Centre of Indian Trade Unions condemns the destructive exercise of the Govt to transfer the national assets and infrastructures in the hands of private corporate, both domestic and foreign, virtually free. Air India Sale is the most current example.

Now, as the Media reported, the Govt is making a hasty move for amending the Bank Nationalisation related Acts to facilitate privatization of public sector banks in the next Winter Session of Parliament.  Already the PSBs were made to sacrifice several crores of rupees (all public money) loaned out to those private corporates, through so called Insolvency Bankruptcy procedures. And now the move is on to hand over the PSBs to the same community of debt defaulter private corporates virtually free.

Further, it is reported that the Govt has been in the advanced stage of moving amendments to PFRDA Act 2013 to separate the National Pension System (NPS) Trust to liberate the same from all regulatory control and discipline of PFRDA and convert the same into a corporate or charitable entity under Companies Act. Even the pension savings of the people are not being spared from the nefarious project of satisfying lust for minting fortune through unregulated speculations by the private fund managers. Even the Employees’ Provident Fund Trust, which is under some regulatory control, lost a huge money  of workers EPF savings through such limited speculation, courtesy IL&FC and other private fund managers. The fate of the regulation-free NPS under the new project of the Govt can well be guessed in advance.

CITU denounces such nefarious and destructive project of facilitating loot and plunder on national assets, infrastructures and even peoples’ life-time pension savings by the same plunderers’ community in corporate class and calls upon the working people to oppose and resist such atrocious machinations on national economy and the people at large by the Govt at the centre.  

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) unequivocally condemns the Modi government’s anti-national decisions to hand over the national aircraft carrier - one of the Prides of India, the Air India (AI) to the private monopoly house - the Tata Group virtually free of cost, rather on negative payment to national exchequer. The Group of Ministers headed by the Home Minister Amit Shah has approved the deal by which 100% shareholding of Air India along with AI’s shareholding in Air India Express Ltd and AISATS would be transferred to the Talace Private Ltd, the so called special purpose vehicle of Tata Sons, an entity exclusively incorporated to this operations for paltry sum of Rs.18,000 crores.  Out of this Tata would own the debt liability for Rs.15,300 crores and the rest of Rs.2700 crores alone would be paid as cash to the Central government.

Since its takeover by Union Govt in 1948 followed by its nationalisation in 1953, several lakhs of crores was infused from national exchequer to expand its infrastructural asset base, huge fleet of aircrafts and properties, both within the country and abroad. During the last decade since 2009-10 till recently,  around Rs 1,10,000 crores have been infused in Air India by Govt comprising of Rs.58000 crores cash support and rest through Govt guarantee on credit.

Moreover, the sale-deal with Tata envisages that Govt will absorb the debt burden to the tune of Rs 46,262 crores out of the Rs.61,562 crores but the assets created by such debt would be handed over to Tata in lieu of only Rs 18000 crores. Besides this bonanza for Tata, as per this deal, the Air India will give Tata access to more than a hundred planes, thousands of trained pilots, crew and lucrative landing and parking slots all around the world. This is nothing but a free gift of our National Carrier to Tata. It has demonstrated the worst ever perverted economic deal of this fascistic political dispensation having organic nexus with corporate capital for frittering away national asset in favour of their corporate masters for song.

The fate of all the existing employees is still hanging in balance. Air India has 12,085 employees - 8,084 permanent and 4,001 contractual. In Air India Express around 1434 employees are working. The deals mention only one year retaining. Then rest of their service period would be at the mercy of Tata.

Though the attempts to privatize of our national carrier was initiated during the Vajpayee tenure itself, all successive central governments have also contributed to turn Air India into a loss making entity. As a part of their long drawn strategy of withdrawing government from all sorts of transport and communications and placing the same at the disposal of the crony capital, now this deal has been finalized. 

CITU, while denouncing all these reckless privatization spree of Modi government,  calls upon the working class  in general and its affiliated unions in particular to resist such anti-national activities of this government and expose their anti-national credentials and pseudo-nationalistic postures along with these right reactionaries’ nexus with corporate capital.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
(General Secretary)

The Centre of Trade Unions (CITU) stands in solidarity with the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) in their protest against brutal police assault on AIKS Finance Secretary P. Krishnaprasad on Monday, 4 October, as he was addressing media during peaceful protest at Uttar Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi against killing of the farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.

CITU condemns this police action in Delhi against farmers’ national leader to suppress even peaceful protest and from bringing out facts before the media.

CITU calls upon the workers and trade union movement of the country to intensify their struggle against 3 black farm laws, 4 labour codes and all out privatisation drive; and against the ruling RSS-BJP for attacking, killing, maiming, threatening the farmers in fascistic way using the police force to suppress the right of democratic movement as enshrined in the Constitution of India.

(Tapan Sen)
General Secretary

CITU strongly condemns the most gruesome killings of farmers who were peacefully protesting at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.

The farmers were killed by the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs by deliberately running his vehicle over the farmers. It is also reported by eyewitnesses that he and his henchmen had also fired at the unarmed kisans.

In a shocking incident the Haryana CM has been caught on camera directing RSS/BJP activists to unleash physical attacks on the struggling kisans.

It seems that the ruling pro corporate government is hell-bent on to serve their Masters at any cost.

That's why instead of conceding the demands of repealing the Farm laws, this fascistic regime resorted to unleashing repressions. In the wake of upcoming State Assembly Elections in the largest state- Uttar Pradesh, where the "Defeat BJP Mission" announced by the kisan panchayat at Muzaffarnagar kisan rally that has already sent a shivering into the spine of Yogi & Co which led a desperate situation where RSS and its political platform- BJP is becoming restless. Thus they resorted to violence against farmers true to their fascist characters.

CITU calls upon the working class to come out in large numbers to condemn this dastardly killing and to express our class Solidarity with kisans. CITU dips its Red Flag to pay our respectful homage to all the kisan martyrs who were brutally killed yesterday in UP.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

Nearly one crore ‘Scheme Workers’ including the Anganwadi, ASHA and Mid Day Meal workers are delivering the basic services of nutrition and health to the majority of the people will go on one day strike tomorrow, 24 September 2021. The strike call is given by the Joint platform of Scheme Workers consisting of the organizations of scheme workers affiliated to the central trade unions – INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.

Thousands of anganwadi ASHA, mid day meal workers will strike work and mobilize at district/block headquarters. The Scheme workers through this strike are pressing for the immediate demands of safety at work, risk allowance and insurance cover during covid duty and long pending demands of regularization as workers, minimum wages, social security and pension and against privatization. The unions will submit memorandum with these demands addressed to the Prime Minister of India in at all centres. (A copy attached)

Not to mention about the 45^th ILC recommendations of regularization, minimum wages and pension to all scheme workers, more than ten lakh ASHA workers have shouldered the total responsibility of reaching out to the people to access the healthcare during the pandemic with a monthly remuneration of Rs.2000 and additional Rs.1000 per month for six months! Anganwadi workers are not even categorized as frontline warriors by the government while they were asked perform covid related health services and door to door delivery of nutrition! Mid day meal workers are put on duty in covid centres but not even paid their wages of Rs.1000 per month (for only ten months a year)! Modi government has cut down the budget for these schemes during the pandemic! The government has forced the workers to go for a strike as a warning.

The demands also include the basic rights of the people, especially the children – right to food/nutrition, health and education by strengthening and universalizing free and quality basic services. The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions as well as the Samyukta Kisan Morcha had expressed solidarity and support to the strike. We call upon the working people of the country to support the demands of the scheme workers.

We request all the print and visual media of the country to cover the strike as well as the issues and demands raised by it.

Issued by
A R Sindhu
For Joint Platform of Scheme Workers Federations

N B :- Mobilisations will be held in Delhi- NCR at districts
Contacts – Faridabad- 9999517717 (Nirantar Parashar) 9268682056(Sudha); 
Sonepat – 9466437696(Ananad Sharma), 8222066120(Sunita)

JOINT PLATFORM OF SCHEME WORKERS FEDERATIONS

INTUC                          AITUC                        HMS                          CITU

AIUTUC             TUCC                AICCTU                 LPF                UTUC

CITU expresses its deepest condolences on the demise of Com. S. Pancharatnam, former Working Committee Member of CITU and the State Office Bearer of Tamil Nadu CITU for quite long time. He was 82 years old. Since early 1970s, he had been associated with CITU in Tamil Nadu as an employee in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and later as a leader of COTEE, the largest electricity employees Union affiliated to CITU in Tamil Nadu. He played a leading role as the General Secretary of COTEE in the protracted heroic struggle of contract labour in the state electricity utility and winning a case in the Supreme Court which paved the way to regularize more than 25,000 contract workers who were languishing for pittance in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board for more than a decade.

CITU dips its banner in respect to Com. Pancharatnam and conveys its grief to the bereaved family members and our Comrades.

Long Live Comrade S. Pancharatnam!

Tapan Sen
General Secretary

CITU Strongly condemns the brutal violence on the main opposition party and mass organisations by the BJP goons in Tripura 

Centre of Indian Trade Unions condemns the barbarous violence unleashed by the goons of the Ruling Party BJP in Tripura against the people at large and on the main opposition party, the Left and CPI (M) in particular. The trade unions and other mass organisations fighting against the BJP misrule in the state have also been targeted for brazen attacks including ransacking of their offices, setting documents, vehicles, and other properties on fire, with the police administration remaining a mere onlookers. 

Offices of CPI (M) and other mass organisations in almost all the districts throughout the state, including the state headquarters of CPI (M) and CITU at Agartala were attacked by mobs led by BJP goons. The bust of legendary and most revered leader of the people, Com Dasharath Dev was broken and damaged; documents, furniture, vehicles were burnt in open day light, in what apparently was a preplanned operation by the BJP goons with the connivance and indulgence of the state administration. Many people, activists were severely injured.  Even the media was not spared; besides the journals/organs of the Left parties and mass organisations, the offices and the journalists and workers of the general media, voicing critical opinion against some of the actions of state government were all targeted in these physical attacks. 

This planned onslaught by BJP goons and hoodlums is nothing but a desperate response of the extreme right wing ruling clique to the growing discontent and unrest amongst the people against the disastrous rule by the BJP government, which has increased the miseries of almost all sections of toiling people. People have been losing their livelihood, deprived of all welfare measures that they enjoyed during the previous Left Front regime; in addition all democratic rights of the people to express dissent and voice legitimate demands are being suppressed in a fascistic manner.  This unrest among the people is reflected through increasing events of protests and agitations involving more and more people throughout the state braving all onslaughts. The BJP government in the state is mistaken in thinking that it can suppress struggles against its misrule by crushing and miming the entire opposition through such fascistic attacks on institutions and organisations of the opposition. 

CITU denounced this government sponsored hoodlumism and barbarous violence in Tripura. It calls upon the working class and the toiling people at large to unitedly oppose and resist the sinister fascistic design of the BJP rule through further mounting the united struggle against their misrule and oppression.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) welcomes the call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), for ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 25^th September 2021, intensifying their struggle for the repeal of the three anti farmer farm laws, Electricity Amendment Bill and for legally guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP). It calls upon the entire working class to extend total support to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 25^th September.

The two day national convention of SKM, the joint platform of over 500 kisan organisations across the country, attended from over 2000 delegates from 22 states unanimously decided to intensify and expand the struggle.

CITU appreciates the initiative taken by the SKM to involve the trade unions, organisations of the agricultural workers, students, youth, women etc whose lives, livelihoods and basic rights are under attack by the policies being pursued by the BJP government led by Modi. Different sessions of the two day convention focussed on the specific issues of the workers, agricultural workers and others. The convention unanimously adopted resolutions on their issues, including against the labour codes and privatisation. This lays the ground for widening the struggle in the coming days.

The joint trade union movement and particularly CITU have been, from the beginning, extending solidarity including active physical support to the ongoing struggle of the farmers on their most genuine demands.

CITU condemns the autocratic behaviour of the government of India and its refusal to concede the demands of the farmers, in its bid to corporatise our agriculture to benefit its cronies. CITU also strongly condemns the oppression unleashed by the BJP government in Haryana against the farmers peacefully demonstrating in Karnal, which has led to the death of a farmer. The Modi government is highly mistaken if it thinks that it can suppress people’s struggles through such high handed measures.

CITU once again reiterates its support to the farmers’ struggle and calls upon all its affiliated unions, state committees and industrial federations as well as the entire working class to support the ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 25^th September 2021.

Issued by                                                                                                                                                                                   
Tapan Sen                                                                       
General Secretary

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) denounces Modi-led BJP government’s project  of so called ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’ (NMP) to hand over  productive national  assets including vital functional infrastructural assets worth several lakhs crore of rupees  to the domestic and foreign private monopolies virtually for a pittance. The project is a big step of International Finance Capital dictated neoliberal policy. NMP is a pipeline of corruption while handing over public assets in private hands. It is a project of destroying national economy and bringing untold miseries to the workers and other sections of the toiling people.

The project NMP, announced by the Union Finance Minister on 23 August 2021, includes handing over to the private corporate cronies, inter alia,  26,700 Kms highways worth Rs.1.6 Lakh (L) Crore (Cr); - 400 Railway stations and 150 trains (Rs.1.5 L.Cr); - 42,300 Circuit Kms of Power Transmission Lines (Rs.0.67 L.Cr); - 5,000 MW Hydro, Solar and Wind Power Generation assets (Rs.0.32 L.Cr); - 8,000 Kms of National Gas Pipelines (Rs.0.24 L.Cr); - 4,000 Kms Pipelines of IOC and HPCL (Rs.0.22 L.Cr); BSNL and MTNL Towers (Rs.0.39 L.Cr); - 21 Airports and 31 Ports (Rs.0.34 L.Cr); 160 Coal Mining projects (Rs.0.32 L.Cr); and 2 Sport Stadiums (Rs.0.11 L.Cr) etc. And the assessment of the worth of those huge national assets at Rs 6 lakh crore as mentioned above from the official statement itself exposes the atrocious extent of deliberate undervaluation only to facilitate the private corporates to take over those vital infrastructural assets at throw away prices. There is more to come.

The destructive NMP is not meant for augmenting infrastructural growth in the country in the least as being claimed by Finance Minister and NITI Aayog. This is designed to allow their private corporate masters to earn huge revenue out of these going to be privatized/leased out national infrastructural asset without making any capital investment. This is nothing but loot of national assets. 

Instead of investing in infrastructural growth, private corporate lobby including foreign entities are going to be awarded through NMP, the avenue to mint huge wealth through exploitation of those national infrastructural assets handed over to them under the garb of asset monetization. More concessions are to come after the initial announcement, as the past experience show, to draw the unwilling bidders modifying initial announcements.

CITU calls upon the workers and the people of the country to unitedly voice their condemnation such anti-national design of the BJP Govt at the centre  and resolutely fight to defend the national assets being robbed by the foreign and domestic monopolies with the help of their servile government at the Centre.

Issued by
( Tapan Sen )
General Secretary