government was"ignoring the overwhelming protests of all sections of theworking class".

Reddy, flanked by CPI and CPI-M leaders like GurudasDasgupta and Dipankar Mukherjee, demanded that contractlabourers should get benefits on par with regular employeeswithout any discrimination.

The INTUC leader claimed that the February 23 protestmarch would be the biggest ever saying it would be attended by"12 to 15 lakh workers" from across the country.

"The rally will start from five places in the capitaland we will submit a memorandum in the Parliament," he said.