Trade forum to join strike next week

GUWAHATI: The joint forum of trade unions and employees’ federations on Thursday announced they will join the nationwide strike on January 8 and 9 called by central trade unions demanding universal social security coverage to all, strict enforcement of labour laws and an end to their dilution and privatization and other demands.
The state forum will protest against the Centre’s ‘anti-people’ policies, privatization of the state’s oil sector and airport and press the long-pending demand of hiking the daily wage of tea garden workers.

Tapan Sarma, general secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) here, addressing media, said, “The government seems to be making policies favouring capitalists and ignoring the working class. The government is trying to privatize the public sector banks, insurance, rail, defence and oil sectors and overlooking the devastating impact it can bring. Instead of generating employment, the government has been pushing for contractual jobs. Besides, the unabated inflation of essential commodities has made people’s lives miserable.”

The forum demanded to hike the minimum daily wage of tea garden workers to Rs 351. “While the government has failed to address this long-pending demand, it was seen to be engaged in multi-billion scams like that of Rafale aircraft. The government has also been trying to take away the autonomy of organisations like the Reserve Bank of India and CBI, which is highly condemnable. The government has also not addressed the farmers’ plights,” said the forum.

Sarma added, “The government has failed to address the major issue of pending payments of workers of the two paper mills in the state. The government is turning a blind eye to their families. We demand immediate payment of their arrears.” The workers of the two HPCL paper mills, at Cachar and Nagaon, and their families have not been getting salaries for the past 24 months.