Maharashtra State Committee’s May Day Programme

NTUI celebrated May Day at Azad Maidan in the heart of Mumbai city

About 2000 workers from the organized and unorganized sectors assembled at Azad Maidan at 10.00 am. There were women and men in equal number.

May Day this year happened to be the golden jubilee year of the formation of Maharashtra State.

Comrades M.A.Patil (Maharashtra NTUI – President), N.Vasudevan (National Secretary NTUI and General Secretary – Maharashtra State NTUI), Milind Ranade (National Secretary NTUI and Jt. General Secretary Maharashtra State NTUI), Ramesh Nair (Voltas Employees Union) spoke about the importance of the day for labour. 8-hour working day, living wage for workers, universal social security, wage payment through cheque system, plight of unorganized workers, united fight against contract labour system formed themes of their speeches.

At the Azad Maidan function NTUI honoured Comrade Yeshwant Chavan (founder President of NTUI) for his contribution in the struggle for the formation of Maharashtra State. Com. Chavan was one of the Secretaries of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti which spearheaded the struggle for Maharashtra. Meeting paid tributes to other leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samity like Com. S.A. Dange (leader of the Communist Party of India and Bombay Textile Workers); Veteran Socialist Shri S.M.Joshi; writer, journalist, theater personality Acharya Atre and several others.

Com. Chavan, while giving a brief background of the struggle for language based State formation, said people dreamt of a State where employment, housing, better education, health will be available for them. But 50 years of experience showed that only a handful prospered. Crorepatis contest elections and make laws to enrich themselves and their cronies further. Textile workers who fought for Maharashtra lost everything including their industry. Workers in all sectors lost jobs, farmers suffered and many committed suicide. This was not the Maharashtra people fought for 50 years ago. To change the present into a bright future Com. Yeshwant Chavan called upon workers to build unity and to equip themselves politically in order to create a new social order so that real justice would belong to the toiling masses.

Workers marched from Azad Maidan to Hutatma Chowk (earlier known as Flora Fountain) to pay homage to 105 martyrs who laid down their lives for the creation of Maharashtra State. These martyrs were mainly textile workers of Mumbai. At Hutatma Chowk workers placed wreaths and flowers at the foot of the statue.

This was the first public function organized in Mumbai by the NTUI after its 2nd National General Assembly in Parel, Mumbai (December 13-15, 2009) and after formation of the Maharashtra State Committee.

NTUI had brought out posters and leaflets in Marathi on the occasion of May Day/ Maharashtra Day 2010.