Strongly Condemn the Repression Let Loose on AgitatingWorkers Fighting for Raise in Wages Pending for Years,Eight-hour Workday, Legal Entitlements of OvertimeAllowance, Weekly Off and Other Workplace Issues
Demand Unconditional Release of Arrested Workers, WithdrawCases, No illegal House Arrests, Basic Amenities and LPG forWorkers, Especially Migrant Workers
Call Indian Labour Conference (ILC) in Urgency Pending Since2015
Demand MSP for Farmers’ Produce with Guaranteed ProcurementCompensation for Crop Loss- No to Trade Deal with the US;Detrimental to the National Interests
Joint CTUs-SKM meeting at New Delhi on 13th May to consider a plan of action
SKM Appeals Farmers to Join May Day Processions
The joint meeting of CTUs and SKM held on 24th April took note that minimum wages havenot been revised in many states for the last 10 years despite the price rise in basicessentials. In most industrial hubs, contract, casual, or fixed-term workers are migrantworkers living in precarious conditions devoid of basic amenities. They are not allowed toform unions and are victimised if they attempt unionisation. The meeting also noted that theseries of spontaneous worker agitations were not isolated incidents.
Just two months ago, thousands of contract workers in the Baruni refinery areas in Biharresorted to agitation. Most of them were kept on contract, lived with the threat of losing theirjobs if they raised their voices, yet they took to the streets demanding justice: an eight-hourworkday, double overtime wages for extra hours worked, increased minimum wages,workplace safety and dignity, leave equivalent to regular workers, social security, job cards,and pay slips.
Thereafter thousands of workers agitated in Panipat, again on the same demands whichalso included a raise in the city's grade for wage calculations. Then followed similar protestsin Surat, where several thousand workers took to the streets for agitation on similardemands; most of these workers were migrants from other states.
The workers came out at their respective factory gates in Manesar, Haryana, demanding araised minimum wage as per the recommendation of the state minimum wage boardconstituted after a ten-year gap. Other issues included working hours, overtime, workplacesafety, no ill-treatment of workers, and basic amenities. Despite the trade union joint councilmeeting with labour department officials in Manesar to support the workers’ demands forearly resolution, the police lathi-charged the workers and arrested hundreds, imposingserious charges. It is only after massive struggles did the Haryana Government say they willimplement what it has notified. The notification is for a lower amount than therecommendation of the state Minimum Wage Board.
Workers from several factories in Noida followed suit, demanding a raise in minimum wage,8 hours of work, double overtime wages for extra work, social security, basic amenities,leave, and no harassment. It should be noted that no revision of minimum wage took place inUP since 2012 despite the immense rise in the cost of basic essential goods and services.The workers’ protest regarding life and death questions for their families was met with abrute police force, several hundreds were arrested, beaten and injured. Families were leftwondering where to find them. Serious charges were imposed on them and bail was denied.
Rattled by the unprecedented rebellion of workers on their genuine demands, completely exposing the governments at the Centre and in UP, false propaganda about UP making all-round progress, they are trying to blame it on the so called Urban naxals, Pakistani Conspiracy, thus justifying brutal police action against them, just the way the Central government tried to discredit the militant farmers' movement as driven by Khalistanis in order to prepare the ground to brutally suppress it subsequently.
CTUs - SKM completely reject this false narrative about the involvement of anti-national forces and Pakistan in the workers' spontaneous uprising. And demand that the Central and the State Government of UP own up their criminal neglect of the workers' genuine demands and fulfil them immediately.
Soon after, workers in Bhiwadi and Neemrana also protested at factory gates on similardemands, they were attacked by hooligans in addition to the police. This trend is growingand catching up in other cities as well. It reflects the reality that if the labour codes areimplemented to contain and cripple the unions, the Government will be responsible for thethreat to industrial peace.
Meanwhile, an exodus of workers toward their hometowns is being witnessed as they find ithard to live on low wages amid the sudden increase in fuel prices due to West-Asiandevelopments and the Central Government total failure to check and prevent black marketingof cooking gas and inflation of essential commodities.
CTUs and SKM deplore and reject the narrative spread by the Minister of labour in UP andthe Police Administration about anti-national forces and Pakistani interference in theworker’s unrest.
The ‘Double Engine” Governments of UP are always branding andalleging falsified narratives to suppress the voices of workers and farmers, and they termactivists struggling for justice as masterminds for provocation.The Noida Police putting activists and trade union leaders under “House Arrest” is illegalsince there is no explicit provision for “House Arrest” in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)or the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BSS). All political parties must oppose and rallyagainst the illegal House Arrests, which amount to the murder of democracy andsuppression of the constitutional right to protest.
The central trade unions have repeatedly stated that labour law violations are common atworkplaces, inspections do not take place, and apart from overwork and non-payment,workplace safety is compromised, resulting in the loss of precious lives and many workerslosing their work capacities. Union formation is not allowed and those who attempt tounionize lose their jobs, in effect, there is a total denial of labour rights, absence of socialdialogue and collective bargaining.
Instead of addressing these issues raised on several occasions the central governmentintroduced four draconian labour codes to legalise violations, finishing 15 central labour lawsand repealing another 29 central laws to convert them into Four labour codes. These codesare to push the labour force to slavery, increased working hours, literally ending right tostrike, fix term employment as a norm, no job security, with threshold increased throwing outthe protected workers also out of the labour law protections, unionisation a difficult processand de-registration and de-recognition very easy, end to inspection and proposals ofFacilitators to facilitate the employers/businesses etc.
The joint meeting observed that what the nation witnessed in these three months is thedesperation of workers, which leads to unrest when the industry does not allow unions andno dialogue occurs, disturbing industrial peace. The CTUs reiterate the demand to scrap thefour labour codes and urge the Government to urgently call the Indian Labour Conference(ILC), Indias top-level tripartite body, which last met in 2015 in New Delhi.
The joint meetingasserted that workers will never allow to abolish the Constitutionalrights for unionisation and collective bargaining.
The farmers have been betrayed of all the promises made to them when the three farm lawswere withdrawn after the sustained agitation for more than a year. Apart from the denial ofMSP@C2+50% with guaranteed procurement and loan waiver, the government startedusing other means such as the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, theSeed Bill 2025 etc. to bring back the essence of those farm laws. Above that the threat ofUS, UK, and European Union trade deals, all against the interest of the agricultural andMSME sectors will be a severe attack on our country's self-reliance and sovereignty. Theunrest in rural India is also growing.
In this context, the Platform of Central Trade Unions, independent Sectoral Federations andAssociations along with Samyukt Kisan Morcha will meet on 13th May in New Delhi with allleaders present for detailed discussions and to determine the further course of action until allcrucial demands are achieved.
SKM and CTUs jointly appeals to farmers across India to participate in the May Dayprocessions on 1 st May- the International Workers’ Day to mark the growing worker-peasantunity in India against the corporate driven policies of the Modi regime. We assert that fightingto realise demands by workers, farmers or any sections of people are constitutionaldemocratic rights.
We reiterate and affirm that only those societies and nations that allowunions andassociations of various sections, along with their right to raise their demands andfight for their achievements, can be called democratic.
Jointly issued by
The Platform of Central Trade Unions AND Samyukta Kisan Morcha
