Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 22: While maintaining social distancing norms, the CITU observed May 22 as ‘Demands Day’ in Jammu and Kashmir on call given by Central Trade Unions and asserted that it will fight back attempts of suppressing the rights of working class by the Union Government and BJP led State Governments.
The CITU and its affiliated unions across the J&K held protests. The CITU leaders said that taking shelter under the umbrella of COVID-19 pandemic, every day the Modi led Govt is taking one or other decisions to attack the working class and common people of the country who are already in deep distress and miseries in the midst of lockdown in the country.
As the mass of the working people have been subjected to inhuman sufferings owing to loss of jobs, loss of wages, eviction from residences etc, reducing them to hungry non-entities in the process of almost two months lockdown, the BJP led Governments of the day at the Centre and several States are aggressively moving to push the working people into virtual slavery.
Labour laws have been suspended by the BJP Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. “This is yet another shocking but unsurprising blow to workers and labourers by BJP Governments. Their rights are being suppressed. This retrograde anti-worker move came in the second stage after 8 State Governments (Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar and Punjab) have enhanced the daily working hours from eight hours to 12 hours through executive order in violation of the Factories Act, taking advantage of the lockdown situation,” Yousuf Targami said.
“These draconian measures are not only to facilitate more brutal and cruel exploitation of workers without their rights for collective bargaining, dispute over proper wages, safety at work place and guarantee of social security etc, but also to throw them in to conditions of slavery, in the interests of more profiteering despite continuing economic slowdown. Women and vulnerable sections will be more exploited in terms of forced labour, CITU leader maintained.
Tarigami while resenting the anti-poor and anti-labour policies of the Modi Government warned that Union will fight against these injustices. He also urged the Govt to provide food, financial aid and safe passage of all migrant workers amid COVID-19 pandemic. He also asked the Govt to provide minimum wages of Rs 21000 per month to all workers, regularize all Scheme workers including Anganwadi workers and helpers and not to increase working hours from 8 to 12 hours. He said the working days be increased from 100 to 200 under MGNREGA.
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