A unique trade union school catering to the working class cadres of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), the CPI(M)'s umbrella body of trade unions, has been set up in the national capital.
Named after late veteran trade unionist, P Ramamurti, Trade Union Education and Research Centre at Saket aims to promote union's ideology and impart training to its cadres to keep pace with the changing needs.
Ramamurti was a Lok Sabha parliamentarian from Madurai during 1967-71, served as a Rajya Sabha MP for 12 years, was the first general secretary of CITU and was among those who broke away from the Communist Party of India to form CPI(M).
A three-storeyed P Ramamurti bhawan, where the centre is located, was inaugurated on December 15 by Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
The centre has a library with 10,000 books, class rooms to accommodate around 60 students and dormitories.
CITU President K Hemalata said, "The centre will train national level and lower level cadres in batches throughout the year. And courses range according to the requirement, which a committee will decide."
"For understanding, topics or issues such as exploitation of workers, policy changes, terminologies used, political economy, labour laws, etc," she said, adding that two or three topics may be clubbed together based on requirement.
The foundation stone for the building was laid in 2010 by the then CITU vice-president M K Pandhe.
CITU secretary Swadesh Dev Roye said faculties will be experts in their fields and will include those who are involved in the movement.
"The doors of centre will be open to everyone, but the courses will be confined to the cadres," Roye said.
He said there will be facility to accommodate cadres for long-term courses in dormitories separately for both women and men. Though there will be a fee to take up the courses, cadres who cannot afford will be trained at subsidised rates.
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