CITU Salutes The Coal Workers

Centre of Indian Trade Unions heartily congratulates and salutes the coal workers of the country for the historic total strike on 24th September 2019. The coal workers went on strike against the decision of the BJP government led by Modi to allow 100% FDI through the automatic route in extraction and sale of coal.

The BJP government has allowed 100% FDI in coal mining through the automatic route. The foreign companies can not only extract coal from our coal mines but also sell them at market prices including exporting it. The government allowed these profits to be siphoned off to their countries. By going on a total strike against this the coal workers have once again proved that it is they, as part of the working class, who are really determined to protect the interests of the nation. Through the strike they have expressed their strong patriotic feelings.

On the contrary the BJP, its government and its Prime Minister Modi have once again exposed that their topmost priority is to serve their corporate masters, domestic and foreign. Patriotism and nationalism for them are only rhetoric meant to fool the people. Despite the decision of the workers to go on strike, the government went ahead with issuing the notification.

Through their total strike opposing free entry to foreign companies not only to mine coal from our country’s coal mines but also to sell and export it at market price, not only pocket profits through such sales but also to siphon off these profits out of the country, the coal workers have proved that it is they, a part of the working class that is determined to protect the nation’s interests; that it is the working class which is patriotic.

It is to be recalled that around a century ago, 50000 workers passed a resolution calling for ‘swaraj’ in a meeting called by the first national trade union centre of the country, the All India Trade Union Congress in Jharia coal belt. Today lakhs of coal workers in around 600 mining establishments spread across 82 mining areas in the country had to go on strike to protect national interests and national sovereignty which the BJP government is determined to mortgage.

The united trade union movement has called an open mass convention on 30th September 2019 near Parliament to announce a struggle programme against such sell of the country’s natural resources, its public sector and attack workers’ basic rights and benefits to the profit greedy corporates.

CITU appeals to all the workers, irrespective of affiliations, to unitedly resist and defeat these anti national, anti people and anti worker policies of the BJP government led by Modi.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

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