Ice broken, BMS rejoins Intuc, Left

The Congress may have decided to sharpen its attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main Oppsoition. But that hasn’t deterred its trade union wing, Intuc, along with the Left unions, from joining hands with Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) — a Sangh Parivar affiliate — for a series of agitation this summer.

The Indian National Trade Union Congress (Intuc)-Left combo even sacrificed a proposal to call ‘Bharat Bandh’ in the coming days as the BMS curtly said it would not play ball with them on this issue.

But the latest political tussle is not coming the way of the trade unions. Ramdas Pandey, BMS resident secretary, said, “We can’t sit idle on national issues. We have told Intuc and Left unions that if they can keep politics out of workers’ issues, we can join them. But it has to be a sector-specific plan.”

Intuc Vice-President Rajendra Prasad Singh also told Business Standard from Ranchi, “Political developments and trade union movements are different issues.”

The joint action series will start from June 23 with the trade unions calling it an “all India protest day”. “We will have demonstrations in various parts of the country over the petrol price increase and a proposed hike in diesel, kerosene and LPG prices. The BMS has also agreed to join us,” Aituc chief and CPI’s Lok Sabha member Gurudas Dasgupta said.

This will be followed by a bank strike on July 7. Ashwini Rana, BMS member and general secretary of the united forum of bank employees, said, “In the banking sector, BMS, Citu, Aituc, Intuc are working together. We are calling a strike in all public sector banks on various issues including job on compassionate grounds, pension issues and for five-days-a-week banking.”

There will be a three-day-long strike in the coal sector by this rainbow coalition of trade unions as well. Intuc’s Singh said, “Intuc, Citu, HMS, BMS and Aituc will have a convention in Ranchi on June 28 to decide our future course of action.”

After joining hands with the Intuc and the Left last year, BMS had opted out of a general strike last September over timing issues. The BMS wanted the ‘Bharat Bandh’ to be called towards the end of 2010, while the Intuc and the Left unions wanted it earlier. This led to a temporary bitterness and BMS didn’t participate in some subsequent programmes of the Intuc-Left combination.

The ice was broken last month when Intuc chief G Sanjeeva Reddy, Aituc chief Gurudas Dasgupta and three representatives of the Citu met over lunch at the BMS office. They finally joined hands realising the importance of remaining united. But the Left was keen to push its pet agenda of calling another Bharat Bandh. The BMS put its foot down and said it feels this is not the right time to call a Bharat Bandh. For the sake of unity, the Left and the Intuc fell in line, after much quarrel in that meeting.

The BMS, however, is unlikely to participate in the ‘chakka bandh’ programme of the other trade unions on June 14 in Punjab, citing the rule of the friendly government.