The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) plans to launch an indefinite dharna in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on July 18 in protest against the alleged anti-labour and anti-people policies of the Government.
S. Prasannakumar, general secretary of the State unit of the CITU, told presspersons here on Wednesday that the Government was not addressing the problems of the working class on the one hand and, on the other, was using police force to suppress the rights of the people, particularly the working class whenever they demanded wages. “The Bharatiya Janata Party Government, which is involved in several scams, including land-grabbing, is ignoring the rights of the working class even after several protests. Hence, we are compelled to intensify the agitation by launching an indefinite dharna in front of the Vidhana Soudha in which members of the union from across the State will participate,” he said.
The demands of the union include increasing the minimum wage to Rs. 10,000 a month, convening a meeting of the experts' committee for finalising the fixation of minimum wages, abolition of the contract labour system and regularisation of the services of existing contract workers and equal pay for equal work. The union has urged the Government to control the rise in prices of essential commodities. Steps should be taken to extend the benefits of all welfare schemes to the unorganised sector through Social Security Board, the union has said. The CITU also wants the Government to withdraw the new pension scheme, which was tied to the volatile share market, and come out with a constructive pension scheme that would benefit anganwadi workers and others in the unorganised sectors.
