Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) State general secretary Elamaram Karim has said that the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala is trying to build an alternative to the Centre’s neo-liberal economic policies, such as reviving the public sector undertakings.
In his address at the CITU general council meeting which began here on Friday, he said that many industries that went into serious crisis during the previous Congress-led United Democratic Front rule were coming back to the growth path now.
“There is new life in the traditional sector. The government is intervening sincerely to retain in public sector the Centre-State public sector undertakings, which the Centre is trying to privatise,” he said.
The declaration of the Left Democratic Front that the State government would not implement the anti-labour policies of the Centre and the steps taken by the government to increase the minimum wages in various sectors had brought cheer to workers. “However, the Centre is attacking the rights of workers by amending the existing labour laws. The State governments under the BJP rule are also taking away the rights of workers through labour law amendments. Even the right to organise is being denied,” he said.
Mr. Karim said the privatisation of PSUs was happening at an increased pace since the BJP government came to power at the Centre four years ago. Strategic sectors like the railways and defence are being privatised. The policy of the Modi government was to transfer the wealth of the nation to the hands of monopolists. The government was favouring the corporates who loot billions of rupees from banks, he alleged.
In contrast to the Narendra Modi government taking decisions according to the diktats of imperialist financial capital, Mr. Karim said that the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala was aiming at the comprehensive development of the State through the Nava Kerala Mission.
