May Day was celebrated in the city by the Joint Committee of Trade Unions who vowed to reclaim the rights of the workers, here on Wednesday.
The committee members said that though May Day was a festival for all workers, it was also an occasion to resolve to reclaim their rights, which, the activists said, was being obliterated under the current anti-labour policies of the government.
While there was a move to increase the working hours it was also accompanied by reforms that made it easier for industries to adopt a hire and fire policy, the activists added.
The trade union members said world wide there was an uproar against the new economic policies which were favorable to the investors or the capitalist class while in India the latter had joined hands with the communal forces. There was an unethical understanding among the political parties and the corporates which was having a negative bearing on the working class whose living conditions were deteriorating, said the trade union members.
It was imperative to fight the communal politics and the pro-corporate policies as it has failed to resolves issues pertaining to education, employment, health, livelihood etc, according to the joint action committee which said that the working class was being subjected to exploitation.
The JCTU flayed the 10 years of rule of Modi government and said that there was a systematic attack on workers’ rights and dilution of their job security through policy changes. While thousands of crores of rupees of loan of corporates have been waived off by the Government, it has failed to bail out the farmers in distress, according to JCTU which urged the workers to vote out the BJP at the Centre in the ongoing elections.
Members of various trade unions including AITUC, CITU, AIUTUC and AICCTU were present.
