16-06-2010
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions strongly condemns the decision of disinvestment of 10 per cent shares in Coal India Ltd and Hindustan Copper Limited taken by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs of the UPA Govt on 15th June 2010.
CITU considers such disinvestment is a ploy to set in the process of phased privatization of the blue chip PSUs which are all reserves of the vital natural resources of the country. All natural resources are owned by the country and the people. The UPA Govt has themselves averred this before the Supreme Court very recently. Therefore, handing over the control of such natural resources either wholly or even partially to private entities is totally unconstitutional.
The UPA-II Govt appears to be in extreme haste to quicken up this process of sell-out of public assets and that hurry makes the Govt making a distress-sale. The PSUs disinvested so far by the UPA-II combine are sold at a price much lower than the share price of the respective PSU prevailing in the stock market during the day/period of sale. If this is not selling public assets for a song on a platter –then what else?
The major partner of the UPA-II combine, the Trinamool Congress Chief has reportedly justified her silent approval to this disinvestment commenting that since Central Trade Unions like CITU and INTUC are not opposing disinvestment of Coal India Ltd, why she should oppose the same, as per report published in the Press (Anandabazar Patrika, 16-6-2010). This is nothing but opportunism and hypocrisy and shows total disregard to factual truth for political expediency.
The entire country knows that all the Central Trade Unions and independent federations in the country including CITU and INTUC recorded their strong opposition to disinvestment in PSUs and have been planning for countrywide strike action in the days to come on five point demand which includes opposition to disinvestment as well. The Coal India Workers have already recorded their strong opposition to the disinvestment move through massive countrywide strike in the industry on 5th May 2010 at the call of All India Coal Workers’ Federation (CITU) and have now been preparing for a bigger and a longer strike in the event the Govt moves ahead for disinvestment.
CITU calls upon the working class irrespective of affiliations and the patriotic people to oppose and resist the disastrous anti-national move by the Govt of the day to sell out public assets for a song to private entities through disinvestment of shares of country’s PSUs one by one, through countrywide mobilizations and united actions.
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