Neo-liberal policies hard on common people, Udupi CITU

Neo-liberal policies hard on common people, Udupi CITU

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Sep 03, 2016: As per reports, JCTU, Joint Committee of Trade Unions, as part of the nation-wide general strike, P. Vishwanath Rai, president of the Udupi district unit of CITU, Centre of Indian Trade Unions said on  Sept 2, Friday that the neo-liberal policies of the Union government had hit farmers, labourers and the common man hard. He was speaking after the culmination of a procession taken out by members. Joint Committee of Trade Unions (JCTU), as part of the nation-wide general strike, here.   Procession, which began from the Divisional Office of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, culminated at the Founder’s Branch of Corporation Bank.

 

CITU’s Rai said that the prices of essential commodities had seen a steep rise. The poor had to struggle to purchase them. The prices of pulses had skyrocketed. Hence, the government should strengthen the public distribution system and distribute all essential commodities through it.

It was impossible for workers to lead durable lives until there was a hike in the minimum wages. The workers should be provided at least Rs. 18,000 per month as minimum wages. To make the country a most-sought after destination for big companies, the labour laws were being diluted. This was wrong. The government should instead strengthen the labour laws and see to it that they were strictly implemented.

Labour courts should be established in all district headquarters. Social security benefits should be provided to all the workers in the unorganised sector. They should be provided with Provident Fund facility.

The Union government should not permit Foreign Direct Investment in Railways, Defence, civil aviation, insurance and retail sectors. This would be tantamount to surrendering important sectors to foreign investors. The disinvestment policies of the Union government would bring more harm than good to the country, Mr. Rai said.

Admar Sripathi Acharya, convener of the district unit of JCTU, U. Gurudutt of All India Insurance Employees Association, K.V. Bhat of All India Trade Unions Congress, Shashidhar Golla of BSNL Employees Union, Herald D’Souza and Ravindra, labour leaders, took part.