In response to the call for All India Agitation Week given by All Indian United Trade Union Centre (AITUC), members and office-bearers of the organisation held gate meetings at railway divisional offices here on Thursday, distributed pamphlets and submitted a memorandum pertaining to various demands.
The All India Agitation Week is being held opposing the BJP-led Union government’s move to privatise public sector companies, including the Railways, the recent amendments to farm bills, anti-labour policies and to press for various demands of workers of the unorganised sector. On Thursday, the protest was against the move to privatise the Railways.
During the gate meetings at the divisional railway offices of the Hubballi Division of the South Western Railway (SWR) here on Thursday, Dharwad district unit president Gangadhar Badiger said that during the second tenure of the Modi-led Union government, anti-labour and anti-people policies were being implemented without any hesitation and what was even shocking was that even profit-making public sector undertakings were being offered on a platter to private companies. The move had resulted in the loss of lakhs of job opportunities for the youths of the country, he said.
He said that because of the ill-planned and sudden lockdown imposed upon the country crores of construction and migrant workers were thrown to the streets and their life had not improved till date. “At a time when workers were looking at the government for help, the government has, instead, misused the situation to bring in more anti-labour and pro-corporate measures, which is highly condemnable. It is a clear indication that the government is acting at the behest of private companies,” he said.
After the gate meetings and distribution of pamphlets, the protestors submitted a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister to the officials of the Divisional Railway Manager. Their demands included dropping of the project to run 151 private trains on 109 routes, no closure of railway workshops, agencies, hospitals and colonies or sale of railway property, filling vacant posts in railways, no handing over railway production units to corporate houses and others. Along with Mr. Badiger, AITUC office-bearers Ramesh Hoasamani, G.S. Petere, Gangadhar Dalabadi, Goodusab Kaladagi and others led the agitation and the gate meetings.
As part of the agitation week, workers of the unorganised sector are scheduled to stage a protest on Friday, scheme workers on Saturday and migrant workers on Sunday. A protest against privatisation of power supply and coal sector is scheduled to take place on October 5, against privatisation of banking and other financial institutions on October 6 and against labour law amendments on October 7.
