BMS says govt has no moral right to sell PSUs, to organise dharna on June 10

Citing that the government has "no moral right" to sell national assets, the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will organise nationwide day-long dharnas on June 10 against "aggressive" privatisation of public sector on the pretext of running the country.

The dharna coincides with the BMS' five-point action plan announced last month, which also includes reaching out to MPs in the second half of June to put pressure on the central and state governments to recall anti-labour measures and stall privatisation moves.

The decision to hold dharna came at a meeting of the National Coordination Committee of Public Sectors of BMS unions in sectors like coal, non-coal, defence, railway, postal, banking, insurance, steel, marine, telecom, power, heavy engineering, oil and gas and aviation among others on June 2 and 3.

BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said the unions will hold a day-long dharna, protest meetings and campaigns under the banner 'Save Public Sector, Save India' against commercialisation of coal sector, corporatisation of defence ordnance factories board and Railway, strategic sale of PSUs, merger and privatisation of banks, Insurance and increasing FDI cap.

"Government is justifying the dire need of money to run the government machinery. However, it has no moral right or authority to sell national assets created by its predecessors," he said.

Vowing to fight the imposing of "unjust decisions" on the workers, he said the BMS is committed to fight until it stops the government from taking the anti-public sector and anti-worker decisions.

"The advisors to the government have a dearth of ideas to generate revenue, hence the only way out they provide to the Government is 'corporatise and privatise'. Such predatory advisors are working against the interest of the nation and are keen to keep real experts away from the government even in times of difficulties," he said.

He reminded that the government was earlier trying to make "a strategic move" in the name of selling loss-making units but there were no takers for such units.

"Since no sensible purchaser was ready to take up loss-making units, now the government is forced to move to their main motive of selling highly profitable sectors like Maharatna/Navaratnas to lure the purchaser," he said.

The government should shed its reluctance and hold social dialogue to find out other means to address fiscal deficit and revenue generation, he added.

After the June 10, BMS will also be organising seminars on June 13 and 14 on issues like corporatisation of defence production units, PSU in strategic sectors and providing livelihood to lakhs of migrant workers.

From June 16 to 30, according to the BMS action plan, its leaders would contact MPs on issues confronting workers due to COVID-19 and to pressurise the governments to change its "perceptions and policies".