Cutting across party lines, the workers have vowed to step up struggles demanding that the new Labour codes brought out by the BJP-led government at the Centre be scrapped immediately.
Huge processions were taken out by the members of various trade unions, which included Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), and Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), to mark the International Workers’ Day on Sunday.
They raised slogans against the new codes – the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Social Security Code, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code – which they alleged had taken away the workers’ rights achieved through long-drawn struggles.
The union members painted the town red with colourful buntings and flexis to commemorate the achievements of the labour movement.
Unfurling the CPI flag, its former MLC and State Committee member P.J. Chandrasekar exhorted the workers to gear up for a Chicago-like struggle by women to thwart the Union government’s move to dismantle the eight-hour working day rule.
Sale of PSUs
The Centre was making all attempts to sell away the public sector units (PSUs) through its National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), said CPI district secretary M.L. Narayana after unfurling the party flag at Darsi.
IFTU leader Ch. Venkateswarlu underscored the need for a protracted struggle to oust the “anti-labour government at the Centre,” which, he alleged, had infringed upon the rights of the workers achieved through protracted struggles.
Activists of Arunodaya, an outfit of the CPI(ML) New Democracy, performed a skit to highlight the “anti-labour policies” of the Union government.
Price rise
Speaking on the occasion, CPI(M) district secretary P. Anjaneyulu called for a united struggle by all sections of people, including farmers and industrial workers, against the “anti-people policies” of the Centre, which, he alleged, had made the lives of the common people miserable through hefty hike in the prices of fuel as it had a cascading effect on the prices of all essential commodities at a time when they were struggling to recover from the COVID-induced economic crisis.
May Day celebrations were organised by the workers in Markapur, Yerragondapalem, Podili and Kanigiri towns in Prakasam district.
