Upping the ante against "anti-worker" policies, disinvestment and hike in FDI across sectors, 11 central trade unions including pro-BJP Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh today decided to launch nationwide protests against the government's measures saying it would have "serious negative" impact on the people.
Representatives of 11 major unions and federations across sectors like banks, insurance, defence, railways and others decided to hold state-level joint conventions in September- October and a national protest day all over the country on December 5 by holding demonstrations at all state capitals.
The decision was taken at the National Convention of Workers, where senior AITUC leader Gurudas Dasgupta said, "December 5 will be the beginning of the protest and a prelude to a bigger action."
Maintaining that their "quarrel with the government is on policy", he said, "They are liberalising labour laws for the benefit of corporates. We are opposing FDI in railways and financial sector. They are modifying Industrial Dispute Act, Apprentices Act, Trade Union Act and other laws to help the corporates of the country."
Asked about the key issues on which the unions were protesting, he said they want the stoppage of reform of labour laws and curb inflation.
The meeting was attended by leaders of AITUC, CITU, BMS, INTUC, HMS, AIUTUC, TUCC, AICCTU, UTUC, SEWA and LPF, apart from the federations.
BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said, "Government is trying to say there is no policy paralysis. They are trying to paralyse the society and the labour class as a whole."
Maintaining that the unions were fighting jointly for the last five years and had submitted a 10-point charter to the earlier UPA regime, he said, "What we are asking the government is that if you really want to go for amendments (of labour laws) and reforms, then first you should implement the unanimous points of the Second National Labour Commission. But they are not addressing that.
