The complaint is in protest against the Chief Minister’s failure to act on the INTUC’s long-standing demand for removal of the State Labour Minister, Shibu Baby John, who belongs to the Revolutionary Socialist Party(RSP), a constituent of the ruling United Democratic Front(UDF).

The INTUC has been waging a concerted campaign against Shibu Baby John for what it considers the Labour Minister’s anti-labour policies over the years. Kerala INTUC president R. Chandrashekharan is on record that, despite repeated requests the Labour Minister has refused to concede its legitimate demands, and act in the interests of the workers.

Irked by Shibu Baby John’s attitude, the INTUC has intensified its campaign by demanding that the Congress, which heads the UDF, should take over the labour portfolio to prevent a further deterioration in the labour situation obtaining in the State.

The INTUC’s tough stance has put Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in a piquant situation. The CM, who is already under tremendous pressure, thanks to the host of problems created by the rampant group war within the Congress and the acts of some UDF constituents, is simply not in a position to concede the INTUC demand because of the compulsions of coalition politics.

The changed political scenario in the State in the wake of the Lok Sabha elections has added to the problems of the CM. The RSP has emerged stronger after the Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, the RSP faction, which left the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) before the Lok Sabha elections following the LDF’s refusal to allot the Kollam seat to it, now has three MLAs following its merger with the Shibu Baby John-led RSP(B), which is a partner in the UDF.

Conceding the INTUC demand for taking over the labour portfolio, would deepen the crisis which the UDF is already facing on many counts. Any precipitate action against the RSP at this crucial juncture would be nothing short of a disaster resulting in the unravelling of the UDF. That explains the Chief Minister’s deafening silence on the demand made by the pro-Congress trade union.

INTUC chief Chandrashekharan’s acting tough has to be viewed also against the ongoing war of nerves between the Oommen Chandy-led ‘A’ group and the ‘I’ group headed by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala. Chandrashekharan is known as an I group loyalist. That being the reality, the INTUC move is being construed as yet another attempt to embarrass the Chief Minister, who is at odds with the ‘I’ group over his move to reconstitute the State Cabinet.

It may be mentioned that Chandrashekharan had crossed swords with another Oommen Chandy loyalist, Prathap Varma Thampan sometime back when the latter was the Kollam District Congress Committee president. Thampan had incurred the wrath of the Kerala INTUC chief by directing the Congress activists to rush to Kochi to attend a rally addressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, ignoring an INTUC conference being held at the same time! Thampan’s move had forced KPCC president V M Sudheeran to intervene and issue a directive to the Congress workers to attend the INTUC conference in large numbers and make it a thumping success. Months later, Thampan was stripped of the Kollam DCC chief’s post. (IPA)