The UPA 2 Government, which was concerned over the drop in GDP growth rates, was ever ready to serve the corporates. On the contrary, the multi-million working people, suffering from joblessness and job losses were not so fortunate as to attract the attention of the Government. Though elected to power by the people's votes, the Manmohan Singh Government behaved as if it was of the corporates and for the corporates.

One after the other, stimulus packages running into crores of people's money were provided to the corporate sector and tax concessions to meet the challenges of the global economic crisis and slowdown. Labour laws ceased to exist in their case; the Government's dispute conciliation machinery was also rendered ineffective. The plea of the central trade union organisations (CTUOs) that stimulus packages should be linked to employment did not register with the Government.

The Jet Airways pilots' strike and the Government's silence on the issue were significant pointers to the industrial relations climate under the new regime. If the pilots had not firmly stood their ground, the Government's silence on the workers' basic right to form a union would have encouraged the managements to crush the pilots' strike. Another case with a slight difference was Air India's senior pilots' strike on the management's arbitrary decision on wage cut. The management had to climb down there too when it was faced with the solidarity of Air India ground staff with the pilots.

The Government's attitude of unconcern on the two airlines' pilots' issue was noted nationally and internationally because of the sector concerned. A similar issue of the right to form union is the basis of workers' struggle since 2005 in the Auto Enterprises cluster in Gurgaon. Haryana police's brutal attacks on peacefully demonstrating Honda workers in 2005 were witnessed on TV channels all over the country. The UPA government-1 was embarrassed with the result that immediate steps were taken to 'sort out the matter”. But the issue of unionisation remained.

The workers' struggle again erupted this year in Rico Auto Company in Gurgaon. One worker died because of attack by employer's goons. The long simmering discontent erupted in various other Auto enterprises, workers gathered at the Rico Auto's gates in thousands. The State Government had to finally intervene and bring about a settlement. Rico Auto management agreed to pay compensation to the killed worker's family, take back a number of dismissed workers, etc. Interestingly, the State Government too agreed that the pending applications for registration of unions would be cleared at the earliest - a pointer to the fact that the Haryana Government was itself jettisoning the formation of unions in the Gurgaon Auto enterprises.

The cases of technologically advanced sectors like Jet Airways, Air India and Gurgaon Auto Enterprises cluster have been mentioned only to underline that UPA-2 Government's policy towards organised and unorganised working people in the country is most unresponsive and lacks transparency and accountability. This is so despite the fact the Government leaders often talk about the need to be transparent and accountable. As for the Prime Minister, he seems to be allergic to the organised labour. For reasons best known to him, he has been avoiding inauguration of the Indian Labour Conference. More recently, the nine central trade union organisations had held a convention on September 14 after which a CTUO delegation met the Prime Minister on September 17 and placed before him their problems and remedial suggestions. The PM told them that he would call for reports from the concerned ministries and meet them again. CTUOs are waiting for the PM's invitation, though three months have elapsed and the sun is setting on the year 2009 itself.

The CTUOs have of course taken longer than needed time to realise that the Manmohan Singh Government is all for corporates' profits in the name of ensuring GDP growth and all against workers' interests notwithstanding its claim to be generating employment. They took a long time to realise that the Government was deliberately permitting managements both in the public and private sector enterprises to flout labour laws, especially the Contract Labour Act with the result that contract and casual workers are being employed even in jobs of perennial nature. It also seems to have dawned on all CTUOs including INTUC owing allegiance to the Congress that the division in the trade union movement was being utilised by the employers and the UPA-2 Government to deny workers their long-won rights to social security, rational wages, working hours, etc.

It is this realisation that has brought them together to evolve a common outlook on some of the urgent issues facing workers and economy, and plan a nationwide joint struggle. For instance, at a joint meeting in July at the INTUC headquarters, five major CTUOs — INTUC, BMS, AITUC, HMS and CITU — and four junior CTUOs — AICCTU, AIUTUC, UTUC and TUCC - identified common issues: rising prices of essential commodities, continuing job losses, non-implementation and rampant violation of labour laws, extreme inadequacy of provisions and schemes under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008, need for a national fund for the Unorganised sector as recommended by NCEUS and move of the Government for disinvestment in profit-making PSUs. The July meeting decided to hold a national convention on September 14, submitted a joint memorandum to the PM. Their nationwide protest on October 28 and massive dharna before Parliament on December 16 were also joint affairs.

It is expected that the urgency of the joint movement to defend workers' job demands and other rights has percolated to the ranks of each CTUO. If this has happened, it would be a valuable contribution of 2009 to the country's labour movement. Nine of them again met at INTUC office on December 23 and decided to hold joint satyagraha, demonstrations, etc. on March 5, 2010.

Year 2009 has a message, too: the CTUOs have to further consolidate their joint movement in 2010, rally more and more workers into the joint movement, especially those who are silent sufferers in the industrial sector. Not only that. The Government claims to be providing employment to 40 million workers in 619 districts at Rs 100 per person per day under NREGA.

A Government-civil society joint survey of panchayat works under NREGA in Bhilwara (home district of Union Rural Development Minister CP Joshi) has revealed appalling corruption. And Rajasthan is said to be the flagship state of NREGA! The Government's claims need to be tested in other States, too. The organised labour's joint movement has to attend to employment problems in rural areas, as also of the growing number of educated youth.

The organised labour has to develop the wherewithal in 2010 to be able to face this onerous but unavoidable task. (IPA Service)