The Hindu : Centre urged to ratify ILO's core conventions

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 11, 2003

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Centre urged to ratify ILO's core conventions

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI DEC. 10. The Government of India should immediately ratify the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) two core conventions assuring trade union rights to all workers, except the armed forces, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) general secretary, M.K. Pandhe, said here today.

As the country's representative at the recent ILO conference had supported the conventions, the Government should ratify them to nullify the Supreme Court's observation against the right to strike by Government staff. The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, othersise, should convene a meeting of trade unions for a dialogue on this issue as assured by him at the Labour Ministers' conference in Delhi recently, Mr. Pandhe told newspersons.

While stating that there was no need for any Constitutional amendment to negate the apex court's observation, Mr. Pandhe said the Government should take an early decision as the working class was agitated over the issue.

Disputing the NDA Government's claim that the economic growth rate was on the rise, Mr. Pandhe pointed out that as per the United Nation's human development index, India, placed in the 125th position among the 175 developed countries, had come down to 127th position.

While traditional industries such as handloom, powerloom, beedi and cashew industries were showing a negative growth rate, automobiles and information technology sectors had shown progress. Industrial sickness was at its peak, with Maharashtra topping the list, followed by Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, he said.

In the absence of any worthwhile employment policy, he said, the youth of the country were facing a bleak future. The trend could be reversed only by trade unions who, he said, should put up a united fight. Unfortunately, political consideration was coming in the way of unity among trade unions.

He appealed to union leaders to keep the interests of workers above their personal ambitions. Expressing the CITU's support to the nation-wide strike on February 11 by the Central and State Government employees, Mr. Pandhe wanted other unions to take an early decision on joining the strike by the Government employees.

On the inaugural day of the conference on Tuesday, the general secretary presented a report on the activities of the CITU since its last all-India conference held in Hyderabad three years ago.

The conference, by a resolution, expressed its support to the one-day strike called by all unions of oil companies protesting the Government's move to privatise the companies.

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