By P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 24-hour nationwide general strike on February 12 called by 10 trade unions handed out a stern warning to the Union Government and hinted at stronger steps if it failed to roll back the “anti-working class and pro-corporate” Labour Codes.
Expectedly, Kerala led the nation in the countrywide protest, and the general strike acquired the proportions of a “bandh” in the State.
Life came to a halt in the State with commercial activities coming to a standstill. Shops remained closed; The strike’s impact was most visible in the rural areas which are angry over the Union Government’s decision to “scuttle” the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which assures the rural population a life of dignity and the unskilled workers minimum wage days.
The hardest hit sector was transport with private and public stage carrier services grinding to a halt, affecting attendance in offices. Autorickshaws also stayed off the road. Even taxi and online food ordering and delivery services were hit severely. Hotels and restaurants were no exception, and extended solidarity with the general strike by closing their doors.
Inter-State freight movement was also disrupted as trucks remained parked along the highways. Most of the schools and colleges were also closed as teachers’ unions and student organisations supporting the general strike. Government offices, including the Secretariat, reported thin attendance, ignoring the dies non declared by the administration.
The strike has been called by as many as 10 trade unions including the CITU, AITUC, INTUC, HMS, AIUTUC, TUCC, Sewa, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC. A notable absentee was the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, affiliated to the BJP.
The strike saw the participation of agriculture workers, bank and insurance employees apart from the workers of coal, electricity and defence.
The strike was also in protest against anti-people Union Budget and a sell-out deal with the United States of America.
The four new labour will replace the existing 29 labour laws which recognized the rights of the labour class to some extent.
Besides the rollback of the four labour codes, the TUs also demanded the withdrawal of the ‘rightwing revanchist’ National Education Policy (NEP) of the Union Government.
The TUs had exempted private travel, including to airports, railway stations and hospitals from the general strike. Kochi Metro and train services operated as usual.
Meanwhile, the strike also witnessed a raging debate on the effectiveness of the general strike as a political weapon. The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDFP) in Kerala and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) were sharply divided on the strike’s efficacy.
The row saw CPI(M) state secretary M. V. Govindan accusing the Congress of stopping the party’s trade union, the Indian National Trade Union Congress(INTUC) from joining the workers’ struggle.
Govindan exposed the hypocrisy of the Congress, which ignored the directive of even the Congress High Command to express solidarity with the strike. While the LDF had postponed by a day its Vikas Munnetra Yatra to express solidarity with the striking workers, across the country, Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan went ahead with the UDF’s Puthuyuga Yatra. By doing so, the Congress virtually sided with the Union Government the policies of which are depriving the working class of their hard-earned rights secured through long and sustained struggles lasting many years.
Countering the Congress’s narrative, CITU general secretary Elamaram Karim claimed that the general strike had great contemporary relevance. It was a timely action aimed at stopping the Union Government from implementing 12-hour days, six-day weeks, contract employment, and the lack of benefits, including provident fund, pension and medical coverage.
The strike also had an interesting sidelight, which was quite instructive. The reporter of a prominent pro-right daily went around seeking the opinion of the people on the strike. During his interaction, he ran into two foreigners – a Frenchman and a German. When asked what he thought about the strike which he claimed disrupted life in the State, the Frenchman said that France was used to such strikes. In fact, he said his country witnesses a strike every fortnight! The reporter was obviously trying to coax out a negative opinion from the Frenchman. But the foreigner refused to play ball, and the reporter ended up with egg on his face! The German refused to oblige the Reporter either. He also said that Germany also witnesses strikes. There is nothing new about it!
Labour laws came into existence in the country post-Independence. The laws were enacted on the recommendations of the first Labour Commission headed by Justice Gajendra Gadkar. The recommendations were in consonance with the directive principles of the Constitution. The Second Labour Commission formed during the tenure of the Vajpayee-led Union Government submitted proposals aimed at diluting the pro-labour recommendations on the first Commission. However, the efforts came to grief in view of the united resistance offered by the trade unions.
Since 1991 which saw the advent of globalization, the Union Government enacted labour laws in line with the interests of the capitalists, global Multi-National Corporations and MNCs in the country. These anti-labour policies gained traction and speed with the assumption of power by the Modi Government in 2014.
The period thereafter saw the rights secured by the workers being taken away. Parliament passed the four new labour codes in 2019-20. Ironically, the “Code on Wages” introduced in 2019 was supported b y the Congress. The Left parties and the DMK, however, opposed it. The Opposition boycotted Parliament when the other three codes were introduced in the House.
In the aftermath of the new labour codes, formation of trade unions has become difficult. The right to collective bargaining is in danger. To cite an instance, the trade union formed by the workers of Samson company in Tamil Nadu was denied recognition. It was only after the workers launched a over-two-month-long struggle that the trade union secured registration. (IPA Service)
