The All India Coordination Committee of Road Transport Workers’ Organisations comprising the Road Transport Workers’ Federtaions/unions of almost all affiliations have been consistently opposing through various forms of countrywide agitations including strikes the disastrous move of the Govt of India to amend the Motor Vehicles Act to include retrograde provisions to the detriment of public interests.
The proposed Bill, if enacted will pave the way for destruction of state-owned public transport corporations, wherever it is there; this will expedite the process of complete privatization of public transport system and take-over of them by big private corporates leading to monopolization and enhancement of the public transport fares to the detriment interest of the common working people; this Bill will also lead to mass-scale victimization of the road transport workers engaged in both public transport and goods transport including the small transport operators; the strike is also against the frequent rise in diesel and petrol prices making the public transport costlier for the people at large. There are other issues too.
The Bill was last deliberated upon in Rajya Sabha in the current Monsoon Session which witnessed loud opposition of the Bill from many political parties of the opposition and the Bill is yet to be passed by Parliament.
The All India Coordination Committee of Road Transport Workers’ Organisations of which the CITU led federation-the All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation (AIRTWF) is an active constituent has now given a call for countrywide strike by Road Transport workers on 7th August 2018 to voice their strong opposition against the retrograde Bill.
CITU extends its full support to the road transport workers’ united strike action on 7th August 2018 and calls upon the trade union movement and its affiliates all over the country to express solidarity to the transport workers strike on peoples’ cause in a big way to make the strike a total success.
Issued by
( Tapan Sen )
General Secretary
