Trade unions organised rallies and public events across the State to mark Labour Day on Monday, stressing the need to maintain constant vigil to protect workers’ rights.
Anathalavattom Anandan, State president of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), hoisted the flag as part of the May Day observance at the CITU State committee office in Thiruvananthapuram. The CITU later organised a rally in the evening in the capital.
The INTUC, Thiruvananthapuram district committee, organised a May Day rally from the Martyrs’ Column at Palayam to the Government Secretariat at Statue. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala inaugurated the public meeting. As part of the AITUC’s observance, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran hoisted the flag and delivered the May Day message at Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram.
Well-attended rallies and public meetings were organised in all districts, trade union leaders said.
In a May Day message, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Labour Day observance is extremely relevant at a time when neoliberal capitalist policies are encroaching upon labour rights in the country. In a Facebook message, Mr. Vijayan slammed the labour policies of the BJP government at the Centre, saying the latter could only provide 7.22 lakh jobs in government service and the public sector in the 2014-2022 period across the country. In the Indian Railway alone, 3 lakh vacancies are lying unfilled, he said. In comparison, the Kerala government has provided over 2 lakh jobs through the PSC in the last seven years, he said.
United stand
As workers celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Labour Day celebrations in India this year, they are faced with complex problems, CITU state general secretary Elamaram Kareem said in a message. Mr. Kareem called for a united stand against the anti-worker, pro-corporate policies of the BJP government. In many places, workers are engaged in struggles to retain the rights they have won over the years, Mr. Kareem said.
May Day was duly observed under the auspices of District Committee of Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Thiruvananthapuram chapter. P. Sadasivan Pillai, the first State president of BEFI, hoisted the flag at the BEFI Centre. BEFI district president Sajeev Kumar presided over the meeting.
