PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BY COM. M K PANDHE (Extracts)

The nature had been very unkind to CITU since the last conference. Five top leaders of the CITU have departed from us since we met at Bangalore. Jyoti Basu our revered Vice President since the inception has left us at the age of 95 in January last. Chittabrata Majumdar our former General Secretary passed away soon after the last Conference. E. Balanandan our former President and prominent trade union leader of India breathed his last in January 2009. Ranjit Basu our treasurer passed away in September 2008 after prolonged illness. W.R. Varadarajan our Secretary for a decade is no more due to his committing suicide making us extremely sad and dejected.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS

The recent global capitalist crisis has brought to the forefront the inevitability of the periodic crisis in a capitalist system. It did not remain confined to one country alone but spread in all the capitalist countries, making it a general crisis of capitalism. The roots of crisis therefore can be clearly seen in the way capitalism operates. Despite development of new technology and automation the average growth of production in the whole capitalist world does not exceed 2 to 3 per cent per annum indicating inability to the capitalist system to use new technology to strengthen the productive forces.

As a result of globalization speculative trade got a powerful boost whose real beneficiaries were the MNCs who operate through worldwide financial institutions. During 2007 for example, speculative trade in commodity market was five times bigger than the total trade in stock market. It has reached a scandalous proportions when it was revealed that it was ten times larger than the world GDP.

An attempt is being made to-day to explain that the economic crisis in U.S.A. was the result of acute greed of some Chief executives of some financial companies. They purposefully ignore that it was a crisis of system and such crisis would occur again and again so long the capitalist system prevails.

The capitalism attempted to put the burden of the crisis on the shoulders of the working class and the poor people. ILO estimated that as a result of the global crisis the unemployment level in the world is likely to reach 20 crore! The bailout package was given to MNCs and financial tycoons but no relief was given to the workers who lost their jobs due to severe recession engulfing the economy.

The tax burden of the bail out packages ultimately fell on the working class and the common people. The collapse of the share markets in leading capitalist countries resulted in workers losing trillions of dollars of the their pension funds, which were invested by the pension authorities in speculative activities. In several countries wage cuts were imposed on the workers, adversely affecting their living standards.To blunt the edge of working class struggles, attack on their trade union rights acquired a global character. Elementary trade union and democratic rights of the workers were undermined to suit the interests of the capitalist class. Those who were not responsible for the global crisis suffered most while those who created the crisis received all the protection by the capitalist state power.

MYTH OF CAPITALIST RECOVERY

The champions of globalisation and market economy have started claiming at the top of their voice that the bottom level of the crisis has been reached and a recovery of the economy has started. They ignore the high rate of unemployment that is prevailing in all capitalist countries and the price rise of all essential commodities which has considerably brought down the standard of life of the common people. The collapse of General Motors, one of the largest car manufactures in the world, has once again blown up the myth that the crisis is gradually coming to an end. These champions are hiding from the public that the character of the crisis has changed due to billion of dollars given to the MNCs and big business houses form the public exchequer. The advanced capitalist countries have passed on part of the burden of the crisis of the developing countries by enhancing their exports and restricting the imports from the developing countries.

The situation in Europe continues to be grave which was clearly seen in aggravating the economic crisis. The Wall Street Journal in its issue of 13th February 2010 noted, “Europe is entering unprepared into a serious economic crisis – and the nascent global recovery could easily collapse – due to unsustainable build up of Government debt in weaker counties,” The article was referring to the acute debt crisis in Greece which resulted in foreign investors leaving the country and its banking system verged near collapse. The bank credit financed rapid expansion over the past decade, while in late 2008 these bubbles collapsed. The journal noted, “Greece’s dysfunctional economy is now at the heart of rescue effort that could be disastrous to the entire continent – and the rest of the world”. However, the situation was not confined to Greece alone.

The European central bank found it difficult to provide fund to all the countries of Europe. As the journal observed, “other countries also can be cut off from easy ECB funding, so worries have spread through the euro zone to Spain and Portugal, Island and Italy are also up for hostile consideration by the markets, and Austria and Belgium may not be far behind. If these problems are not addressed quickly and effectively, Europe recovery will be derailed with serious, if hard to qualify, implications for the rest of the world”. The Report therefore concluded, “Financial markets are telling us - euro zone is under threat, but real message is much broader. Unsustainable debt dynamics can undermine us all”.

The spokesmen of the Govt. of Greece however criticized Germany for interference in their internal affairs since it was advised to privatize public sector and cut the wages of public sector employees which was resolutely opposed by trade unions.

U.P.A. GOVT’S POLICIES

When all over the world firm opposition to the U.S. aggrandizement was witnessed which has hit hard the very concept of unipolar world, U.P.A Government has accepted subservience to U.S. imperialists’ global machinations. No Prime Minister of India in the past had accepted any form of strategic alliance with U.S. imperialism. The joint military exercises between India and U.S.A – Air forces at Kalaikunda, Naval exercises in Malabar and infantry exercises in Madhya Pradesh have tied India’s strategic interests with U.S. bandwagon. India’s refusal to pursue Iranian gas pipeline deal, U.P.A. Govt.’s support to the sanction imposed by UN against Iran, India’s commitment to U.S. goal in Afghanistan, India’s watering down its policies in Copenhagen climate summit, India’s growing defence ties with Israel, India’ determined pursuing of the anti-national nuclear deal with U.S imperialism, Manmohan Singh Govt.’s liberal concessions given to the U.S. capital facilitating their faster entry in Indian industries etc. are some of the indications of clear right ward shift in foreign policy of the Govt of India. Abjuring, the concept of Independent foreign policy, the Manmohan Singh Government has clearly assumed the role of a secondary position in U.S. imperialism aggressive designs in its policy in Asian continent. This stance of Indian Govt. has considerably weakened India’s position within the non-alignment movement.

The UPA Government is often trotting with its claim that India is the second largest growing economy in the world with about 7 to 8 per cent annual growth of GDP. The growth has reached only the coffers of the corporate houses due to several concessions offered to them with the advent of globalization. As noted by the World Wealth Report 52 dollar billionaires in India control one fourth of the national income. The benefits of the economic development could be seen from the observation of the World Hunger Report that India ranked 66th among 88 countries surveyed by it.

As we have noted earlier, the Report of Dr. Arjun Sengupta Committee noted that 77 per cent of the unorganized labour in India live on less than Rs.20 per capita per day. The fact is further substantiated by the UNDP Human Development Report 2009 which found that India ranked 134 among 182 country surveyed by it. Five years ago India ranked 123 by a similar report, indicating deterioration in the human development in India. The CITU is meeting here at a time when there are big challenges before the working class movement. We have a stupendous task to build strong unity in powerful struggles so that we can reverse the policies of the Government.

At the same time we have to educate the working class that without abolition of the capitalist exploitation and establishment of a socialist system, there would be no material improvement in the working and living conditions of our working class. An ideological struggle in the trade union movement is of paramount importance to eliminate bourgeoisie ideology prevailing among the working class. Let us dedicate ourself to this historic task so that massive struggles are built up in the forthcoming period against capitalist onslaughts. Armed with revolutionary ideology of the working class let us move forward despite heavy odds, in the direction of achieving the goal socialism on the Indian soil.

Source: www.citucentre.org