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'Centre ignoring beedi workers'

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR APRIL 10. The General Secretary of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), V.J.K.Nair, has criticised the BJP-led NDA Government for "inordinately delaying introduction of uniform wages for beedi workers in the country".

Inaugurating the Beedi Karmikara Sammelan here today, Mr. Nair said beedi workers had been denied privileges, including gratuity and pension. There was no law ensuring them job security.

The employers were not sticking to the rules on maintaining individual logbooks for their employees, which was causing problems.

Stating that multinational companies were planning to enter the beedi industry, Mr. Nair said that if that happened, people who rolled beedis would lose their jobs.

He called upon beedi workers to take part in the May 21 national rally against the Union Government's liberalisation policy and exim policy.

The President of the Federation of Beedi Workers' Associations, K.Shankar, said middlemen were harming the relationship between beedi workers and their employers. An agitation would be launched to eliminate middlemen from the scene, he said.

Mr. Shankar said there were over nine lakh beedi workers in the State, and they were employed "on temporary basis" even after years of service.

The employers were circumventing rules and avoiding regularising the services of workers.

Meenakshi Sundaram, member of the CITU's Karnataka Committee, Mohammed Dastagir, President of the Beedi Workers' Association, Syed Mujib, CITU Secretary, Kodandaramu, CPI(M) leader, and Khattijabhi, senior labour activist, spoke.

The sammelan resolved to fight against those creating fear among workers and trying to break their unity.

The sammelan also condoled the death of the CITU leaders, Suryanarayana Rao, Badhe Sab, Govindaraju, and Channappa.

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