Kerala witnessing left unions' stirs despite CPI(M)'s call against it

Despite a recent call by the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala against the trade union militancy, the state is witnessing stirs by pro-left unions at three major organisations.

Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Kerala Water Authority (KWA) have been witnessing stirs by the pro-left unions raising various demands and alleging mismanagement.

Labour militancy has been often blamed to be an adverse factor for Kerala's development. Recently, there were instances of trade unions staging protests against private business ventures and headload workers demanding compensation for mechanised loading activities.

Many private ventures had to even pull shutters owing to labour militancy over the years.

It was in this context that the CPI(M) state conference in March made a call to the trade unions to change their approach.

While presenting Kerala vision document Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that trade unions should change their wrong approaches. He also blamed that even as the trade unions knew that what they were doing is wrong, they continue to do that.

CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also said that there was an urgent need for trade unions to change their attitudes.

Hardly two months down the line Kerala was witnessing stirs by service organisations and unions affiliated to the pro-left trade unions including the CPI(M)-backed CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions) at three major organisations. The stirs at KSEB even led to a major stand-off between the pro-left service organisation leaders and the management.

Trade union leaders from the CPI(M) however justify the stirs maintaining that the CPI(M)'s stand is not to encourage 'unacceptable practices' by workers and not against the stirs for genuine reasons.

CPI(M) senior leader and CITU national vice president and Kerala state president Anathalavattom Anandan told DH that all the ongoing stirs were raising genuine demands and hostile approach of the managements towards the workers.

It was not the first time that pro-left trade unions were staging stirs when left-front is in power. CITU is the most powerful trade union in most organisations and hence it often leads all stirs for genuine demands of all sections of workers. The CPI(M) was not opposed to such genuine stirs, he said.

There were even allegations that the ongoing stirs had some political reasons as KSEB, KSRTC and KWA come under portfolios of ministers of coalition parties of the CPI(M) and not the CPI(M) directly.

But Anandan rejected it stating that there were even ongoing stirs in the cooperative sector in Kerala which is a portfolio of a CPI(M) minister.

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