Trade Unions for Peace & Democracy
Trade Unions for Peace and Democracy (TUPD) is an initiative to rebuild the trade union movement in the region and paving the way for building unity for the South Asian people to enable working people in the region to shape the state and society to their needs and aspirations.
We believe that working people can play a social and historical role when political conditions are created for full development of their social and secular organisations including their most basic organisation their trade union’s.
We jointly affirm and resolve:
- to oppose all forms of repression and state terrorism
- for a resolution of all political problems of the region which give genesis to prejudice, terrorism and war in the region
- to develop a democratic and secular South Asian identity and a regionalism for social and peaceful development of the peoples and nations in the region
- to deepen the respect for human dignity and fraternity in the working people of the region by educating and mobilising against all kinds of prejudices and national chauvinism
- to create, develop and sustain political conditions for strengthening secular and democratic trade unions in the region
TUPD will strive to create public opinion in their respective countries and the region and struggle:
- for the resolution of all political issues that undermine peace, democracy and development in the region, specifically the Kashmir issue, that has become a cause for terrorism and war between India and Pakistan.
- against all forms of sectarian violence and terrorism against ordinary people and democratic institutions.
- for a process of de-militarisation by demobilisation of troops, reducing defence budgets, stopping the arms race, revoking military treaties and eliminating foreign bases in the region; and for regional and global de-nuclearisation.
We agree to take the process forward by endorsing the statement by our respective federations and organisations; and nominating a representative for constituting the first South Asian Committee of TUDP.
All Pakistan Trade Union Federation – Farid Awan
Hotel Federation Pakistan – Ghulam Mehboob
Muttahida Labour Federation – Mohammed Akbar and Mirza Masood
Pakistan Trade Union Federation – Ayub Qureshi
Pakistan Railway Federation: Manzoor Razi and Nadim Sabtain
Peoples’ Labour Bureau – Sheikh Majid
PILER – Karamat Ali and Aijaz Ahmed
New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) – Ashim Roy, Ashok Chaudhary and Gautam Mody
All Jammu and Kashmir Trade Union Centre (NTUI) – Sampat Prakash, Md. Shafi Khan, Shakti Gupta, Syed Hussain, Raja Md. Amin, and Nisar Ali Mir
13 November 2006, New Delhi