Labour wing of RSS steers clear of Sept 2 trade union strike

Equally ambivalent on July 11 railwaymen's strike

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and a sister organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will not participate in a one-day national general strike planned by trade unions on September 2.

It is equally ambivalent about a proposed railwaymen’s strike, scheduled for July 11.

However, in a bid to retain political ground, it has called for protest meetings on July 8, against the proposed merger of banks, the government’s foreign direct investment policies and partial fulfilment of promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he addressed the Indian Labour Conference in June last year.

The BMS says it is not in agreement with other trade unions like the Left-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Citu) and the Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (Intuc) that the government has done nothing for labour. “It was this government that cleared the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015, to enhance the monthly bonus calculation ceiling to Rs 7,000 per month, from the existing Rs 3,500,” said BMS leader Pawan Kumar.

Following protest meetings, BMS will give memoranda to all BJP MPs, telling them they must raise labour issues more forcefully in Parliament.

The BMS’ attitude to the government is that of a friendly adversary. On the one hand, it needs to push the government to take up pro-labour issues like minimum wages, contract labour and social security. It has been reminding the government that Narendra Modi himself had offered to increase the minimum wages to make their implementation mandatory.

But, on the other, it cannot make common cause with unions that are politically opposed to the government.

To tread middle ground, BMS recognises the need to appear to be critical of the labour rights record of the government but stays out of demonstrations against it.

To that end, its attitude on the upcoming railway strike is ‘wait and watch’. “This is the fourth time a call for a railway strike is being given. The last time the call was given and withdrawn, the reason cited was ‘lack of preparedness’. It can only mean you want the strike but your cadres don’t,” said a senior BMS leader.

Although the BMS does not control railwaymen’s unions, its decision to stay away from strikes will weaken the momentum for industrial action.

NOT ‘LABOURING’ UNDER A DELUSION

• The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh has called for protest meetings on July 8 against the proposed merger of banks, the government’s foreign direct investment policies and partial fulfilment of promises made by PM Modi, when he addressed the Indian Labour conference in June last year
   
• The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s labour wing says it is not in agreement with other trade unions like the Left-affiliated Citu and the Congress-affiliated Intuc that the government has done nothing for labour