DYFI Kerala State Conference From Jan. 8

DYFI Kerala State conference will be held in the capital City of Thiruvananthapuram from Jan 8 to 11, said T V Rajesh, DYFI state secretary at a press conference organised to give the details of the state conference. The Conference will be attended by 699 delegates, which include 137 women delgates. The conference will be inaugurated by young science activist Prabir Purkayasata. The delegate session will be held at AKG hall. Com. V S Achuthanandan will inaugurate a seminar on the evening of Jan 8th. On the concluding day a rally of 1 lakh youth has been planned and the concluding day meeting at Sangumugam Beach will be inaugurated by CPIM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. It is after 27 years (Second State Conference, 1983 ) that Thiruvananthapuram is going to host the conference of biggest youth organisation in the state. The membership of the organisation has increased from 4611313 to 4929066 since the last state conference held at Kannur during 2007. Various events are been conducted as part of the conference throughout the state.

MNCs must also be brought under labour laws: CITU

CUDDALORE: The Centre should subscribe to the International Labour Organisation convention on the right to form trade unions and collective bargaining so as to bring all domestic establishments and multinational companies within the ambit of labour laws.

The ongoing 11th State conference of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) passed a resolution in this regard on Tuesday. Briefing reporters , A.Soundararajan, CITU State general secretary, said that to scuttle the laws the MNCs had set up workers’ committees as their handmaids through whom they forced their decisions on the employees.

Any dissenting voice was an anathema to the MNCs who either victimise or resort to penal transfer to faraway places of those employees who dare form trade unions. They were in the habit of bringing their own officials, engineers, technicians and even labourers from other places, thereby denying job avenues to the local people, except in the human relations and industrial relations sections.

The labour force was generally being exploited through contract, trainee and apprenticeship routes with great wage disparity. Thus, he said, the MNCs were violating Constitutional provisions relating to the right to form trade unions and collective bargaining.

Mr. Soundararajan pointed out that the proposal not to extend the period of apprenticeship beyond one year was pending consent before the President for the past four years. It urged the Centre and Tamil Nadu government to emulate the West Bengal and Maharashtra governments that had passed legislation for recognising the trade unions through secret ballots, preventing anti-labour measures and giving freedom to employees to join the trade union of their choice.

Mr. Soundararajan said the CITU also voiced concern over the exploitation of about two lakh women in the age group of 16-17 years by textile mills across the State under the Thirumagal Thirumana Thittam or Sumangali Thittam.

They were treated just as camp coolies who had to work for 12 hours a day without any leave for a period on meagre wages and at the end of three-four years they were being paid Rs.30,000. In certain cases, women employees were prematurely sacked, denying them the terminal benefits.

The union condemned the denial of democratic rights such as conducting public meetings and staging agitations, and expressed dismay over undue delay in disposal of labour-related cases.

It opposed disinvestment in the public sector undertakings and called for smooth functioning of the welfare boards, Mr. Soundararajan added. District secretary G.Sugumaran was also present.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)

Cultural programmes held as precursor to AIKS national meet

Praja Natya Mandali troupes regale audience

GUNTUR: Revolutionary songs and skits by Praja Natya Mandali troupes from all over the country sent out messages of agrarian struggle through their songs and dance at the A.C. College here on Tuesday.

The cultural programme began as a precursor to the All India Kisan Saha national symposium beginning here on Thursday. Singers from Hyderabad, Medak, Sangareddy, Nalgonda, Guntur and Khammam participated in the day’s events, which started off with an energetic song on agricultural crisis in Andhra Pradesh, which was initially hit by drought conditions and later by excess rains and floods.

Performers concentrated on the continued sway of the private investors on tenant farmers, as institutional finance was not available to this class of people. Some of the prominent singers included Rajesh, Narsimha, Venkata Reddy and Ananad, who were directed by event coordinator P.V. Ramana, who himself dished out a couple of songs. In the morning a Prabhata Bheri was taken out with drummers and artistes going out on the streets to announce the programmes.

The team from Maharashtra also performed at which Rupa, a Praja Natya Mandali artiste performed on the stage with an AIKS flag.

Entire city was painted red with AIKS flags and banners tied all along the main streets and near the venue.

The main venue for discussions Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram has been readied and renamed Harkishna Singh Surjeet Nagar.

Exhibition

On Wednesday an exhibition of cattle and agricultural produce from the region would be on display at the Wolf Hall Grounds and the main attraction would be art works and photographs of some of the historical agrarian movements in the country with their history.

National symposium organising secretary P. Narasimha Rao said cultural delegates from Maharashtra and West Bengal had arrived and some others wishing to participate in the discussions had arrived in advance in view of the strife in the State. All arrangements had been made for the delegates coming from other states and other cities in Andhra Pradesh.

Courtesy : The Hindu)