RedCeltic
18th April 2002, 05:08
Indian workers plan to launch further strikes to bolster mass demonstrations Tuesday over proposed changes to labor laws that have raised fears of increasing numbers of job losses across the subcontinent.
Following yesterday's day-long national strike by nearly 10 million government employees, labor leaders said Wednesday morning that they were planning a series of actions designed to give maximum attention to their plight.
"If the government does not consider our demands, we will continue with our strikes," said W.R. Varadarajan, secretary of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions, a workers' group affiliated to India's largest Marxist party, the Communist Party of India (CPI). "National Trade Union Leaders will attend a May Day meeting to decide on the next course of action," Varadarajan said.
Tuesday's action brought domestic financial markets to a near standstill as most banks in the country were shut, leading to an estimated loss in transactions worth some US$20 million. In New Delhi, bank clerks looked forlorn as colleagues failed to turn up for work. In the state of West Bengal, where the CPI heads a coalition government, the strike paralyzed air and land transportation. Elsewhere in the country, ports and mines were shut throughout the day, with walk-outs affecting 220 state-run firms.
The strike was organized by several trade unions to protest an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act which would increase the number of companies, both public and private, that can dismiss workers without government permission. The proposed law would mean that firms with less than 1,000 employees would not have to seek authority to relocate or fire their employees. Current law sets the threshold at companies with 100 or more employees.
According to the organizers of the strike, 98 percent of Indian factories would be able to dismiss workers without official oversight. "There is no exact estimate of workforce that will be affected by the law, but tens of thousands of workers stand to lose their jobs," Varadarajan said.
The move to amend the law was seen by the Indian labor movement as part of a longer-term process of economic reform which began in 1991 and has included the closure of loss-making factories, increased access to domestic markets for foreign multinational firms, privatization of public services, and downsizing in both the public and private spheres.
Since then, 20 government holdings, in sectors ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals, have shut down leaving several thousand people out of work. Over the last six years, 1.5 million workers had lost their jobs, according to union figures, of which about 400,000 were employees of government-run firms and 125,000 of banks.
"The Indian government should consider the detrimental consequences of their actions before embarking on such ill-judged reforms," said the head of the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Guy Ryder. "Unmanaged privatization propounded by the Indian government can have a devastating impact on the lives of workers and their families," he said.
Tuesday's action, calling for lawmakers to vote against the proposed changes, was criticized by Indian industry as "unfortunate." "It is the small businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals who bear the brunt of the disruption of essential services caused by the nationwide strike," said the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Sanjeev Goenka, stressing the financial losses to government.
Labor leaders, however, sought to stress that the day's financial losses were a direct result of current and proposed government policies. "Why blame workers when the onus is on the government?" Varadarajan asked, adding that the proposed amendment should be scrapped.
Following yesterday's day-long national strike by nearly 10 million government employees, labor leaders said Wednesday morning that they were planning a series of actions designed to give maximum attention to their plight.
"If the government does not consider our demands, we will continue with our strikes," said W.R. Varadarajan, secretary of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions, a workers' group affiliated to India's largest Marxist party, the Communist Party of India (CPI). "National Trade Union Leaders will attend a May Day meeting to decide on the next course of action," Varadarajan said.
Tuesday's action brought domestic financial markets to a near standstill as most banks in the country were shut, leading to an estimated loss in transactions worth some US$20 million. In New Delhi, bank clerks looked forlorn as colleagues failed to turn up for work. In the state of West Bengal, where the CPI heads a coalition government, the strike paralyzed air and land transportation. Elsewhere in the country, ports and mines were shut throughout the day, with walk-outs affecting 220 state-run firms.
The strike was organized by several trade unions to protest an amendment to the Industrial Relations Act which would increase the number of companies, both public and private, that can dismiss workers without government permission. The proposed law would mean that firms with less than 1,000 employees would not have to seek authority to relocate or fire their employees. Current law sets the threshold at companies with 100 or more employees.
According to the organizers of the strike, 98 percent of Indian factories would be able to dismiss workers without official oversight. "There is no exact estimate of workforce that will be affected by the law, but tens of thousands of workers stand to lose their jobs," Varadarajan said.
The move to amend the law was seen by the Indian labor movement as part of a longer-term process of economic reform which began in 1991 and has included the closure of loss-making factories, increased access to domestic markets for foreign multinational firms, privatization of public services, and downsizing in both the public and private spheres.
Since then, 20 government holdings, in sectors ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals, have shut down leaving several thousand people out of work. Over the last six years, 1.5 million workers had lost their jobs, according to union figures, of which about 400,000 were employees of government-run firms and 125,000 of banks.
"The Indian government should consider the detrimental consequences of their actions before embarking on such ill-judged reforms," said the head of the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Guy Ryder. "Unmanaged privatization propounded by the Indian government can have a devastating impact on the lives of workers and their families," he said.
Tuesday's action, calling for lawmakers to vote against the proposed changes, was criticized by Indian industry as "unfortunate." "It is the small businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals who bear the brunt of the disruption of essential services caused by the nationwide strike," said the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Sanjeev Goenka, stressing the financial losses to government.
Labor leaders, however, sought to stress that the day's financial losses were a direct result of current and proposed government policies. "Why blame workers when the onus is on the government?" Varadarajan asked, adding that the proposed amendment should be scrapped.