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February 2010

EDITORIAL

The Union Budget 2010-11, in a backdrop of severe employment crisis and chronic inflation, gives the impression of ‘business as usual’ with NO significant challenge before the government to address! The Government’s so-called aspiration for ‘inclusive’ double digit growth continues to rest on India’s time tested failed growth model of a dual economy – one comprised of the rich and the other of working people. Rather than using the budget to mark a shift in the economic policy paradigm, the government has asserted the primacy of the private sector in spheres of economic decision making and resource allocation. The Government has abdicated its role in addressing questions of distributive justice. In fact, the government has virtually turned its back on the limited, poorly designed and even more poorly delivered gains made by UPA-I in terms of social protection and income support. One thing this budget does not do for sure is that it simply does not have anything in it to expand the base of the economy by stimulating demand amongst working people.

The total increase in the funds for the National Rural Employment Guarantee is Rs. 2,000 crores which implies that the government sees the programme as having reached its point of saturation and hence has budgeted for only an additional 5% families from the current over 4 crore beneficiaries. Further, nowhere does the government refer to its commitment for ensuring a Rs. 100 real wage under the NREGA. Correspondingly government has clearly set out the limited aspiration in terms of protection under the Unorganised Sector Workers Social Security Act 2005 by announcing a nation-wide corpus of only Rs. 1,000 crores. The government has also for the first time indicated that it has no commitment to a publicly funded national minimum pension but, favours a contributory pension plan. And despite the wide acceptance of the overwhelming dependence of the working population on, the low quality, over priced and unregulated, private health care system, government has increased health expenditure by a mere 15%. The 30% increase in the funds for the Integrated Child Development Scheme also falls short of even ensuring the minimum wage to workers under the programme hence continuing to undermine its effectiveness. What this means is that government is bound to its principal of paying poverty wages for removing poverty.

The much-hyped four-pronged strategy for agricultural revival has been just another composite package for corporate giveaways. From promoting large firms by extending green revolution to eastern India to easing agricultural credit flows, to expanding private sector participation in storage facilities, to providing impetus to the food processing sector – its all a runaway list of sops to agricultural corporates rather than for the distressed small and marginal farmers.

Although last years give away on the personal income tax front was in itself unprecedented, the government has once again extended largesse to the upper-end of income earners. The reduction in income tax will cause the exchequer a loss of revenue of Rs. 26,000 crores in the next year alone. Those earning upwards of Rs. 40,000 a month will now make an annual tax saving of Rs. 12,000+ which is in excess of the average wages collected by a rural family under the NREGA. This comes a day after the release of the Economic Survey 2009-10 in which government admits, to growing inequalities, since consumption is virtually stagnant amongst the bottom 20% of the population. Furthermore, while last years sharp reduction in income tax envisaged a revenue loss, in reality collections have been lower than even the reduced estimates. Government is hence, re-calibrating the composition of tax between direct and indirect taxes. It is a well established fact that indirect taxes are inflationary and their incidence is felt most by the working class.

Further, the Government’s commitment to go ahead with large-scale disinvestment of public sector equity and a loose pronouncement to invest its proceeds in asset building under social sector schemes is merely a euphemism to capitalise public assets for meeting committed plan expenditure. From this, it is abundantly clear that the government does not see the need to build a fund for the regeneration, renewal and expansion of the public sector but, in fact, is putting in place a mechanism of systematic privatisation.

On the price front, by increasing the basic duty on petroleum products and imposing a cess on coal, government has signalled it does not feel the need to address spiralling inflation. Expenditure on the Public Distribution System has in fact been reduced. All of these will further push up prices of food and other basic necessities. In that Government has virtually turned its back on controlling inflation by making no policy shift in this regard, it is virtually calling for further erosion in the real wage and a continued reduction in the share of wages in GDP. In turn, government has affirmed its commitment to a model of private capital expansion that is technologically dependent on global capital and based on placing raw materials at the service of global capital. And if this march of private capital is faced with resistance or even democratic dissent, by the working class, it will be resisted by the now 100% increase in the funds made available to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

SPECIAL FEATURE

STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION OF ANGANWADI WORKERS AND HELPERS

The Government of India introduced the Integrated Child Development Scheme in October 1975 with a view to improve the nutritional and health status of pre-school children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. The National Policy for Children declares that they “… are supremely important assets of Nation whose nurture is a national responsibility”. It also affirms that it shall be the duty of the State to provide services to children both, before and after birth and through the period of growth, to ensure their full physical, mental and social development and the Anganwadi was made the focal point for delivery of this package of services to children and mothers at the local community level.

According to National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), the percentage of children suffering from severe malnutrition declined from 15.3 per cent during 1976-78 to 8.7 per cent during 1988-90. IMR declined from 94 per 1,000 live births in 1981 to 73 in 1994. Subsequently, IMRs have stagnated in most parts of the country and average level of nutrition remains poor and may even have worsened. But the evidence is that severe under-nutrition continues to decline. What explains this is the role of one of the largest schemes of the Government of India, which relies dominantly on poorly paid and overworked women workers to provide some of the most essential public services in the area of health and nutrition. This is through the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) which has today grown to become the world’s largest early child development programme.

The coverage of the scheme has expanded rapidly, especially in recent years. From an initial 33 blocks in 1975, according to government figures, the programme currently reaches 340.60 lakh children and 873.43 lakh pregnant and lactating women. There are about 14 lakh Anganwadi Workers and about the same number of helpers who render these services.

Workers or Not – That is the Question

The Anganwadi Workers and Helpers, who are the basic functionaries of the ICDS programme, have been termed “social workers” or “voluntary workers” by the Government. Despite performing a crucial role in implementing one of the most important government schemes, they have no employer-employee relation with the government. They are not even paid “wages”, instead paid only an “honorarium” with extremely poor service conditions.

The package of services that AW&Hs are expected to provide include:

1. Supplementary Nutrition: Nutrition including Supplementary Nutrition includes supplementary feeding and growth monitoring. In this all families in the community are to be surveyed; children below the age of six and pregnant & nursing mothers identified and provided the necessary nutritional support.
2. Immunization: Immunization programme includes immunization of all pregnant women and infants and children from the six vaccine preventable diseases.
3. Health Check-up: This includes health care of children less than 6 years of age, ante-natal care of expectant mothers and post-natal care of nursing mothers. This involves regular health check-ups, recording of weight, immunization, management of malnutrition, treatment of some common diseases and distribution of simple medicines etc.
4. Referral Services: During health check-ups and growth monitoring, sick or malnourished children, in need of prompt medical attention, are referred by the anganwadi workers to Primary Health Centres or its sub-centres. The AWs are also trained to detect disabilities in young children and refer them to the medical officer of the Primary Health Centre/ Sub-centre.
5. Pre-school Non-formal Education (PSE): PSE, as envisaged in the ICDS, focuses on total development of the child, in the age up to six years, mainly from the underprivileged groups. It is a step towards the universalisation of primary education, by providing to the child the necessary preparation for primary schooling and offering substitute care to younger siblings, thus freeing the older ones – especially girls – to attend school.
6. Nutrition & Health Education: This is aimed at capacity-building of women between the age of 15-45 years so that they can look after their own health, nutrition and development needs as well as that of their children and families.

From being providers of nutritional supplements to children and expecting and nursing mothers, the list of duties of AW&Hs has kept growing over the years but neither the honorarium nor other benefits have reflected this.

Despite this increase in responsibilities the Government has consistently claimed that the AW&Hs are temporary workers working for only a few hours in a day and hence can not be regularised as permanent government employees. In reality, given the growing list of responsibilities, the AW&Hs have to put in more hours than a regular government employee with no provisions for leave or fixed working hours.

The AW&H are employed specifically to implement a government programme, the terms of their employment are specified by government norms, they are supervised in accordance to rules laid down by the government, the government has the power to appoint, take disciplinary action and even terminate their services but yet the government denies having employer-employee relation with them! If this is not clear contract of service and employee-employer relationship between the Government and the Anganwadi workers and helpers then what is?

In terming them as ‘honorary’ workers the government has deprived Anganwadi workers and helpers of the status and privileges of regular employees. The 2nd National Labour Commission had recommended that AW&Hs be given all benefits under the existing laws. The Govt. of Pondicherry has awarded permanency to the AW&Hs in the state but the Central Government is yet to act.

Forced Labour

The Integrated Child Development Scheme created employment opportunity for lakhs of women from socially and economically backward strata of society but the nature of employment reflects the underlying gender discrimination of the society. The employment is created under the deep-rooted assumption that women are supplementary or secondary workers and hence can be paid low wages and their work remain in the grey area of being ‘social service’. The Anganwadi workers and helpers provide essential services for the Government for a meagre honorarium which is even less than the minimum wage. The Anganwadi workers and helpers who are appointed for improving the condition of children and mothers are themselves paid poverty wages and forced to live a life of abject poverty.

The following table traces the change in the honorarium given to Anganwadi workers and helpers over time against the Consumer Price Index:

Year	Honorarium (in Rs.) for Anganwadi		CPI -IW (Old Series)
	Workers	Helpers
1975	150	35	1354
1978	175	50	1403
1985	250	90	2721
1986	275	110	3165
1992	400	200	5910
1997	500	260	8910
2000	1000	500	11472
2008	1500	750	17777

Over the years the Consumer Price Index has increased many times, but there is no proportionate increase in the honorarium of Anganwadi workers and helpers. On the contrary, the honorarium has actually reduced in real terms. Anganwadi workers and helpers are not paid any dearness allowance and their honorarium is fixed arbitrarily. There is also no system of increment with seniority. Hence the service provided by them clearly falls within the scope and ambit of the word “forced labour” under Article 23 of the Constitution of India.

The Govt. of India has recently revised the service conditions of Govt. employees and implemented the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for pay revision which have increased the average wage of a government employee by over 30%. But the Govt. has not given any increase in the honorarium of the AW&Hs. It is high time that the Government of India introduced a regular incremental salary scale linked with the Consumer Price Index Number for this category of workers who are instrumental in building the nation.

ASHA Workers Union, Punjab join Anganwadi workers to extend solidarity on Centenary Year of Women’s Day

There is a rising demand from unions of Anganwadi workers and helpers across the country to award AW&Hs the status of Government employees with Anganwadi workers being placed at grade-III and their helpers at grade–IV with annual increments and post-retirement benefits in line with government pay scales. The unions are also demanding a leave structure in line with other regular government employees including maternity and child care leave as per government regulations. With regard to promotions, there is a demand for filling the position of supervisors by deserving senior Anganwadi workers and the vacant posts of Child Development project officers and ACDPOs to be filled in from among supervisors only and not from the Officers of any other departments. But till date the central government has done nothing to improve the working condition of this large number of women workers.

Akhil Bhartiya Anganwadi Karmachari Kriti Samiti, a joint platform of unions of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers from across the country organised a large demonstration of AW&Hs on 24 and 25 February 2010 in Delhi highlighting the various demands of the AW&Hs. This demonstration also gained support from other women workers – ASHA workers, domestic workers, and garment workers from across the country – who joined this in demanding their Right to Dignity and Social and Economic Justice to celebrate the Centenary year of the International Women’s Day.

|[Contributed by Comrade M A Patil, Vice-President, NTUI]_

AFFILIATE NEWS

Convention of Asangathit Khetra Shramik Sangrami Manch: 31 January 2009, Kolkata: About 650 workers from 15 unions in the unorganised sector from across West Bengal assembled at the University Institute Hall, Kolkata to initiate a joint platform called Asangathit Khetra Shramik Sangrami Manch. Amongst those who addressed the convention were Comrades Santosh Rana, Vaskar Nandy, Swapan Ganguly, Prithvish Bose, Barnali, Naba Dutta, Anuradha Talwar, Somnath Ghosh and Ram Nagina Pandey. It was unanimously agreed by all the unions present that the need of the hour was for united action. This marked an important coming together of many political tendencies in Bengal.

The unions and organisations that joined the Manch are Shramajivi Samanvay Committee, Hosiery Workers Unity Centre, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, Kalyani Solvex Shramik Union, Liquor Shop Employees Union, Paschim Banga Cha Bagicha Shramik Union, Eastern Rail Construction and Contractor Majdur Union, Gramin Shramik Union, Shramajivi Mahila Samity, Uttar Dinajpur Sericulture Farm Workers Union, Murshidabad Biri Shramik Union, Tehatta Biri Workers Union, ICML Shramik Union, West Bengal Rural Workers Union and Nagarik Manch.

ASHA Workers Union, Punjab Submit Charter of Demands to Government of India: A Charter of Demands was submitted to the Ministry of Health by the ASHA Workers Union, Punjab. It stressed on the immediate need to regularise their services. As a key constituent of the NRHM, ASHA workers perform the crucial function of delivery of health services in rural areas and their function is permanent in nature. Like in the case of Anganwadi Workers, ASHA workers are termed as ‘health activists’ and thus not given the status of a worker and hence not even paid minimum wages. The charter stressed on the demands for minimum wages, 8 hour working day, leave rules in tune with other government employees, payment of TA and DA, emergency/ risk allowances, timely payment of monthly incentives and training certificates. The Charter also pressed for uniformity in wages of ASHA workers across the country given the fact that NRHM is a national programme.

Inauguration of Hospital by PBKMS: Paschim Banga Khet Majur Samity initiated the Badu Sanghati Janaswasthya Adhikar Raksha Yojana to cater to the health care needs of marginalised workers in the region. PBKMS now in a collaborative attempt with other like-minded organisations and individuals will set up a Hospital in Badu, Kolkata. The aim is to provide holistic health services. As a first step for the proposed hospital, is an OPD, which was inaugurated on 21 February in Maheswarpur, Badu.

CAMPAIGN NEWS

CAMPAIGN ON TRADE

Israel pushing for an FTA with India: 12 January 2010: Israel is pushing for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India with an objective of tripling bilateral commerce to $12 billion over the next 4 to 5 years. During April-December 2008-09, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $2.8 billion. Indian exports to Israel include chemicals, plastics, rubber, textiles, machinery and vehicle parts, while imports consist of minerals and electrical equipment. Trade in diamonds accounts for almost half of the trade volume between the two countries and the figures do not include intensifying defence engagement between the strategic partners.

New Indo-US Agri-business pact to give a push to private investment in agriculture: 24 February 2010: The Government secured Cabinet approval for a new agreement with the United States that aims at promoting the privatisation of agricultural extension services and facilitating collaborations between American agribusiness and the Indian farm sector. The proposed Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. on ‘Agriculture Cooperation and Food Security’ is likely to be signed this or early next month. The MoU is also intended to give a push to private investment in agriculture for growth of agribusinesses and farm-market linkages with stress on creating an enabling environment for private investment and reciprocal trade. It includes bilateral policy dialogue and agri business-to-business collaboration between India and the U.S. The present MoU was initiated under the India-U.S. Agriculture Dialogue during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington last November.

India under Pressure to join UPOV-1991: There is strong international pressure on India to join the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) -1991, which would make Indian farmers pawns of multinational companies engaged in crop research. Joining UPOV-1991 would crush farmers’ privileges to share, exchange, and sell plant variety protection (PVP) seeds to other farmers. Harmonisation of PVP across the Asia Pacific region is the aim of developed economies through FTAs. PVP guarantees IP protection to plant varieties developed by agricultural multinationals. The objective of UPOV is to protect new varieties of plants by IP. UPOV-91 would also imply that farmers will be able to sow PVP seeds only in their own field, and saving seeds for future use would require permission and subsequent royalty payment to the agriculture corporates, or attract penalty. UPOV-91 also goes beyond the requirements by the trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement of the WTO.

CAMPAIGN ON CLIMATE JUSTICE

Adani Power’s Mundra Project – the First CDM Project to be certified by UNFCCC: The super critical technology based project of Adani Power Limited (APL) at Mundra is the first project globally to be certified as CDM Project under UNFCCC. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change aims to promote a shift away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy sources. Allowing coal power projects under the CDM completely undermines this objective

The APL project is a 9240 MW thermal power generation plant of which 4620 MW will be generated at Mundra, Gujarat, 3300 MW at Tiroda, Maharashtra and 1320 MW at Kawai, Rajasthan. Out of total 9240 MW capacity, more than 85% is based on super-critical technology. The first two Super-critical units of 660 MW each at Mundra will be commissioned in 2010-11. More than 50% of the coal requirement for the Mundra plant will be imported from mines owned by the Adani Group in Indonesia.

While the Adani Group is earning climate credit points using imported technology and also expat technicians (over 650 Chinese workers were employed in setting up this unit, till new visa regulations forced most of them to leave, with only the technicians remaining!) it is crucial to know that the Adani Power Project and the massive multi-product port-based SEZ of the Adani Group in the Mundra region of Kutch district has practically changed the face of the northern coast of the Gulf of Kutch with unprecedented environmental and social fall-outs. The Mundra region housed more than 20% of mangroves of the Gulf of Kutch till the Adani group of industries came there. The process of deforestation and clearing started in 1998 by the company. The Adanis systematically went about expanding, appropriating and acquiring as much of this land around Mundra as possible once they set up their base. This included forest lands, revenue wastelands, grazing pastures and agricultural lands for construction of warehouses, container terminals and other infrastructure like roads, rail and finally even an airport. All this eventually formed part of the Mundra SEZ spread over 10,000 hectares over 14 villages, with an investment of Rs 73,000 crores. More than 1,000 fishing families of the area are affected, and over 1,400 acres of grazing land lost.

India to call for equity if insisted to legally binding emission cut: New Delhi, 7 February: The Ministry of Environment and Forests has taken a strong position that if in the international climate negotiation process the developing countries are brought into the ambit of making legally binding global agreement for emission cuts, India would press for a formula for equity in carbon space with developing countries having “common but differentiated responsibilities” for containing climate crisis. A successful international agreement will require a consensus in two crucial areas – one, on the science of climate change and two, on the ethical framework for giving expression to the central UNFCCC principle of “common but differentiated responsibility”.

It was also announced that a National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency would soon be launched

NEWS UPDATES

Supreme Court stays mining of limestone by Lafarge in Meghalaya: 6 February 2010: The Supreme Court has stayed the mining of limestone by Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt. Ltd (LUMPL) in Meghalaya in response to a petition filed by by 21 local adivasi groups and the Shella Action Committee. According to the petition LUMPL had obtained environmental clearance by falsely declaring forest areas as wasteland and non-forest areas. The company had also illegally transferred adivasi land protected under the sixth schedule of the Constitution to itself and mortgaged it in favour of foreign banks to secure a loan of $153 million. By staying the mining operations, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan overturned a previous order passed in November 2007 that had allowed the French Multinational to carry on mining operations in the area.

Minimum Wage Violation in Brick Kilns in West Bengal through Bipartite Agreement: Workers employed in Brick kilns in West Bengal are not paid minimum wages. A bipartite agreement between Brick Kiln Owners’ Association and CITU sets the wage in the industry which is far below the minimum wages. The difference in minimum wage and the bargained wage is as under:

Category	Minimum Wage	Bargained Wage
Unskilled	Rs. 3073 per month	Rs. 1970 per month
Unloading of Burnt Bricks	Rs. 118.42 per thousand	Rs. 72 per thousand

This agreement has no legal standing and is in blatant violation of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. By Section 25 of the Act this agreement which reduces the right to the minimum wage stands null and void. Ironically this provision was reiterated by the Calcutta High Court in the Oswal Agro judgement that there can be no contracting out of mandatory provisions of the law.

Forest village granted revenue status in UP: Surma, an adivasi village housing around 360 Tharu families, is the first tribal village in a forest reserve area to be converted into a revenue village. Located in the core zone of Dudhwa National Park, in Palia block of Lakhimpur Kheri district.

Significantly, till last month, adivasis here were facing evacuation threat. The high court under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) 1972 had issued orders land vacated. The process of evacuation had begun with the allotment of land to tribals outside the forest cover as compensation. But the allotted land was already occupied by other tribes. But then by using the FRA, the adivasis under the banner of Tharu Adivasi Mahila Manch and National Forum for Forest People and Forest Workers forced the state government to give them their rights under the FRA. Given the revenue village status, every family, including those which are landless, will now get a piece of land and community ownership of forest enabling them to use forest produce.

Wage of Rs 30 per hour proposed for domestic workers: A committee set up by the Tamil Nadu government to fix a basic minimum wage for domestic workers has recommended Rs 30 for every hour of work. The draft proposal, under consideration, has also recommended a dearness allowance (DA) to factor in the rising cost of living. The Minimum Wages Formation Committee, consisting of representatives from the labour department, trade unions, employers and domestic workers, submitted various proposals in November 2009 after a state-wide consultation process. The panel proposed a weekly day-off, leave on national holidays and medical aid under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation.

Delhi HC Judgement on slum dwellers right to housing: New Delhi, 12 February: Delhi High Court in a landmark judgement ruled that every eligible slum dweller has to be relocated to a place with proper civic amenities before being evicted from a piece of public land. The case was filed by the Delhi Shramik Sangathan of New Sanjay Camp, Okhla Industrial area. A part of the Sanjay Camp was demolished on 5 February 2009 by PWD in the name of Right of Way and the evictees were not resettled under the relocation policy. A part of the Nehru camp of Patparganj was also demolished in 2007 in the name of Right of Way by PWD and the evictees were not resettled.

Dismissing the argument of the Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, that the evicted slum dwellers did not deserve to be relocated as they had set up their slums on public roads and thus violated the “right of way”, the Division Bench comprising of Justice A. P. Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar stressed that in the context of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021, slum dwellers cannot be treated as secondary citizens. They are entitled to no less an access to basic survival needs as any other citizen. The Master Plan had clearly identified the relocation of slum dwellers as one of the priorities for the government with spaces earmarked for housing for economically weaker sections. The Bench pointed out that the government will be failing in its statutory and Constitutional obligation if it fails to identify spaces equipped infrastructurally with civic amenities that can ensure a decent living to those being relocated prior to initiating the moves for eviction.

The Bench also ruled that the eligible petitioners be granted an alternative site as per the Master Plan within four months of this ruling.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS UPDATES

Exposure to Carcinogenic Chemicals in Samsung Electronics Plant in Korea: A cancer cluster has been discovered among young workers exposed to toxic chemicals in a Samsung electronic plant in Korea. The pattern of cancer deaths bears a striking resemblance to the pattern of cancer deaths among IBM “chip” workers in the US and to other electronics cancer clusters around the world. Samsung has denied all responsibility and the Korean government has supported them by denying compensation and has arrested and detained the lawyer of the victims. The workers in the plant are demanding that Samsung:

1. Accept responsibility for the hazards of semiconductor manufacturing;
2. Compensate those harmed; and
3. Provide a toxic-free model workplace where workers are treated with dignity and respect.

French Auto Parts Producer Valeo to Leave Korea: French auto parts producer Valeo, which started business in Korea after acquiring Mando Machinery following the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis has decided to seek approval from the board to leave due to problems with its labour union. In October last year, the French firm shut down Valeo Climate Control in Cheonan and is taking steps to close down Valeo Electrical Systems in Gyeongju now.

Valeo had notified the Korean Metalworkers’ Union (KMWU) about the closure of the Cheonan plant by a telephone call on the day production was to stop. The workers have been inside the plant since then, maintaining the machinery and waiting for management to return. The KMWU has been calling on the transnational corporation to respect trade unions and enter into dialogue with them in good faith. The struggle of KMWU is being supported by the KCTU nationally and by the CGT in France.

Workers face job cuts in auto sector in the US: Ford Motor Co. will cut 900 workers at the Michigan plant that makes the Mustang. The plant, which is jointly owned with Mazda, also makes the Mazda 6 and employs nearly 2,300 workers. Also, Toyota – the sole remaining automobile assembly plant in California – is also planning to stop production at the end of March.

Greece and Spain face series of strikes over austerity packages: The Greek austerity package ran into trouble as tax collectors and customs officers started a two-day walkout followed by thousands of Greek civil servants striking on Feb 10 against wage cuts, paralyzing flights and disrupting rail traffic. The General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), the biggest union with 600,000 members also called for a strike on 24 February against the pension reform plan. The austerity package includes a public salary freeze as well as a hiring freeze and a 10 percent reduction in social security expenditure, an increase in petrol taxes and a hike in the retirement age, supplementing a crisis plan unveiled last month.

60000 workers stage protest in Madrid

Spain was also paralysed by nationwide rallies organised by the Spanish trade unions over a two-week period starting 23 February in about 10 cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. The main demonstration was in Madrid, where more than 60,000 workers were present. Besides the proposal to gradually raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, unions are protesting against the government plan to change pension formulas. In most cases that would mean a smaller pension. The Spanish government is planning to cut spending by nearly $70 billion over the next four years to rein in the swelling deficit.

PRESS STATEMENTS

24 February 2010, New Delhi: NTUI CELEBRATING CENTENARY YEAR OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

WE’VE MARCHED A HUNDRED YEARS

WE’LL FIGHT ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS

TO WIN EQUALITY!

Asha workers, anganwadi workers and helpers, ANMs, domestic workers, and women workers from the garment industry highlighted their bad working conditions:

• Much of women’s economic activity is not recognized as work and therefore most women workers receive none of the rights of workers.
• Women’s work is underpaid by employers.
• Most women are employed in the unregulated sectors.
• Women face violence, both physical and mental, in the public places, workplaces and at home.
• The responsibility of taking care of the household unjustly falls primarily on women.
• Women have to face the brunt of price rise and the decline of public amenities.
• The basic demand for women’s employment is work with dignity.

The women workers and their unions vowed to fight for the following demands:

• At Work: Dignity of labour, to include:*

• 8-hour work-day norm;

*Equal wage for equal work;

• Revision of the Minimum Wage to equal the living wage;
• Laws and public policy to ensure adequate and equal education and skilling for women;
• Ensuring an administrative mechanism so that equal skilling also translates into employment;
• Strict enforcement of workplace regulation to prevent harassment;

In Society and in the Family: Social and Economic Justice, to include:

• Immediate implementation of the Social Security law;
• Legally guaranteed subsidised food for all through the PDS
• Decent housing for all;
• Public transport, to make travel safe for women and children;
• Schemes for crèche, childcare and children’s education;
• Equal right to property;
• Both parents to have equal rights in naming of a child;
• Immediate and proper implementation of the Domestic Violence Act;

AND BRING AN END TO ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN!

Editor: Ashim Roy

Printed and Published by Gautam Mody for the New Trade Union Initiative
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