The strike action is taking place at a crucial time of both Indian polity and economy. At the political level, the country is witnessing unprecedented agitation by the opposition political parties, civil society and mainly the students and the women demanding the withdrawal of the divisive Citizens Amendment Act (CAA) and their opposition to the proposed NRC and the NPR. The movement has been conducted in a peaceful manner but still in the BJP led states, the government machinery has pounced upon the agitators and till now more than 25 persons have been killed including 19 in Uttar Pradesh alone.

The intensity of the anti Modi-Shah movement is accompanied by further deterioration of the Indian economy. The GDP has reached its lowest level in recent years and the unemployment is at 45 year high. The situation is expected to turn worse in the coming days as the big spurt in the oil prices due to the latest tensions in the Middle East, will hit India badly and the year 2020 will be affected adversely most. The conditions of the workers will further deteriorate as the jobs will be less and there will be more layoffs and retrenchment. The steep rise in the prices of commodities has made the common workers more poorer.

The Labour Ministry did not seriously take up discussions with the central trade unions to avert the general strike at the meeting on January 2. “The ministry failed to offer any concrete solutions on our demands for betterment of workers. We shall go ahead with the nationwide strike," said Sukumar Damle, secretary, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC).

Damle, who was part of the team that met labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar and other top officials of the labour ministry, said there was little assurance on key issues, including a demand for higher minimum wages, roll-back of unilateral labour reform, a comprehensive social security programme for informal workers, and withdrawal of mass contractualisation of workforce.

The labour ministry had called for a meeting to discuss three broad areas: Functioning of the employees’ state insurance corporation (ESIC), the charter of demand of trade unions and issues related to the “welfare of workmen". The ministry is looking to expand the scope of ESIC to offer medical facilities to non-industrial workers.

A.R. Sindhu, national secretary, Centre for Indian Trade Union (CITU), said the meeting with ministry officials was called in a hurry and that the unions were informed just a day in advance. It “seemed to be aimed at creating a perception that the government favours wider consultations", Sindhu added.

“This time, you will see a more robust national protest with workers of formal and informal sectors, students and flagship scheme workers joining on 8 January. The protest will be bottoms up: From villages to the national capital," said Sindhu.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated union, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), decided went ahead with a separate strike on January 3 against the government’s labour reforms to highlight some provisions it says are anti-worker.

In a joint memorandum submitted to Gangwar, all central unions, barring BMS, said on Thursday that despite vehement opposition, the Centre is bringing in a Labour Code on Social Security, which does not “cover 93% of the workmen who are in the unorganized sector".

Six bank unions will go on strike on January 8 to show their support for the central trade unions’ strike call on the same day. In a notification to the stock exchanges, State Bank of India (SBI) said that it has been informed about the strike by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).

AIBEA (All India Bank Employees’ Association), AIBOA (All India Bank Officers’ Association), BEFI (Bank Employees Federation of India), INBEF (Indian National Bank Employees’ Federation), INBOC (Indian National Bank Officers Congress) and BKSM (Bank Karmachari Sena Mahasangh) have given a notice to go on nationwide bank strike on January 8, 2020.

The bank unions are also demanding a rollback of banking reforms proposed by the government and the plan to merge 10 state-owned banks into four. The unions are opposing the reduction in public sector banks’ workforce and branch networks. Another incidental issue is to expedite wage revision. The IBA and the bank unions have been long entangled in talks to arrive at a consensus for a revision in wages of bank employees. The revision exercise last took place in 2017.

The BMS in its statement called for brakes on the government's disinvestment programme including strategic sale, corporatisation and privatisation of public sector undertakings. "Foreign Direct Investment and corporatisation of defence sector is a matter of national security. Corporatisation of Railways, which is an essential service and lifeline of Indian cities, must be stopped," he said.

BMS appreciated the government's efforts to codify existing labour laws into four codes. However, the organisation sought further fine-tuning of a number of provisions in the codes that are effectively anti-labour and hurt the general interest of workers. Stating that the anti-labour provisions in the labour codes must be removed, the organisation blamed the bureaucratic set-up of the country for being in alleged 'nexus with industries/industrialists' to downgrade the bargaining power and other rights of workers.

The BMS also called for proper implementation of the existing labour laws, especially the one that prescribes minimum wages for workers. "Laws have existed for a long time and the intent of policymakers has been clear but the laws have not been able to change the practices on ground due to lose enforcement. A number of accidents at the workplace could have been prevented with proper implementation of existing laws. It is the non-implementation of the laws that often drives the trade unions to confrontations," BMS pointed out.

So the January 8 general strike is going to be a total one. BMS may not have official joined, but the organisation has extended moral support. Modi regime has got isolated among the working class.
(IPA Service)