Date : 10.01.2013
Minutes of the 50th National Working Committee Meeting of Construction Workers Federation of India held on 28th & 29th December 2012 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu
The meeting was presided over by Comrade R. Singeravelu.
CONDOLENCE
One minute silence was observed in the memory of martyrs and departed leaders – Comrade Gobindan Pillai, Comrade Dipankar Mukherjee, Comrade Debobrata Banerjee, Comrade Lakshmi Saigal, Comrade Dilip Majumdar, and Pandit Ravisankar.
Comrade Singeravelu presented his Presidential speech depicting the international and national issues.
Comrade Debanjan Chakrabari placed his General Secretary’s report.
All the speakers while discussing on General Secretary’s report have told about their activities, implementation of decisions taken in earlier meeting also narrated by the speakers of different states.
We can say that –
1. 27.06.2012 – UITBB Demand Day
2. 11.07.2012 – M. K. Pandhe’s Birth Day
3. 03.10.2012 – WFTU Foundation Day
4. 06.11.2012 – CWFI called one day strike programmes –
All the state committees have taken seriously and implemented the programmes with their utmost effort.
One Lapse-
Comrades are working in the states, districts, taluk level but not sending reports with photos to CWFI Centre for publication in All India CITU journals and other daily news papers. But there is exception too.
We have to overcome this lapse.
6/11 STRIKE REVIEW
It is proved through comrades reporting that 06.11.2012 one day national strike was successful. About 20 lakhs [2 million ] workers participated in this strike. Campaign materials like posters, stickers, pamphlets published in lakhs. This strike will give us dividend in coming days to expand our organization network.
DEMCORATIC FUNCTIONING
1. Democratic function of States committees / union to some extent ensured in all the states as reported by speakers. It is to be ensured at all levels uninterruptedly.
2. Construction Workers Contribution –
Andhra Pradesh - Rs. 96 lakhs for Ten TV Channels of our organization
Rs. 50,000 for CITU State Committee office construction
Himachal Pradesh- Rs. 4 lakhs for H.P Assembly Election from 4 districts.
Kerala - Rs. One crore for construction workers state committee office.
Rs. 20 lakhs Calicut district construction workers for Party Congress.
Rs. 3.5 Crore for CITU all India conference at Cannanore. [ Rs. 2 crore by Cannanore District construction workers and 1.5 crores from other districts.]
DECISIONS TAKEN :-
1. The following comrades – Asit Mukherjee and Tapas Chatterjee have newly included in the working committee from West Bengal in place of Comrade Malay Nandi and Martyrs Comrade Pradip Ta respectively.
2 Though it is discussed and decided in several working committee meetings – about formation of joint action committee of all Central T.Us in construction industry – that could not mature yet at the Central level. But in the State level – in some states already our comrades are working jointly with other Central T.Us. This is a very good effort of our state level comrades. We are thankful to them.
Before our next working committee we will try our level best to form a “JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE OF ALL CENTRAL TRADE UNIONS” – operating in building construction industry.
REVIEW OF JOB RESPONSIBILITY
3. Review of the job responsibility of office-bearers and some working committee members – will be done in the next working committee.
48 HOURS ALL INDIA GENERAL STRIKE
4. Already our comrades in the states have taken initiative to make the 48 hours All India General Strike on 20th & 21st February 2013 at the call of All Central T.Us. – a success. 19th December 2012 – in civil dis-obedience movements several thousand construction workers participated in different states. State level, district level conventions are being held. In this convention also thousands of construction workers participated.
On 20th December 2012 in Delhi Rally about 7000 construction workers participated from Delhi adjacent states. We expect our state committees / affiliated unions will do their best to make this strike a magnificent one. All sorts of preparation for 48hours All India General Strike on 20th & 21st February 2013 at the call of All Central T.Us & Federation have to be taken up by our affiliated unions
- Poster ( printed) - in regional language
- Leaflet (printed ) – in regional language
- Walling – in regional language
- Workers general body meeting
- Jeep Jatha
- Procession (Torch light)
- Day long DHARNA/SIT IN AGITATION before the central Government Offices.
- State wise demand day on suitable date – wearing demand badge in any day of 3rd week of January 2013 suitable to state.
- Cycle / Motor Cycle procession in 1st week of February 2013.
- Street corner meeting with microphone.
- Mass meeting
One specimen copy of leaflet, posters, and stickers to make the strike campaign a success to all the state committees / affiliated unions will be sent.
WELFARE BOARD
5. Well Fare Board details report circulated to all the working committee members earlier and in this meeting also. We have to take up the welfare board issue seriously.
COMMUNICATION
6. After this meeting onwards SMS& E-mail will be send and make telephone call to each working committee member for sending report of activities after each programme.
ORGANIZATION
7. More coordination needed in the state also e.g. Punjab [CITU & Punjab CTU] & Rajasthan [all the districts unions].
Experience of forming village level committee give dividend in some states –to increase membership – this experience can be implemented in other States also.
WORKING WOMEN
8. We are neglecting seriously the working women issues and problems – in our union day to day activities. We can not ignore it. We have to take up issues of working women at district / state / national level.
9. CWFI Special Fund – contribution from different states will be circulated by January 2013.
10. Migrant workers welfare fund scheme of Kerala – it is unique in India. No other states have such a welfare scheme. Already have circulated to all. It will be circulated again.
We have to take up a task of handing over project construction union after it completion to permanent workers union of that projects e.g. Hydro /Thermal Power Plant.
NATIONAL DEMAND DAY
11. 07.05.2013 (Tuesday) National Demand Day will be observed by holding demonstration before the Central /State government offices. But this demand day will be observed in West Bengal in June due to Panchayet Election in May.
12. Any one day to be observed against atrocities on women in India – in January 2013.
13. Working women sub- committee to be reconstituted .
14. Migrant workers – a write up will be sent to you – please translate it in regional languages.
Other programme –
1. National Safety & Health Protection day to be observed on 4th March every year.
2. 1st May – May Day to observed in a befitting way.
3. 11th July 2013 – M. K. Pandhe’s birthday – to be observed by holding M. K. Pandhe Memorial Lecture – on any current topics.
4. 3rd October – WFTU foundation day to be observed in a befitting manner every year.
5. 7th – 17th November – November revolutionary to be observed by holding meeting, procession etc,
6. 1st December – Campaign against HIV/AIDS
7. 18/12 – Migrant Workers Protection Day.
Leave of absence
1. Comrade Dipak Dasgupta
2. Comrade Arati Dasgupta
3. Comrade Lakshman Seth
4. Biplab Sengupta
5. Biswajit Bhattacharya
6. Manashi Ghosh
7. Krishnapada Biswas
8. Gagan Chowdhury
9. Bijan Mitra
10. Sudarshan Manna
11. Tapan Sharma
12. Santa
13. A.T.Padmanavan
14. Shyamal Paul
15. Nirmal Roy
(Debanjan Chakrabarti)
General Secretary
CWFI
JOINT PLATFORM OF CENTRAL TRADE UNIONS (J & K)
PRESS STATEMENT
Jammu (21st Feb’ 2013) On the call of 11 Central Trade Unions of the country for 02 days All India General Strike, Joint Platform of Central Indian Trade Unions (CITU, INTUC, AITUC, Insurance and Banking Sectors etc,) of Jammu & Kashmir organised a massive workers rally at Jammu today on 21st February, 2013 on the basis of Ten Point Charter of demands -- curb price rise & Universalisation of Public Distribution System, Job Protection, Enforcement of labour laws, Social Security for Unorganised Workers, stop Disinvestment in PSUs, Minimum Wages not Less than 10000, Pension for all, Equal Wages and Benefits to the Contract Workers, Ensuring the Right to Organisation and Collective Bargaining, Removal of Ceiling of Bonus, ESI, Gratuity, Compulsory Registration of Trade unions within a period of 45 days and ratification of ILO Convention No.87 and 98. It is a culmination of mass scale resentment among the common workers at the grass root against the grievous fall out of the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation on their life and livelihood and an urge increasing for united action. The rally passed through the bazaars like Dogra Chowk, Jewel Chowk, Gumat Bazaar, City Chowk, Raghunath Bazaar and culminated at Indira Chowk.
Shri M Y Tarigami while addressing the rally said that Joint Platform has taken a pioneering role in opposing the neoliberal policies from their inception even when some section of trade union movement nurtured illusions about these policies and believed these benefitting the workers and eliminating poverty through their trickledown effect. But with two decades of experience of the neoliberal policies these illusions have been completed dispelled. Discontent about these policies has grown. The untiring efforts of CITU to develop united movement against the anti-people and anti-workers policies have borne fruit today when the entire trade union movement of the country has come together on a charter of demands that calls for a reversal of the anti worker and anti people policies.
He further said that resistance to the neoliberal policies is widespread not only in our country but in all the countries wherever they have been implemented, including in the advanced capitalist countries. In Latin America, where these policies were initiated much earlier than in India, strong resentment erupted that have led to the defeat of the pro-imperialist governments of these countries and elected the governments that are opposed to the USA imperialism. Many of these governments are now implementing pro-people policies and have increased their expenditure on providing food security, education and health facilities and employment generation. Some governments as in Venezuela and Bolivia have nationalised foreign oil and gas companies and banks while Argentina etc, has nationalised pension funds.
Sh. Shiv Kumar Sharma President & Thakur Raghubir Singh Chib Gen.Sec. of INTUC while addressing the gathering demanded for strict enforcement of labour laws and punitive measures for violation of labour laws. They said that in majority of workplaces, minimum wages are not paid; basic social security benefits are denied. In fact, 90% of the disputes and conflicts going on in different workplace in the country relate just non-implementation of the existing labour laws. He further demanded that minimum wages should not be less than Rs. 10000/- and removal of all restricting ceiling on provident fund, payment of bonus, gratuity etc.
They further demanded assured pension for all, enhancement of retirement age from 58 years to 60 years, regularisation of daily wagers ,casual workers, need based workers , increase in medical allowance from 300 to 1000 , DA to state public sector employees at par to state government employees and minimum wages to all including engineering Deptt. as revised recently.
Sham Prasad Kesar senior leader of CITU and Om Parkash, General Secretary, CITU while addressing the rally demanded that government should curb the price rise and universalisation of public distribution system and complete ban on speculation and future trading in commodity market which alone can contain the rising prices; there cannot be a third way for the same. They further added that more than 93% of country’s workforce is in the unorganised sector but they have been kept outside the purview of most of the labour laws and do not have any protection in respect of working hours, minimum wages, social security and above all any kind of job security despite contributing around 65% to the country’s GDP. They also demanded complete stoppage of disinvestment of shares in profit making state and central PSUs.
Arun Kr. Gupta, Ashwani Pradhan and Anil Vaid(Banking sector) criticised Banking Laws amendment bill by the UPA-II government, They said the 2012 banking laws paves the way for the entry of corporate houses into banking. They said that the Man Mohan Singh government has undone what the Indira Gandhi government did i.e., the bank nationalisation Act.
Dalip Koul and Pawan Gupta(Insurance Sector) criticised the UPA government decision to raise the cap for foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from the current 26 per cent to 49 percent and 49 per cent FDI in pension funds, they said that these decisions will make India’s finance sector more vulnerable to speculative finance capital.
Sh. Balkar Singh and D.R.Sharma of AITUC express serious concern on widespread contractorisation and casualisation of work in most of the workplaces. They said that these contract workers are deprived of almost all statutory benefits, their employment is always under threat by the respective contractors. This has given rise to a dangerous discrimination where, under the same roof, contract workers doing the same work as the regular workers in the establishment, but are getting hardly one sixth or one seventh of wages of their counterpart among regular workers. This led not only to exploitation of contract workers but also put downward pressure on the wages and service conditions of the regular workers. This can no way be tolerated by the working class. That is why the demands for “same wage as regular workers for same work for the contract workers”, “benchmarking of minimum wage at not less than Rs 10,000.
Sd/-
(Ramesh Chand)
Joint Secretary |
