Tarigami calls for united struggle against NDA'S 'anti-labour' policies

Senior CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami Tuesday called for united struggle to fight the onslaught of the "anti-labour" policies of the central government, alleging that every section of the society has been bearing the brunt of its neo-liberal economic policies.

"The BJP-led central government is formulating the labour laws which are totally pro-corporate and anti-labour class in nature, which are bound to curtail the social security benefits to the working force.

"As a result of this regressive step, the condition of the working force is bound to be affected adversely," Tarigami said the two-day state committee meeting of Jammu and Kashmir chapter of Centre of Indian Trade unions (CITU) here.

The meeting concluded after a discussion on the plight of working class under the BJP-led dispensation and decided that conferences and seminars on tehsil and district levels will be organized to further the struggle against the "anti-people" policies of the government.

Tarigami, who is also president of the state CITU, said the claims of economic growth do not carry any weight when the statistics reveal that 73 per cent of the additional wealth created during 2017-18 has been earned by one per cent of the population.

"Growth is always immaterial when its fruits do not percolate to the larger sections of the society...

"Every section of the society has been bearing the brunt of the neo-liberal economic policies of the government and we witness that farmers suicides go unabated despite the tall claims of the government that measures have been taken to provide assistance to them," he said.

He emphasised that CITU must take lead in uniting various trade unions to fight the onslaught of the "anti-labour" policies pursued by the central government.

National secretary, CITU, Kashmir Singh Thakur, highlighted the move of the central government to dole out the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) including banks, insurance, railways, defence and BSNL to the corporate houses and multinational corporations (MNCs) which is "bound to put the future of lakhs of the working force engaged in these prestigious organizations into jeopardy".

"As such, it becomes imperative for the working class to get united to fight this draconian move of the government," he said.

Thakur said the Indian Labour Conference in 2015 had recommended the regularisation of Anganwadi workers and helpers, Accredited social health activists (ASHAs) and Mid-day meal workers but nothing has been done to implement this recommendation.

"They are not even brought under social security cover and the Minimum Wages Act," he said, claiming that workers engaged in various projects and schemes are not even paid what the government has already notified.

State CITU general secretary Omprakash said prices of essential commodities have "crossed all limits".