Karnataka - Mysore   

Trade unions call upon workers to be united

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, MAY 1. The May Day rally held here today under the banner of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) gave a call to the workers to remain united to safeguard their rights which was under threat in the emerging economic scenario.

The rally held special significance for the working class in both the organised and the unorganised sectors in the wake of uncertainties plaguing the employees in these sectors, especially the farmers who are in dire straits following successive years of drought.

The CITU, comprising the Vikrant Tyres Employees' Union, the Mysore District General Employees Union, the Mysore District Agarbathi Employees' Association, the Mysore District Hotel Employees' Union, the BSNL Employees Union etc., said the economic policy had unleashed forces that were inimical to the interests of the working class.

The labour laws had been simplified to benefit the capitalists while diluting the security to the workers who could be retrenched to protect the interests of the employers.

Pointing out that lakhs of people had been rendered unemployed in the years following the implementation of the new economic policy with emphasis on liberalisation and privatisation, the CITU said the ranks of the educated unemployed had swelled which put paid to the claims of the Government that liberalisation was beneficial to the development of the country.

The CITU said the consequences of liberalisation and privatisation in the country had affected the education sector and had rendered basic education beyond the reach of the common man. Quality healthcare remained a dream for the majority due to steep increase in the cost and only a section of the population could afford to meet them.

Basic amenities such as drinking water and power was becoming dearer and the Government was encouraging the multinational companies by diluting the existing laws to facilitate them to make more profits at the expense of the society, it charged.

The workers' union reflected on the impact of economic policies initiated by the Government and underlined that even agriculture did not remain unaffected and the crisis in the farming sector was best discerned by the spate of farmers' suicide across the country due to their inability to recover the input cost for cultivation and the mounting debt burden.

The CITU reiterated the importance of workers' unity to struggle for their rights which was entwined with their existence. Drawing attention to the prevailing industrial scenario in Mysore, the trade union organisations pointed out that contract labour had raised its head and the concept of permanency was slowly but surely on the way out of the lexicon.

The AITUC leaders said the workers' strength lay in their unity and a joint struggle was the only way to safeguard their rights. In this context, the AITUC pointed out that there were two major agitations against the proposed move to privatise public sector units and had the desired affect on the policy makers which only reinforced the need on the part of the workers to remain vigilant and united.

The workers numbering more than 2,000 and from various industrial units later took out a procession through the main thoroughfares of the city.

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