Central trade unions, independent federations observe Opposition Day in Jamshedpur

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Sept 23: Leaders of all central trade union affiliates and federations came out openly against what they dubbed brazen central government policies to rob the legitimate rights of the working class including labourers and farmers in appeasement of corporate bodies. The union and federation leaders who observed Opposition Day on Wednesday united on a common platform and held a demonstration at the Sakchi roundabout. They said, �The central government has drawn up laws in favour of capitalists at the cost of the working class and farmers as a ploy to enslave them under corporate bodies and plunder national resources. The move to privatize PSUs and in the guise of national pandemic disaster measures, has taken steps to rob workers and farmers of their democratic rights.�

The central trade union affiliates, independent federations including unorganized sector unions were observing Opposition Day in protest against the central government bills on labour and farm laws. The unions and federations that participated in Wednesday�s protest included INTUC, CITU, AITUC, AICTU, HMS, AIUTUC and others united on a common platform to condemn the central government laws. The united forum of Kolhan Region convener Rakeshwar Pandey, Raghunath Pandey, Usha Singh and other leaders warned that in the near future the working class would launch intensified protests to take back their rights in a united fight and the bugle for which had been blown.

The leaders in their address on the occasion blamed the central government�s policies for industrial closures, retrenchment, compulsory retirement, cut in wages, DA freeze, PF anomalies, enhancement of working hours to name a few. They said these were attacks on constitutional rights of workers. They said that the central government had put the life and earnings of the working class to the sword.

The leaders averred that due to the exceptionally hasty passage of the three labour codes in Parliament more than 74 percent industrial workers 70 percent industrial units work force stood to lose their legal rights, social justice and security. �The one sided bills will make forming trade union bodies all the more difficult. The working class will stand to lose the right to organize strikes and and their voice of protest will be quashed. The central government is doing all this and more to appease its corporate gods by enslaving and putting to ransom the industrial workers and the farmers who add handsomely to the GDP,� they averred.