CITU Calls for making two days General Strike a grand success

The General Council of CITU, the highest policy making body of CITU after its triennial National Conference, is meeting in Hyderabad at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram Auditorium from 16th -18th November, 2021. The meeting started with the  flag hoisting by the All India President Dr.K.Hemalata followed by paying floral tributes at the martyr’s column. The inaugural session was chaired by Dr.K.Hemalata, President, CITU. Chukka Ramulu, CITU Telangana State President  and Chairman, Reception Committee, has welcomed the Office Bearers and the General Council Members who have assembled there. Around 350 out of 465 General Council Members including 38 National Office Bearers attended the meeting.

Then CITU All India President Dr.K.Hemalata has delivered her presidential address. At the outset she has congratulated and saluted CITU’s all state committees, affiliated unions, all  cadres, activists and supporters who have made commendable efforts in providing relief to the workers, particularly the migrant workers who lost their jobs, income and shelter during the pandemic. In an exemplary display of working class solidarity, they have mobilised all the necessary financial and human resources, way beyond their regular organisational capacity.

The she expressed CITU’s solidarity with the working class of Tripura who have bravely been resisting the barbaric attacks unleashed by the BJP goons with the open support of the BJP government in the state.

In her presidential address Dr.Hemalata, recalled that how pandemic situation has created a new situation where all economic activities abruptly came to halt due to the unplanned lockdown in the first spell and the staggered lockdown imposed in the wake of second wave of coronavires.

In addition to the huge loss of  human lives due to this new disease, crores of people, particularly the poor, lost their only sources of livelihood due to the restrictions and were pushed into destitution and misery.While the poor were subjected to unforeseen hardships, the ruling classes world over, used the pandemic as a ruse to come out of the long drawn global economic crisis by imposing further burdens on the working class and other toiling sections.

This pandemic  has exposed not only the failure of neoliberalism but also the inadequacy of the capitalist system itself in meeting the basic needs of the people especially the basic health needs. It has highlighted the contrast between the profit-driven capitalist system that prioritises corporate greed over people’s lives and livelihoods and the socialist system where people’s welfare are treated as priorities.

So, the global economic crisis that was started before pandemic is still continuing and further worsened the situations. Nevertheless the “Supur Rich” and the mega corporate business house have managed to increase their wealth. The inequity has increased to the new height. The world’s richest 1% increased their wealth by 32%, during the pandemic. In India the richest 1% increased their wealth by 35%. Ordinary people lost jobs and their incomes. Working class has been challenging these attacks.

In our country, the last over one and half years has been a period of immense suffering and hardships for the workers and the people in general. On the one hand, they were victims of the pandemic, its deadly impact compounded by the criminal negligence of the Modi led BJP government in taking measures to save lives by strengthening public health infrastructure. On the other crores of workers and other sections of toiling people lost their jobs, incomes, shelters due to the lockdowns, curfews and restrictions associated with the pandemic. They were pushed into poverty, hunger and destitution. The Modi government refused to take the necessary measures to protect their livelihoods and ensure their food security. It obstinately declined cash transfer to put money in their pockets that would have helped in reviving the economy.

She has exhorted the leaders and activists to create awareness among the working class about the comprehensive project of the BJP government to push its corporate communal agenda. We have to make the working class understand that,to be successful, in its fight against the attacks on its rights and benefits has also to be equally comprehensive, directed against the neoliberal policies as well as communal divisive ideology of the ruling classes. The working class should be made conscious that its struggles on its day to day demands must be integrated with the comprehensive fight against the corporate communal agenda. It is in this context that CITU’s call of ‘unity’ of the working class and all toiling people, and ‘struggle’ – class struggle taking it to higher levels, assumes significance. 

The Inaugural session has ended with passing one important Resolution on extending working class support and solidarity with the heroic year long farmers’ struggle.

The General Council endorsed the two-days General Strike Call of Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions during the Budget Session of Parliament and appealed to the entire working people in general and CITU arffiliates and its members in particular to make the strike call grand success anti-worker, anti-people and anti-national policies of Modi regime.

Then in the plenary session CITU General Secretary Tapan Sen has presented the General Secretary Report in which we proposed to lauch the following movements

  1. 26th November 2021: State level massive mobilisations on 26th November preceded by independent campaign for 10 days from 15-25 November.

The campaign to focus on NMP, labour codes, demands of migrant workers, unorganised sector workers, mainly minimum wages, job security, social security, price rise etc

In addition to the demands being raised by the joint trade union platform, CITU may also highlight major state level burning issues of the working class, if possible jointly, or in our independent campaign, like minimum wages etc.

CITU state committees are requested to take effective initiatives to ensure widest possible campaign linking the workers’ issues with the BJP government’s policies and exposing the politics of the ruling classes. We should try to prepare many different types of leaflets/ pamphlets etc each focussing on a specific issue, i.e. impact of NMP in each sector like roadways, railways, electricity, oil and gas pipelines etc, on price rise, on labour codes, etc. Specific targets should be fixed on the number of workers to be approached, sector and district wise, which should be well beyond the membership of CITU in the state

  1. Preparations for the 2 days’ country wide joint general strike: In December 2021 and January 2022 we should concentrate on preparing the working class for the 2 days’ general strike during budget session, as decided by the joint national convention of trade unions. All CITU committees/ unions/ cadres up to the lowest level of our organisation should be involved in the preparations. 

The deliberations on the General Secretary will start in the post lunch session.

Issued By

Tapan Sen
General Secretary

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