More than 800 members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) courted arrest on Tuesday after they attempted to picket Central and State government offices in the two districts, pressing seven point charter of demands, including minimum wages for workers in all unorganised sectors. Members of the CITU, affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged the picketing agitation at six points in Ramanathapuram district and two points in Sivaganga district, police said.
CITU district treasurer Kannagi led the agitation at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. More than 100 volunteers went in a procession to picket the Head Post Office when they were arrested by the police.
M. Sivaji, who led the agitation at Sikkal in Ramanathapuram district said the picketing was part of the State-wide agitation for fixing Rs. 15,000 as minimum wage per month for workers in all the unorganised sectors in the State. The other demands included abolition of contract workers in all sectors.
In the Tamil Nadu Salt Corporation at Valinokkam in the district alone, more than 1,500 workers were under the contract system, working for 30 to 40 years. The government should regularise at least those who had been working for ten years in the corporation, he demanded.
He said the agitation was also to urge the government to ensure that the unorganised sector welfare board functioned effectively and distributed assistance such as financial assistance for marriages and education without delay. Those who led the picketing agitation included P. Vadivelu and Veeraiah in Sivaganga and John Soundararajan and Motital in Ramanathapuram districts. All the arrested were released in the evening.
In Ramanathapuram, members of the Student Federation of India (SFI) led by district secretary Dakshinamurthy, staged a demonstration in front of the Chief Educational Officer (CEO) demanding that the district administration ensured that all private schools admitted 25 per cent of students from the poor families under the Right to Education Act.
Dindigul
Members of CITU and workers in unorganised sector picketed Corporation Main Road near Clock Tower condemning the anti-labour policies of the Central and State Governments. They demanded that the Centre should abandon the proposed amendments to labour laws favourable to the corporates.
They also appealed to clear pending applications claiming benefits under accident schemes and maternity aid schemes.
Streamlining the welfare board meant for unorganised sector workers, revising education, marriage and maternity benefits for workers, increasing the pension amount to Rs.3,000 were their other demands.
Workers from different fields, including tannery workers, roadside vendors and TASMAC workers took part. The arrested were released in the evening.
