The Election Commission of India
Nirvachan Sadan,
Ashoka Road,
New Delhi – 110001 

Urging to issue directive under Model Code of Conduct

Not to use the name of the profession of ‘Chowkidar’ for Election purpose

Sirs,

1. I am an all India functionary of the central trade union namely the ‘Centre of Indian Trade Unions’ (briefly called as ‘CITU’) which has currently more than 55 lakh workers as members across the country.
2. ‘Chowkidar’ is the name of the profession under Chowkidari Acts, both of Centre and of all States.
3. The ‘Chowkidars’ are sufferers of economic and social injustice and are deprived of reasonable job security, minimum wage and social security. They are organised in trade unions at some places, which are registered under Trade Unions Act, 1926 and which bears name ‘Chowkidars’, commensurate with the name of their profession. They are pursuing their just demands agitationally and legally in different parts of the country.
4. At this juncture, their professional name ‘Chowkidar’ has been usurped by several political parties and prominent persons, who are contesting the 17^th Lok Sabha election including the present Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, for electoral propaganda purposes either to project ‘Chowkidari’ as a high profile job (which in reality is not) or lampooning the name of this profession.
5. The use of the professional name of ‘Chowkidar’, as being used in the election propaganda by the political parties and candidates, as illegal, unfair, misleading and insulting and, therefore, urge you to issue urgent directive under Model Code of Conduct not to use the professional names of ‘Chowkidar’ for the 17^th Lok Sabha election.    

Yours Sincerely
(J. S. Majumdar)

In the background of the increasing aggression by the US Government and its allies to destabilise the democratically elected government in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Indian affiliates of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) organized a “Workers’ Convention in Solidarity with the people of Venezuela, Against the Imperialist Aggression” on 19 March 2019 at CITU Office, BTR Bhawan, New Delhi. The convention organized at the call of WFTU, was attended by nearly two hundred people from CITU, AITUC, AIUTUC, AICCTU, UTUC, TUCC and other WFTU affiliates AISGEF, BSNLEU, CCGEW, AIIEA and BEFI.
The Convention was jointly presided over by a Presidium composed of Swadesh Dev Roye(CITU), Deputy General Secretary, WFTU, B V Vijayalakshmi(AITUC), Santosh Roy(AICCTU) and M Chaurasia(AIUTUC).
The Convention was addressed by Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary, AITUC, Tapan Sen, General Secretary, CITU, Rajeev Dimri, General Secretary, AICCTU and R K Sharma, AIUTUC. Tapan Sen said that it is the same neoliberal policies under the imperialist forces which make the life of the working class of our country miserable that is directly attacking the sovereignty of Venezuela and making the life of the people unbearable. So it is all the more important for the Working class of India while intensifying its struggle to change the policies, to come out on the streets in solidarity action with Venezuelan people.

The convention adopted a Resolution expressing the solidarity of the working class of India with the people of Venezuela. The convention denounced the attitude of the Modi Government deviating from India’s most popular foreign policy, refusing to come out categorically in defence of Venezuela’s sovereignty and the right of its own people to decide their political leadership. Further, India’s own national interest in bringing oil from Venezuela is coming under severe strain due to US sanctions.

The convention demanded the government of India must reiterate its long cherished policy of long standing friendship and mutual co-operation with the Venezuelan people, and not to succumb to the pressure of Donald Trump’s calls against Venezuela.
Convention appealed to the Indian working class and the patriotic people of the country to mobilize mass of the people in support of the people of Venezuela.

A delegation of WFTU affiliates will meet the newly appointed Ambassador of Venezuela Ms. Coromoto Godoy on 22nd March 2019.

19 March 2019, BTR Bhawan, New Delhi

Resolution

We, the class oriented trade unions in India affiliated to the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) representing the overwhelming multitudes of the Indian Working Class in this convention held on 19 March 2019, at BTR Bhawan, New Delhi, firmly and unequivocally

 Condemn US-led imperialist aggression in the internal matter of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela scuttling the sovereign rights of the people of Venezuela, continuing its criminal tradition of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries

 Declare that the planned campaign and action by the US and its allies against the democratically elected Maduro government, creating dual power in the country is totally against the ‘Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations’. It is not only illegitimate, uncalled for and undemocratic but also the part of a strategy of creating a situation of civil war endangering the sovereignty of Venezuela to pursue the imperialist economic interests.

 Recall that USA in 2002 also tried a coup against the mass leader Hugo Chavez and continued to impose inhuman economic sanctions.

 Condemn the acts of USA freezing $7 billion of Venezuelan state oil company’s (PDVSA) assets and giving access to the Venezuelan state assets to the UK, blocking the legitimately elected Maduro government from withdrawing $ 1.2 billion worth of gold deposited in the Bank of England which are brazen violation of international laws.

 Denounce the attitude of the Modi Government deviating from India’s most popular foreign policy, refusing to come out categorically in defence of Venezuela’s sovereignty and the right of its own people to decide their political leadership. Further, India’s own national interest in bringing oil from Venezuela is coming under severe strain due to US sanctions.

 Demands the government of India must reiterate its long cherished policy of long standing friendship and mutual co-operation with the Venezuelan people, and not to succumb to the pressure of Donald Trump’s calls against Venezuela.

 Firmly believe that the imperialist efforts in Venezuela will be foiled by the people and the working class of Venezuela and congratulate them for bravely fighting the imperialist aggression defending the sovereignty of the country and the democratically elected President Maduro.

 We denounce and condemn the biased and prejudiced coverage by the international and Indian media with misleading stories to support the group rival to the elected Bolivarian Government of Republic of Venezuela. This actually helps the imperialist forces to destabilize the elected governments in various parts of the world, which has been witnessed even in earlier times.

Finally, the Convention appeals to the Indian working class and the patriotic people of the country to mobilize mass of the people in support of the people of Venezuela.

On behalf of Indian Working Class
AITUC | CITU |  AIUTUC |  AICCTU |  TUCC |  UTUC

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions extends support and solidarity to the indefinite strike by 2.5 lakh workers of 59 Jute Mills in West Bengal from 1^st March 2019. All the major 21 trade unions representing almost the entire jute mill workers have jointly decided to go in for strike to press for nine point demands, mostly relating to implementation of basic labour laws. The unions waited for years together for just implementation of the tripartite agreement of 2015 in the face of rampant violation of the agreement virtually with direct patronage of the state government run by Trinamool Congress(TMC).  The TMC Govt while turning a deaf ear to the complaints of violation of the tripartite agreement of 2015, has been directly patronizing the jute barons in carrying on indiscriminate and unlawful retrenchment /lay-off of workers, mass scale contractorisation while forcing the regular workers out of the Mill with the help of local TMC goons, nonpayment of statutory retirement dues of the retired workers like PF, gratuity, nonpayment of overdue dearness allowance to workers  etc.

In such a situation the jute mill workers and their unions have been compelled to decide for indefinite strike from 1^st March 2019 against the loot and exploitation perpetrated on them by the Jute mill owners despite consistently earning high profit.

The jointly formulated charter of demands by 21 trade unions functioning in 59 jute mills of the state are inter alia, 1)Minimum Wage of Rs 18000 per month, 2) Pension at the rate of Rs 6000/- per month on retirement, 3) same wage for same and similar work for the contract and badli workers 3) Dearness Allowance of Rs 2.50 per point, 4) Regularisation of all Badli and special Badli workers, 5) immediate payment of long accumulated statutory  dues of the retired workers on account of PF and Gratuity with a guarantee for non-occurrence of such statutory dues in future, 6) clearance of all dues of the employers on account of ESI resulting denial of ESI benefits to workers, 7) introduction of grade and scale in respect of wages/salary, 8) regularization of all contract workers etc.

Preparation for the indefinite strike in Jute Mills is being carried on jointly by the unions and workers braving all atrocities and repression. CITU, while reiterating its support and solidarity to the struggle of the Jute Mill workers in West Bengal, calls upon the entire trade union movement  irrespective of affiliations and the working class in general to stand by the struggling jute mill workers and organize solidarity programmes in support of the striking workers.

Issued by
( Tapan Sen )
General Secretary