Total trade union unity cutting across party affiliations was witnessed in the protest against the Government’s move for privatization of ilmenite sand mining. The trade unions are of the firm view that ilmenite sand mining should be restricted to public sector enterprises.

In the process, the TUs also erased the embarrassment caused by a march, taken out by some TUs, last month, demanding that a private company be allowed to undertake ilmenite sand mining. That move had drawn all-round flak. The trade unions which participated in that march realized their mistake, and actively participated in the December march.

The latest march was organized primarily by the employees of public sector mineral companies like the Indian Rare Earths Limited(IRE), Travancore Titanium Products(Ltd) and Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited(KMML). Expressing their solidarity, hundreds of workers belonging to AITUC, CITU, INTUC, BMS, UTUC, STU, KTU(M) and MSWA also participated in the march against the privatization move.

The Government had initiated the privatisation move on the specious plea that smuggling of sand was on the rise, and there was no option but to allow private firms also into the field to prevent it.

CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan who inaugurated the march, said the people were the ultimate custodians of mineral sand. He said while they were not against private companies like the Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Ltd(CMRL), the PSEs should be given priority in mineral sand mining.

It was a refreshing spectacle with leaders belonging to various political parties also participating in the march. Among the leaders present on the occasion were CPI leader C. Divakaran, Congress MLA T N Prathapan and CITU state secretary Elamaram Karim.

Even State Labour Minister Shibu Baby John, who belongs to the RSP(B), which is a constituent of the ruling United Democratic Front(UDF) coalition has set his face firmly against privatization of mineral sand mining. The Minister said that mineral sand mining should only be in the public sector, and that private companies should not be allowed to take to sand mining.

The December march was a welcome repeat of the unity shown by the trade unions in February when 11 TUs organized a two-day national strike on February 20 and 21 in support of their 10-point charter of demands.

It may be mentioned that a poor woman from Kerala, Jaseera, accompanied by her three children, has been protesting at Jantar Mantar in the national capital against illegal sand mining rampant in coastal Kerala.

The protest, which hogged national headlines, saw the National Human Rights Commission asking the Kerala government to file a report on the issue within two weeks. (IPA)