The Joint Committee of Trade Unions, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the All-India Trade Union Centre Congress (AITUC) urged the Prime Minister to fix a minimum wage of at least Rs. 10,000 a month for workers in the unorganised and agriculture sectors, besides contract workers serving in various State and Union government services.
Workers from different parts of the district on Thursday took out a procession to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in support of its demands and to oppose “anti-people policies, privatisation of public sector undertakings, price rise, corruption and social evils dogging society.”
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Trade union leaders, including CITU district president C.A. Karade, said that the movement to pressure the government to curb inflation and price rise had “fallen on deaf ears.”
The resultant failure of the Centre to implement pro-people policies has increased the hardships and social insecurity of the working class.
The uncontrolled increase in prices and the low wages has made the lives of workers more miserable, and there are no signs of relief from the government.
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Cuts in budgetary allocations for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Services in rural areas was not expected at a time when workers were demanding for increased wages to cope with the ever-rising cost of living, the trade union leaders said.
The other demands made by the trade unions to the government include the creation of more job opportunities both in rural and urban areas; strict implementation of labour laws; no more privatisation of profit-making PSUs; regularising the services of contract workers as a means to end the contract system; provision of an annual bonus, provident fund and gratuity for all workers; and compulsory registration of workers and ratification to the International Labour Organisation conventions of 1987 and 1998.