India : CITU vows to resist anti-labourer policies through intense struggle
The 13th State conference of CITU that commenced here on Friday vowed to intensify its struggle against liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation and consequent anti-labourer policies of the State and the Central
Governments.
Inaugurating the 4-day conference, all-India general secretary of CITU Tapan Sen said the Centre, which was actively pursuing liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, was leading the nation towards absolute commotion as these policies would only result in inflation and unemployment.
The Central trade unions, through their recent nationwide strike, had unequivocally told the Union Government that the country’s working class would never tolerate anything that would affect the common man.
“Contrary to the tall claims of the governments, the liberalisation and globalisation have not attracted hefty industrial investments in the country to create new employment opportunities. By encouraging the foreign direct investment, the Centre has allowed the foreign companies to swallow the seaports and other established industrial houses. We’ll never allow this to happen. We’d rather resist it with much vigour,” Mr. Sen warned.
All India president of CITU A.K. Padmanabhan and the CITU office-bearers took part in the conference in which M. Shanmugam of Thozhilaalar Munnetra Sangam, C.A. Raja Sridhar of HMS, T.M. Moorthy of AITUC, T.K.S. Govindarajan of INTUC and others also participated.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Rajya Sabha MP T.K. Rangarajan said the Union Government should rollback the hiked train fare.
Even as unemployment and inflation were agonizing the public, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme was not being properly implemented in Tamil Nadu to make things worse for the rural poor.
Consequently, they were being forced to migrate to metro cities in search of employment. Most of the village panchayat presidents administering this scheme were refusing to give the assured salary under this scheme.
He alleged that the new education policy would have serious consequences on the nation’s development and its progress.
Even as the children of the common Indian were struggling to get quality and free education, the Centre’s new education policy that would promote fundamentalism.
Hence, the Union Government should think of redoing it for the betterment of all.
Mr. Rangarajan said the Central Government should intervene immediately to resolve the Cauvery dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as any positive effort in this direction alone would mend the strained relations between the two States.
Assurance
He assured that the CPI (M) would not have any truck with the AIADMK and the DMK in the forthcoming local body polls.