Redraft National Water Policy: AITUC

AITUC today demanded that the national water policy be re-drafted to entrust water supply service to the public sector, which alone may favour the poor in India.
A resolution adopted on the penultimate day of the 41'st session of AITUC said the policy introduced by UPA Government posed water as a commodity to be priced according to its cost. Access to safe drinking water must be a fundamental right to the public and hence the present policy should be redrafted.
Stating that the present policy emphasised private investment in the drinking water supply sector public-private partnership, it said that this led to negation of potable drinking water to millions of poor people in India.

The government should provide decent pay and work for every citizen as a fundamental right to be incorporated in the constitution of India, they demanded.
Another resolution sought land and money for labourers in India, to build homes as there were about 7.8 crore homeless people in the country.
Insisting that government adopt a national policy for domestic workers at the earliest, with a mandate to all state governments to set up welfare boards for them, the conference demanded that minimum wages be enhanced from time to time, with a monthly pension of Rs 3,000.

A comphreneisve policy should be formulated for welfare of migrant workers in the country and a social security scheme introduced for them, including compensation in cases of accidents and death.

AITUC extended support to the struggle of staff of state run TASMAC liquor outlets and urged the government to regularise all 26,000 workers as permanent government staff.
Asked to clarify his party CPI's stand on prohibition in Tamil Nadu, AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta, said CPI was also for prohibition.
"Once prohibition is introduced, all the workers can be redeplolyed," he added.