Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other Congress leaders today paid rich tributes to trade union veteran G Ramanujam on the occasion of his birth centenary celebrations.
Unveiling a statue of Ramanujam here at a function organised by the state unit of INTUC, Chandy hailed Ramanujam's 'historic background' and lauded his contributions to the working class.
"Ramanujam was a great leader of the working class of our country. He was not just a leader of INTUC but that of the working class," Chandy said.
A former Governor of Goa, Ramanujam had made "commendable" contributions to trade union movement and was very active throughout his life for the betterment of the Indian working class, he said.
The Kerala Chief Minister recalled that at a time when labour disputes used to be sorted out through protests like strike and lockout, the INTUC founder-member had introduced the concept of negotiations to settle them.
By doing so, he had succeeded in settling issues without loss of mandays, he said.
INTUC President G Sanjeeva Reddy hailed Ramanujam as a "Gandhian" and recalled his contributions to the betterment of the working class.
TNCC President EVKS Elangovan, who lauded the working class while praising Ramanujam, also took a dig at the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, saying it was pursuing "anti-labour policies," which he claimed, were even opposed by the RSS.
