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Friday, April 15, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
HARYANA: CITU, AIKS LEADERS FACE MURDEROUS ATTACK
ON March 15, a big protest demonstration came out in Bhiwani, Haryana, demanding the arrest of all the culprits who sought to abduct and cause serious injuries to the leaders of striking brick kiln workers near Manehru village on March 8. The injured included a senior Kisan Sabha leader, Master Sher Singh, and four others. Master Sher Singh, a former president of Sarva Karamchari Sangh, is also state committee member and district secretary of the CPI (M).
At the joint call of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), several hundred enraged protesters including a large number of women virtually stormed the district secretariat building against the inaction of the police in arresting the culprits named in the FIR even after more than a week.
It is to be noted that brick kiln union’s vice president Bhim Singh and Master Sher Singh had gone to address a meeting of striking workers on March 8. The venue of the meeting was attacked by a large group of armed goons hired by brick kiln owners. These goons took three leaders in captivity and indiscriminately attacked the workers. The abducted leaders were mercilessly beaten up. Alcohol was force-fed into their mouth and sprinkled over their bodies.
The police brought back the abducted leaders when some CITU leaders filed an FIR. CPI (M) state secretary Inderjit Singh, too, immediately informed the director general of police about it through a faxed letter, seeking prompt action. Three of the injured victims were found to have suffered fractures. A case was registered under Sections 147, 148, 149, 323, 506, 342, 565 IPC by the Bhiwani police for causing injuries to five persons including a dalit woman, Santosh, who had a fractured leg, and for committing other offences.
On March 15, a gathering of over 5000 people assembled in Nehru Park from where they marched through the main roads up to the district administrative complex. They were addressed among others by Dipankar Mukherjee (all-India CITU secretary and a former CPI (M) MP), CPI (M) state secretary Inderjit Singh, Haryana state CITU secretary Surender Singh, state Kisan Sabha general secretary and former CPI (M) legislator Harpal Singh, AIDWA state president Shakuntala Jakhar and others.
Inderjit Singh strongly criticised the murderous attack on a peaceful meeting of striking workers by armed brick kiln owners who got three main leaders abducted. He was astonished that the police did not nab the culprits from the site of occurrence when it brought the seriously injured persons to hospital. Dipankar Mukherjee lashed out at the Haryana government for not enforcing the labour laws and totally disregarding the trade union rights. He demanded due increase in the wages of workers and provision of the legally due facilities at the brick kilns. Surender Malik warned that such coward goondaism would not succeed in suppressing the workers who were struggling to achieve their legitimate demands.
Led by a large number of women, angry protesters later entered the building when the authorities did not respond despite repeated pleas of the leaders for a reply. The virtual seize was lifted only when the SP told a delegation that two of the main accused had already been arrested and that the remaining persons would be taken into custody soon.
In a later development, the police reportedly arrested five more accused on March 16.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/
ALL INDIA KISAN SABHA OPPOSES FDI IN AGRICULTURE, ALLIED SECTORS
THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on April 5, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has strongly disapproved the central government’s recent move to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) into agriculture and allied sectors including in the seed sector. In the name of boosting FDI inflows. the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the government of India has recently released the third consolidated FDI policy circular (Circular 1 of 2011), laying down the FDI policy effective from April 1, 2011. The multinational corporations (MNCs) which entered into India through joint ventures with Indian companies have now been allowed to make investments in the same field outside the Joint Venture unilaterally without obtaining any approval from the Indian partner. This move will ensure the tightening of the stranglehold of the MNCs over our economy at the expense of the Indian companies. The move also exposes the extent to which global agribusinesses are dictating the course of policy decisions in India.
Conditions for allowing foreign investment for production and development of seeds and planting material have been liberalised. The government has granted unjustifiable concessions to the MNCs and has allowed 100 per cent FDI in development of seeds, horticulture, planting materials and services related to agro and allied sectors where the entry route is automatic and unrestricted. Floriculture, horticulture, vegetable cultivation, mushrooms, pisciculture, aquaculture and animal husbandry including poultry and rearing of animals under intensive farming systems under controlled conditions have been fully opened up for foreign agribusinesses that are purely driven by profit motive. This is bound to seriously compromise the interests of millions of peasants engaged in dairying, poultry and other such activities for their livelihood.
The AIKS is of the opinion that the latest government’s move will lead to an accelerated dismantling of the National Seeds Corporation and the system of making quality seeds available to the peasantry at affordable rates. Indian seed manufacturers will be adversely affected and peasants would be at the mercy of the MNCs for the supply of seeds. There will be no control over seed prices or royalty and seed monopolies will be further strengthened. Dangerously, FDI has now been permitted in the development and production of seeds and planting material, without the stipulation of having to do so under “controlled conditions.” This could have serious implications and the possibility of contamination of strains in the case of open field trials as well as compromising our biodiversity cannot be altogether ruled out.
In the plantation sector also in tea plantations, 100 per cent FDI has been allowed. This could spark a wave of takeovers of small plantations and the possibility of future land use change to indulge in real estate speculative activities is also open. The lives of millions of small players and plantation workers (a large number of them tribals) will also be put into peril. States like Kerala, Tamilnadu, Bengal, Assam, Tripura and other north eastern states will be adversely affected by this move.
In this light, the AIKS has strongly opposed the unjustified concessions given to MNCs in the field of agriculture and animal husbandry, and has demanded that they be withdrawn forthwith. We appeal to the peasantry and all sections of society to rise up in protest to oppose these measures and force the government to withdraw this decision.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/
PEERLESS EMPLOYEES ON STRUGGLE PATH
THE Peerless General Finance & Investment Co Ltd, Kolkata, has established itself as a well known financial institution to the people of our country by virtue of procuring small savings from rural and urban depositors across the country through its 147 offices. Around 1500 office and 50,000 field employees are at present earning their livelihood from this company. The company has paid backs Rs 18,000 crores to its depositors on maturity. The company has received a certificate of appreciation from Reserve Bank of India for complying with the regulatory norms properly.
But it is a matter of great astonishment that despite all this the company has stopped its traditional non-banking nature of business from April 1, 2010 as per instructions from the Reserve Bank of India. As a result, the lives and livelihood of employees attached to this business are now in jeopardy and they are apprehending to lose their jobs.
In the year 1987, the Supreme Court declared in a verdict that the savings schemes conducted by the Peerless are legal and advised the Reserve Bank of India to be careful to protect the interest of its office and field employees along with depositors while framing the regulatory measures for the Peerless. But now we find that the Reserve Bank of India has very carefully ignored the interests of the Peerless employees.
The All India Peerless Employees Union has been urging upon the management since 2005 to start their own insurance business as a perfect alternative to the hitherto RNBC operations. But on every occasion the management turned down its proposal on one or another superfluous plea.
Sitaram Yechury and Basudeb Acharia of the CPI(M) and some other Left members of parliament have written a letter to the union finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, seeking his intervention to resolve the crisis in the Peerless in order to protect the interest of crores of depositors and thousands of office and field employees.
Hence the Peerless employees’ union decided to hold conventions at the state headquarters throughout the country to demand the government’s intervention to resolve the Peerless crisis in the interest of all. The first such convention was held in Kolkata on December 4, 2010, in which various trade union leaders participated in support of Peerless employees and depositors.
Recently, another convention was held on March 5, 2011 --- at Sundaraiah Vignana in Hyderabad.
Chukka Ramaiah, MLC, inaugurated the convention. Various trade union leaders, employees of Peerless throughout the state and field employees participated in it.
All India Insurance Employees Association’s general secretary Venu Gopal, state INTUC general secretary Abdul Bhader, CITU Hyderabad city committee president S Narsimha Reddy, All India Peerless Employees Union general secretary Gautam Chatterjee, INTUC secretary Ram Mohan Rao, and other trade union leaders addressed the convention, demanding the government’s immediate intervention for continuation of RNBC business of the company.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/
WORLD TRADE UNION CONGRESS BEGINS IN ATHENS
THE 16th World Trade Union Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) started at the Faliro Pavilion or the Taek Wan Doo auditorium with great enthusiasm in Athens, Greece on April 6, 2011.
The 828 delegates and observers representing the trade union organisations of workers and employees from 104 countries in four continents across the globe gathered near the stadium for the inaugural session. Azouz M Shaban, president and George Mavrikos, general secretary of WFTU led the delegates around the pavilion to a thunderous applause, waving of flags and slogans by more than 5000 people – most of them young women and men - who assembled there to participate in the inaugural ceremony. A 35 member presidium comprising the presidential and financial councils of WFTU, and representatives of South Africa, Arab countries, ACFTU and CITU presided over the public meeting. CITU was represented by its national secretary, Hemalata.
The general secretary of PAME, the militant Greek trade union which led a series of struggles against the attacks on the workers on the pretext of the global economic crisis hosted the congress. Welcoming the delegates, he said that the struggles of the millions of workers around the world led by the class oriented trade unions and their experiences would give them the strength to further advance their struggles to protect the interests of the workers in Greece. He expressed confidence that the working class would be successful in countering the single minded attack of the ruling classes to suppress their rights and bringing about a change in the society.
Addressing the gathering, the president of WFTU emphasised the need for unity of the people against imperialist aggression and domination. Mavrikos, general secretary of WFTU observed that WFTU and its activities have expanded since the last congress five years back. He outlined the efforts made during this period to advance the class oriented trade union movement and to develop solidarity among the working class in different countries. He emphasised that the need of the hour is to unite the entire working class and strengthen the fight against the exploitative capitalist system.
The first vice president of Greek parliament, the speaker of Greece and the mayors of Athens and Pierus also addressed the gathering. All of them referred to the serious impact of the global economic crisis on the people of Greece and expressed their hope that the 16th congress of the WFTU would address the issue and provide the necessary direction to the trade union movement in the world to change the present exploitative system.
The cultural team of the reception committee presented inspiring songs and music which enthralled all those present.
The delegates’ session on April 7-10 will discuss the ‘Athens Pact’ that will be presented by the general secretary, the amendments to the WFTU constitution and other matters and elect the new presidential council and secretariat.
The 16th congress of the WFTU is expected to be an important milestone in the advancement of the world trade union movement and in strengthening world wide struggles against the attacks on the working class and the toiling people and in establishing a world free from exploitation.
Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/
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