Trade Unions call national convention, may go to hartal

Ten central trade unions are holding a national convention in the national capital on September 30 to decide on protest plans, including a country-wide hartal, against the Narendra Modi government for "shamelessly" ignoring the workers and doling out sops to corporates.

The national convention of the unions comes close on the heels of a similar national convention by five Left parties on economic slowdown in the capital on Friday where they decided to hold a week-long protest from October 10 across the country.

Members of the INTUC, CITU, AITUC, HMS, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC will participate in the National Convention called at Parliament Street to decide on the workers' protests.

Sources said the trade unions are likely to announce a nationwide hartal during the convention which is called to protest job loss, privatisation of public sector and new anti-worker' labour codes.

The decision to call the national convention was taken at a meeting of the trade unions on August 21.

In an appeal sent to workers, the trade unions have said that there is urgency for developing countrywide united struggles against anti-worker and anti-people policies of the government and in defence of the rights and livelihood of the working people.

Against the background of "continuing economic slowdown", the appeal said "forcible and unlawful retrenchments, lay-off and shut-downs are going on in various industrial sectors" while the Labour departments, both at the Centre and most of the states remaining an "indulgent onlooker to the alarming phenomenon of job-losses and repression" of labour rights.

"In such a situation, the Union Finance Minister has announced a host of further liberal concessions to the big business/ corporate class, severely affecting the national exchequer, while the workers being biggest sufferers shamelessly denied any protection to unlawful retrenchment and lay-offs and any other relief at all. This exposes total servility of the government to the moneyed class and its cruelty to the working people in general," it said.

The past couple of months have witnessed a few strikes by government employees, including one by employees of ordnance factories. The bank officers have now called for a two-day strike starting September 26.

In a separate statement, CITU General Secretary Tapan Sen said the strike called by four federations of bank officers is to defend and protect the public sector banking network of the country from the ongoing onslaughts of the "destructive nexus" of the BJP government and corporates.

"It is reported that unions of non officer employees of public sector banks are also planning strike action in banks against the same destructive decisions of the BJP Govt on merger of banks and other reforms in the month of October," Sen added.