CITU Working Committee meeting started its three day session starting from today – 22^nd April 2022 to 24^th April 2022 at Bhakna Bhawan, Chandigarh. In the sidelines of Working Committee meeting, the meeting of the Working Committee Tier of All India Cordination Committee of Working Women was held at Cheema Bhavan. Com.Mercykutty Amma , Vice – President of CITU, presided over the meeting. CITU General Secretary Com.Tapan Sen, delivered the inagural speech. The National Convenor Com.A.R.Sindhu presented the report. After the delebration the report was adopted. It was decided that 12^th National Convention of All India Cordination Committee of Working Women, will be held at Kolkata on 21^st and 22^nd of May 2022. With the concluding speech of Com.Hemalata the Working Women Coordination Committee meeting ended.

The formal inaguration of the plenary session of CITU Working Committee started with the flag hoisting by the President Hemalata at Bhakhna Bhawan, Chandigarh followed by the floral tributes to the martyrs column and also to Com.Lenin portrait on his 152^nd birth anniversary. Com.Tapan Sen, General Secretary CITU proposed the committes for the smooth conduct of the buisness of the working committee, the committeess are accepted by the all working committee members. Welcoming the  members, reception committee Chairperson Comrade Usha Rani emphasised on revolutinary leagacy of Punjab in general and Chandigarh in particular. She said after the formation of CITU IN 1970, Chandigarh was the fisrt place to hoist CITU flag in Pfizer pharma multinational company alongwith some other units, Chandigarh was the main centre of Trade Union Movement in Parwanoo, Pinjore, Surajpur, Panchkula etc, and center of great struggles of employees of Punjab, Haryana and central govt. employees. She reminded during days of khalistani terroism many of CITU leaders in Mohali, Kharar, Derabasi etc. were eliminited by terroists but CITU flag was kept high.

While delivering the Presidential address, CITU President Comrade K Hemalata  thanked Punjab State Committee of CITU for hosting and making very good arrangements for this important CITU Working Committee meeting. She congratulated the working class of the country, who have participated in the strike and the huge demonstrations, rallies, picketing, road and rail blockades despite the threats, intimidation and victimisation by the employers and the corporate servile governments. She thanked thank the SamyuktaKisanMorcha for reiterating their support to the general strike and calling for ‘Rural Hartal’. In several states, members of our fraternal organisations of peasants and agricultural workers, AIKS and AIAWU have actively participated in the campaign as well as the protest programmes on the days of the strike. She said, This strike on 28-29 March was the 21^st country wide general strike after the official advent of neoliberalism in our country, in addition to innumerable sectoral strikes. What we need to introspect when we analyse this strike, is, how far have we, who have been in the forefront in the planning as well as executing all these strikes starting from the first one, have been able to raise the class consciousness of the working class of our country about the character of the present society, the need to change it and the role of the working class in it? What were the efforts that we have made towards achieving this and what are the results? Our examination of the strike should be on these lines. She added, This strike is part of the global struggles and strikes of the working class. Workers in almost all the countries in the world are fighting to improve their conditions and regain their hard won rights, which are under attack by the international finance dictated neoliberal policies followed by the pro corporate governments in their countries. Hemalata said, The world could not come out of the global crisis of 2008-09 when the Covid pandemic struck and pushed the world into deeper crisis. Job losses, falling incomes and deteriorating working conditions for vast majority of the toiling people has brought down their purchasing power. Neo-liberalism’s prescriptions ostensibly to address the crisis but meant for profitmaximisation, themselves, create conditions for a protracted capitalist crisis. Their focus on intensifying exploitation of the working people fails to improve the purchasing power of the people, depresses demand and curtails growth.