Nawanshahr:- Today, an effigy of Modi government was burnt at a brick kiln in village Soita by the Indian Federation of Trade Unions demanding repeal of four labour codes. Women workers were also present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, IFTU Punjab President Kulwinder Singh Waraich, Secretary Avtar Singh Tari and Press Secretary Jasbir Di said that by implementing the labour code in these labour unions, the Modi government has launched a very deadly attack on the working class, to which the working class will give a stern response in any case.
They said that the Modi government is ignoring the reality of 80 crore people who are dependent on 5 kg free ration. These announcements are being made despite the fact that a large majority of trade unions have openly opposed these anti-worker changes. All demands for consultations by trade unions have been ignored. Several state governments have not yet framed the rules due to opposition to the codes.
But the Modi government does not care about any argument for the rights of the working class. The bitter truth is that a huge share of India’s labour force is in the unorganised sector and most jobs in the country are temporary. The announcement of the codes will embolden governments and capitalists to dismantle the rights that workers have fought for so far.
The rights won through the hard-fought campaign of unionisation and struggle are being directly attacked and this will further unleash corporate attacks. Corporates have been in place for a long time to get full power of ‘hire-and-fire’, to impose unlimited working hours, and to trample on democratic rights. This is an absolutely shameless attack on the working class by the central government. All this is in the interest of the corporates.
Along with this, a well-thought-out campaign to hand over forests and mineral wealth to corporates is also going on. On this occasion, IFTU district committee members Bharat Kumar Bir Singh Sawan Kumar Satish Kumar Vijay Raju Patel Davinder Deep Singh Sahib Kumar Roshan Lal Rashmi Amrita and Gian Kaur Bhatta workers were also present.