In Solidarity with the Nationwide General Strike!

 

In Solidarity with the Nationwide General Strike!

Scrap Farm Bills!

Withdraw anti-Labour Reforms!

Stop Privatisation of PSUs!

New Delhi, November 23, 2020: Financial Accountability Network India (FAN India) stands in solidarity with the nation-wide general strike on 26th November called by the trade unions demanding withdrawal of anti-worker wage/labour codes and other anti-labour reforms, to stop corporatisation and privatisation of railways, defense and postal departments among other demands.

The decision was taken on October 2nd, 2020 in a virtual National Convention of Workers organized by Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC), Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) and United Trade Union Congress (UTUC) and independent federations and associations. The unions also highlighted that this one day strike is in preparation for more intense, more tenacious and longer struggles that lie ahead. In a historical move, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) that has been part of the farmers’ protests against the draconian Farm Act, All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) that have lead strikes against privatization of power sector and scrapping of Electricity (Amendment) Bill have also extended their solidarity for the 26th November strike.

The Banking unions, including RBI union have joined the strike against privatization of banks, outsourcing bank jobs, actions against willful defaulters and also demanding increasing the rate of interest that customers are currently offered on deposits and reducing bank charges.

In the past few months, the fight against privatization and other anti-workers move by the government has intensified across the country. Recently the UP Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti had pushed back the state government’s plan for the dissolution and privatisation of the power distribution company Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited.

The government on the other hand is on an anti-people, anti-workers and anti-national mission to privatize PSUs and refuses to back down despite the mounting protests across the public sector workers. To move ahead with the privatization plan at a time when the country’s economy is in a recession will only result in an unprecedented economic crisis that will cripple the country’s economy for years to come.

The pandemic has been clearly brought to fore the fault lines in our economic growth pushed by neo-liberal policies and their limitations. It was the public sector and the working class people of this country who had risked their lives as frontline workers during lockdown. The only way to reverse the economic catastrophe is by strengthening the public sector unions and public institutions that employ crores of workers, to begin to move towards a more sustainable and just economy.

FAN India stands in solidarity with the historic call for by the Central Trade Unions and the protest actions of AIKSCC on 26th, 27th and 28th November.

About FAN India:

Financial Accountability Network India (FAN India) is a collective of civil society organisations, unions, people’s movements and concerned citizens to raise the issues of accountability & transparency of national financial institutions and economic issues impacting peoples’ lives.

For more information, please contact:
Priya Dharshini, +91 – 93115 48645
Financial Accountability Network India (FAN India)
[email protected]

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