Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: With the demands for reviving the paper mills of Nagaon and Cachar and pay arrears to the workers, stopping privatization of railways, BSNL, Airports, paying Rs 351 as daily wages for tea estate workers and 20 per cent bonus to the tea garden workers etc the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Assam State Committee organized a state trade union convention, hosted by Oil & Gas employees’ Union. Over 20 trade unions representing all the PSUs of Assam, both government of India and government of Assam undertaking, attended the convention. Attending the convention as the chief guest the working president of AITUC and Deputy General Secretary of World Federations of Trade Unions H. Mahadevan emphasized the need of mass agitation to make the government listen to the demands of the people. Mahadevan claimed that the Modi government is against the development of PSUs and wants these to be privatized and he wants to codify the labour laws in order to pave way for capitalists.
The convention was inaugurated with the selection of the presidium by General Secretary Assam State Committee AITUC Ramen Das. Durlav Kumar Dutta, general secretary, oil & Gas Employees Union, Oil India Limited delivered the welcome address that was followed by the declaration of the convention red by Ramen Das which stated that the present economic situation prevailing in the country is because of the PSUs that is the backbone of Indian economy. Besides the demand of 20% bonus for tea garden labourers and reviving the paper mills, including stopping privatization of BSNL, Railways and Airports etc. some other demands that the convention put forwarded are – to stop privatization and contractualization of oil fields of ONGC and Oil India Limited, immediate increase of recruitment of workers in the PSUs and decrease in unemployment, to stop the codification of labour laws and regularize the contractual workers, to revive the industries under the Government of Assam undertaking. A proposal by Ramen Das on taking out a demonstration against the anti- labour policies of the government on October 22 and to submit a memorandum to the government on the demands of AITUC on behalf of the working class of the country was also adopted in the convention.