Undeterred by party politics, trade unions play along on issues

Even as the Congress may have decided to sharpen its attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this hasn’t deterred the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), its trade union wing, along with the Left unions, from joining hands with Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) — a Sangh parivar affiliate — for a series of agitation programmes this summer.

So desperate were they to get BMS back in their fold that the INTUC-Left combine even sacrificed a proposal to call an all-India strike after the BMS curtly declined to play ball with them on the bandh issue.

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

Rajendra Prasad Singh, INTUC’s vice president, 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 rise and the proposed increase in the prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG. The BMS has also agreed to join us,” All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) chief and CPI’s Lok Sabha member Gurudas Dagupta told Business Standard.

This programme will be followed up with a bank strike on July 7. BMS member Ashwini Rana, also general secretary of the united forum of bank employees, said, “In the banking sector, BMS, CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions), AITUC, INTUC are working together. We are calling a strike in all public sector banks on various issues, including job on compassionate grounds, pension and 5-day-a-week banking.”

There will be also be a three-day strike in the coal sector by this rainbow coalition of trade unions. INTUC’s Singh said, “INTUC, CITU, HMS (Hind Mazdoor Sabha), BMS and AITUC will have a convention in Ranchi on June 28 to decide the future course of action.”

After joining hands with INTUC and the Left last year, BMS had opted out of a general strike last September over timing issues. While the BMS wanted the Bharat Bandh to be called towards the end of 2010, INTUC and the Left unions wanted an early strike. 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 CITU met over lunch at BMS office.

Realizing the importance of remaining united, they finally joined hands. However, the Left was keen to push its pet agenda of calling another Bharat Bandh. The BMS put its foot down and said this was not the right time to do so. 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 a friendly government.