SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Silchar: The Left trade unions, a conglomeration of central trade bodies, employees’ federations, peasantry associations, have given a call for a nationwide dawn-to-dusk general strike on January 8 in support of their 12-point charter of demands. Among these pressing demands are containing spiraling prices of essential and non-essential commodities and the introduction of a rationing system for all sections of people. It also includes the stoppage of privatization and disinvestment of public sector units, the latest being the two paper mills of Panchgram and Jagiroad.
The demand has also been raised for clearance of salaries and other dues for months to the employees of the twin paper mills. The trade union bodies strongly pleaded against the move for privatization and disinvestment of Numaligarh Oil Refinery and Bharat Petroleum Chemical Ltd. Owner-oriented labor laws are discontinued and annulled, it said.
Stress has also been laid on regularisation of the services of Anganwadi, midday meal and ASHA workers. Social security of all the workers of organized and unorganized sectors has to be ensured. The national pension system has to be scrapped and the old system revived, the Left demanded.
The slew of demands at the same time voices its concern at the plight of farmers and emphasizes on waiving the loans of the peasants, groaning in the mire of debts and abnormal cost of living.
The trade union has also called for removing discrimination in the wages of tea garden workers of Barak and Brahmaputra Valleys.
The leaders and supporters of the trade union bodies first assembled at the Narsingtola ground of the town with posters and banners. Thereafter, they marched down through the roads, raising slogans and highlighting their demands. After the rally, they converged at the ground from where they started. Those leaders who addressed the rally included Supriyo Bhattacharjee, Chunilal Bhattacharjee, Samiran Acharjee and Kishore Bhattacharjee.
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