Items filtered by date: April 2015

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) congratulates the road transport workers and their national federations for the grand success of their country wide strike today. The road transport workers have gone on a countrywide strike for the first time in the history of Independent India, demanding withdrawal of the draconian Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015.

The call for the countrywide strike was given by the national level road transport workers’ federations affiliated to CITU, AITUC, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AICCTU, LPF and independent state unions. Around 2 crore transport workers of public transport corporations, private buses, mini buses, Lorry, trucks, auto, taxi workers, workers in driving schools, auto workshops, spare parts shops, automobile workshops, school and college buses etc participated in the strike.

In West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura there was a bandh like situation. The road transport workers in West Bengal participated in the strike en masse despite the attempts of the Trinamool government in West Bengal to run the public transport buses and the physical attacks by the Trinamool goons in some parts of the state.

The strike was a total success in the public transport undertakings in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand etc. In Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha there was total strike in the private road transport sector. In Mumbai only 300 BEST buses and 10% auto rickshaws plied on the roads. There was a bandh like situation all over Maharashtra. Police arrested several CITU activists organising rasta roko in several towns in Andhra Pradesh. Massive demonstrations were organised in Jammu and Kashmir despite severe downpour. The organisations of truck owners in several states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh supported the strike.

CITU demands the BJP led government to withdraw the Bill, intended to hand over the core transport sector to the corporates, immediately and call the road transport workers’ federations for discussion.

Issued by:

(TAPAN SEN )
General Secretary

The Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) expresses its fullest support to the country wide one day strike in the Road Transport Sector on 30th April. Workers in all Sectors including Buses, Trucks, Auto-Taxis are to go on strike on that day.

Trade Unions and Federations affiliated to various Central Trade Unions along with many independent federations and unions in Road Transport sector have been conducting a campaign for the last few months against the new Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014.
The Bill contains clauses, which will result in the death knell of the existing 54 State Road Transport undertakings and the bill is aimed at handing over the Transport sector to private operators.
Various clauses proposed in the bill are against the interests of all sections – Drivers, passengers and general public. The Bill encroaches upon the rights of the State Governments and some State Governments have openly criticized the bill and asked for changes. Many Governmental functions like Registration, licensing etc. are being handed over to private sector.
The joint platform of unions have submitted detailed memorandums to Government, conducted extensive campaigns in the State including a massive Parliament March of Transport Workers on 18th December 2014.
It is in this situation, the union have jointly decided to go for a one day protest strike on 30th April 2015.
CITU fully endorses the demands of the Joint platform of Transport Sector Unions and extends full support to the strike.
CITU calls upon all sections of workers and general public to extend their support to the strike.

Issued by
(A.K. Padmanabhan)
President

22nd April 2015

CITU congratulates the 2.25 lakhs of employees of BSNL, including 40,000 executives for their successful countrywide united strike for 48 hours on 21st and 22nd April 2015.
The strike call given by the Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations, an umbrella organization of all the unions and association of employees and executives. It was after 4 months of their strike notice, they have gone on strike.
The issues raised by the Forum are the issues of saving the public sector telecom enterprise which is being derided of all support from the Government and at the same time the private players in the sector are favoured and supported.
It is unfortunate that the employees of a telecom PSU are forced to go on a 48 hour strike for procurement of equipments like mobile lines, broadband modem etc. All the demands including filling up of vacancies are aimed at strengthening the enterprise.
It is condemnable that the concerned Minister or the Department Secretary did not even call the unions for a discussion on their demands.
CITU urges the Government to take necessary steps to save this crucial PSU. CITU assures all support to the employees and executives in their struggle in defence of the PSU and calls upon them to be prepared for united actions of all public sector employees in defence of public sector undertakings in the country.
Issued by,

(A K PADMANABHAN)
President

9th April 2015

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions condemns the barbaric killings of 20 labourers in the Seshachalam forest in Andhra Pradesh by the AP Police on 7th April 2015 in the name of encounter with sandal-wood smugglers. CITU calls upon the workers and the trade unions to raise their voice of protest against such police-brutality.

As the information and reports pouring in media, the so called encounter is a completely fake one. Labourers hired for cutting wood were killed in cold blood by the state Police to camouflage and cover-up their failure to contain the increasing menace of smuggling of red sanders. This is simply inhuman as well as heinous on the part of state administration that their abject failure to contain the smuggling or capture the smugglers is being sought to be camouflaged by brutal killings of the poor labourers hired for cutting woods in the forest.

CITU demands a judicial enquiry in to the incident of such heinous killings and demands upon the State Government to pay adequate compensation to the families of the victims of police brutality.

Issued by

Tapan Sen 
General Secretary