Eight trade unions backing call for strike tomorrow

Eight trade unions backing call for strike tomorrow

Government employees and many of those working in the private sector will go on a one-day countrywide general strike on Tuesday under the banner of eight major trade unions including Congress-affiliated INTUC against price rise, violation of labour laws and disinvestment of PSUs.

"Nearly six crore workers will participate in the strike across the country. Those employed in private sector will also join the strike in many places," AITUC general secretary and CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta told a news agency in New Delhi on Monday.

AITUC, CITU, HMS, AIUTUC, TUCC, AICCTU, UTUC and federations of different categories of workers and employees will participate in the general strike, which has been called by Coordination Committee of Central Trade Unions headed by INTUC president G Sanjeeva Reddy, he said.

"This is going to be biggest strike that ever happened in recent years in this country as after 63 years all the trade unions have come together on a common platform," Dasgupta claimed.

All the "branches of economy" will be affected due to strike as workers from sectors including coal, power, telecom, banks, insurance, defence, port and dock, road transport, petroleum and construction will join the call, he said.

Trade unions earlier had drawn up a five-point charter "asking the government to curb the price rise but nothing was done," he charged.

"The trade unions have been agitating against disinvestment of public sector. They (trade unions) are angry because labour laws are being violated," he said.

Trade unions want massive investment for social security for unorganised labourers. "We are also protesting job loss and contractualisation of jobs in the country," he added.

Dasgupta said that the strike will not be the "last thing". If the situation does not improve, workers will march to Parliament in February next year.

"Trade unions can not be marginalised. They must be heard.We want social justice, reasonable share of the wealth workers produce. That's all," he added.

BJP-affiliate Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), however, has kept itself away from the strike call.

"BMS is not participating in the strike as it is politically motivated and not for the welfare of workers," vice president of Delhi unit of the union Kiran Dutta said. (RBY-06/09)

Source: DDI News

CITU Denounces Unilateral Notification Curtailing Pension Benefits

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions denounces the unilateral action by the Govt of India in amending the Employees Pension Scheme to drastically reduce the pension benefits of the early retirees (retired or separated before 58 years ) vide Labour Ministry notification no GSR 546(E) dated 23rd July 2009.

In the face of millions of workers losing livelihood owing to recession since last six months, this move of the Govt would further squeeze the workers rendered jobless before the retirement age for no fault of theirs, of their legitimate pension benefit.

While issuing this amendment notification, the Govt ignored the statutory Tripartite Forum—the Central Board of Trustees of Employees Provident Fund Organisation, responsible for administering the Employees Pension Scheme, thereby making a mockery of principle of tripartism.

This is the second unilateral move for curtailing the pension benefit of the workers within a span of one year. The first move by the same UPA regime had been in September 2008 in the same manner ignoring the statutory tripartite forum, which rewarded the defaulting employers on the one hand by drastically reducing the penalty for default and simultaneously curtailing the pension benefit of the workers by way of withdrawal of commutation facility and withdrawal of the option for availing combination of reduced pension and return of capital besides reducing the pension amount for the early-pensioners.

The second one is through the recent executive order which would deprive the worker who has rendered 20 years service but has to retire or lose his job prematurely from the provision of weightage benefit in pensionable service on which pension is calculated. The millions of workers losing job prematurely owing to recession, who deserve urgent support and relief from the Govt, would be cruelly squeezed further while the employers continue to enjoy stimulus package funded by public exchequer. And through this action, the patently anti-worker anti-people character of the Govt stands thoroughly exposed.

CITU condemns such anti worker action by the Govt and calls upon the working class to force the Govt to rescind the notification through united struggle.
Source: CITU

CITU Urges The Government to Settle The Demands Of The Airport Employees

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) extends its full support and solidarity to the strike call by the Airports Authority Employees Union against the arbitrary mass scale transfer of its Delhi and Mumbai based employees and other pending issues.

CITU regrets to note that Airports Authority of India (AAI) management is blatantly violating the spirit of the Tripartite Committee deliberations inspite of assurance by the Government during privatization of Mumbai and Delhi Airport to protect the interest of AAI employees through the Tripartite Committee.

CITU calls upon the Government to advise AAI to immediately rescind the arbitrary transfer orders as well as to initiate negotiation in Tripartite Committee to settle the genuine demands of employees of AAI in order to ensure industrial peace and harmony.

Source: www.citucentre.com

New Pension Scheme - “An Election Gimmick ” criticized by Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)

The following is the statement issued by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions on March 30, 2009.
The New Pension Scheme announced by the Pension Regulatory Authority as reported in the media, is essentially meant to benefit Pension Fund Managers and boost the share market by utilising workers’ hard earned money.
The permission, if granted by the Election Commission to release the scheme does not alter its character of an election gimmick to hoodwink the workers and give electoral advantage to the UPA government.
The Pension Regulatory Authority has no statutory backing since the authority has been constituted without even passing the pending pension bill in parliament.
The new pension scheme does not specify what rate of pension will be available to the workers since it would be decided by the share market operation. The government is going ahead with such scheme despite strong opposition of the entire trade union movement. The scheme is supposed to cover all workers but the annual contribution of Rs 6000 makes it limited only to those who can afford to provide Rs 500 contribution per month. The new pension scheme will be in the hands of private sector managers who may swindle workers money.
The CITU therefore calls upon the trade unions and the working class to oppose the scheme that is no more a social security measure and only benefits the unscrupulous pension fund mangers in the country.
CITU also urges upon the Election Commission not to allow a fraudulent scheme to be announced by the government of the day under the cover of PFRDA to mislead the people in violation of the model code of conduct.

CITU QUESTIONS THE AUTHORITY OF THE UPA GOVT
The CITU strongly denounced the decision of the government of the day to impose a high natural gas price regime in the country by giving a clearance to the “Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement” (GSPA) for supply of natural gas from Krishna Godavari (DG D6) basin to fertiliser and power companies including PSUs which would in turn lead to higher price of power and fertiliser, at the cost of public exchequer in terms of tariff and subsidy.
It questioned the authority of the UPA government sans its alliance partners at this stage to take such decision which will have long term implication of bench marking a gas price at double the present rate of administered gas price of public sector companies like ONGC and OIL. The inequitable GSPA, totally loaded in favour of RIL-NIKO Group, the contractor, assigned to produce gas from KG D6 under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with government of India, is violative of the Article 297 of the constitution of India which mandates the benefit of such natural resource to the people of India and not to production sharing contractor. This mandate can only be ensured after the election.
The CITU therefore demanded that government should not finalise the GSPA till formation of a new Lok Sabha which will scrutinise the GSPA. It also demanded that to meet the present acute shortage of gas, GAIL India Ltd, the nodal PSU for distribution of gas, should be asked to distribute KG D6 gas at the rate arrived through a global tendering in 2005 by M/s NTPC at 2.34 dollar per million BTU (British Thermal Unit) vis-à-vis the rate of 4.20 dollar per million BTU now being imposed through GSPA by RIL-NIKO Group.