50th year
of 1968 september 19th strike
M. Krishnan
Secretary
General, Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers
2018
September 19th (Next year) is the 50th Anniversary of 1968 September 19th one
day strike. All leaders and workers who
led and participated in that historic strike have either retired from service
or are no more.
The
indefinite strike of Central Govt. Employees in1960 was the first major strike
of Central Govt. Employees after independence.
The five days strike from 1960 July 11 midnight was brutally suppressed
by the Central Government declaring it as “Civil Rebellion”. The main demand of the strike was improvement
and modifications in the 2nd CPC recommendations. The Need Based Minimum Wage, though adopted
by the 15th Indian Labour Conference in 1957, was rejected by the 2nd CPC.
The
Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) was constituted in 1966 by then Home
Minister Gulsarilal Nanda, as per the decision of the Government. The apprehension of the progressive
leadership that this negotiating machinery may not settle any major demands of
the Central Govt. employees and may become just a talking shop or a time
killing business, ultimately resulting in abnormally delaying the genuine
demands, came true within a year of its formation. In the very first meeting of the National
Council JCM, the following three demands were notified by the staff side.
1. Grant of Need Based Minimum Wage as
approved by the 1957 Tripartite Labour Conference.
2. Merger of DA with Pay
3. Revision of DA formula
After
prolonged discussion for about one and a half year, disagreement was
recorded. As per JCM Scheme once
disagreement is recorded, the item should be referred to compulsory
arbitration. But Govt. rejected the
demand for arbitration. Protesting against
this arbitrary stand of the Govt. the staff side leadership walked out of the
JCM and decided to go for one day’s strike.
A Joint Action Committee was formed and the date of the strike was
decided as 19th September 1968.
Eventhough, the INTUC affiliated organisations were initially a part of
the strike decision, later on they decided not to join the strike due to the
intervention of the then Congress Government headed by Smt. Indira Gandhi.
The following were the main demands of the
strike charter of demands.
1. Need Based Minimum Wage.
2. Full neutralisation of rise in prices.
3. Merger of DA with Basic Pay
4. Withdrawl of proposal to retire employees
with 50 years of age or on completion of 25 years of service.
5. Vacate victimisation and reinstate
victimised workers.
6. No retrenchment without equivalent
alternative jobs.
7. Abolition of Contract and Casual Labour
System.
Strike
notice was served and the Joint Action Council (JAC) decided to commence the
strike at 0600 AM on 19th Septembe r 1968.
Intensive campaign was conducted throughout the country. AIRF, AIDEF and Confederation was the major
organisations in the JAC. Govt. invoked
Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance (ESMO) to deal with the strike. Govt. also issued detailed instructions to
impose heavy penalty including suspension, dismissal, termination,
Break-in-service etc. on the striking employees. Para-military force (CRPF) and Police were
deployed to deal with the strike.
Central Govt. gave orders to all state Governments to suppress the
strike at any cost. It was a war-like
situation. Arrest of Leaders started on
18th September itself. About 3000 employees
and leaders were arrested from Delhi alone.
All over India about 12000 Central Government employees and leaders were
arrested and jailed.
Inspite
of all these brutal repressive measures the strike commenced on 18th after noon
itself at many places and was a thundering success all over India and in all
departments including Railway, Defence, P&T etc. About 64000 employees were served with
termination notices, thousands removed from service and about 40000 employees
suspended. Seventeen (17) striking
employees had been brutally killed at Pathankot, Bikaner, Delhi Indraprastha
Bhavan and at Upper Assam in lathi charge,
firing by police and military and by running the train over the bodies of
employees who picketed the trains.
Though
the strike was only for one day on 19th September 1968, the victimisation and
repression continued for days together.
Struggle against victimisation also continued including work-to-rule
agitation, hunger fast of leaders from 10th October 1968. There was unprecedented support to the strike
and relief work and also to agitation for reinstatement of the victimised
workers, from National Trade Unions, state employees and teachers
Unions/Federations etc. A mass rally was
organised before the residence of Prime
Minister of India Smt. Indira Gandhi on 17th October, 1968.
Kerala
was ruled by the Communist Govt. during the strike. Chief Minister Com. E. M. S. Namboodiripad
declared Kerala Govt’s full support to the strike of Central Government
employees. The Central Govt. threatened
dismissal of the Kerala Govt. for defying the Centre’s directive to suppress
the strike.
1968
September 19th strike is written in red letters in the history of Indian
Working Class. The demand raised by the
Central Govt. employees - Need Based Minimum Wage - was the demand of entire
working people of India. Even today, the
Central Govt. employees and other section of the working class are on struggle
path for realisation of the Need Based Minimum Wage. The demand of the Central Govt. employees to
modify the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission to ensure Need Based
Minimum Wage is not yet conceded by the BJP-led NDA Government. Even the assurance given by three Cabinet
Ministers including Home Minister, Finance Minister and Railway Minister
regarding increase in Minimum Pay and Fitment formula is not honoured by the
Govt. even after a lapse of one year and
entire Central Government employees feel cheated.
It
is in this background, we are entering into the 50th year of 1968 September
19th strike. Let us pledge that we shall continue our struggle for realisation
of the demands raised by the matryrs of the 1968 strike. Let us pay respectful homage to those valiant
fighters who sacrified their life for the working class of India. Let us salute and honour all those who participated
in the historic strike, especially those who had been victimised severaly for
joining the strike. Let us organise
various programmes throughout the country at all levels, to commemorate the
inspiring memory of 1968 September 19th strike.
National
Call from Trade Unions :
Intensify
the Surging Struggles
A.K. Padmanabhan
Working people in India have
sounded the bugle again for countrywide struggles including strike actions
against the anti-people policies of the Modi Government. After this Govt took
over in 2014, there have been two country wide strikes in 2015 and 2016. In
additon to these, there have been strikes and struggles in various parts of the
country involving almost all sectors. These strikes included many countrywide
sectoral strikes.
Modi Government and the Prime
Minister himself started his rhetorical campaign with “Shrameva Jayate”, trying
to camouflage the Govt’s pro-corporate policies. This sloganeering has got
exposed without much delay, with the Government unleashing a war against
working people by amending Labour Laws and also other steps in the name of ease
of doing business. The last 40 months have seen severe attacks on almost all
the hardwon rights of the working people.
National Convention
It is in such a background,
the Central Trade Unions and independent national federations, once again
decided to call a national convention on 8th August. Of course, there was one
exception in the list of Central TUs. That was of BMS, which has been staying
away from the joint actions after BJP
came to power.
The huge mobilisation of
delegates from all the states, literally from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, covering
all the sectors reflected the anger amongst the working people against the
policies of the Government.
Actually many of them had
converged in the huge talkatora stadium, in the
midst of struggles they have been conducting.
The public sector workers
fighting against privatisation, Central Government employees continuing their
struggles on their demands of
implementing Government’s assurances related to pay commission, State
Government employees on sturggle for wage revison and also against National
Pension Scheme, Defence Production workers struggling against privatisation,
Bank Officers and employees preparing for another strike against destructive
reforms, Telecom employees on struggles against privatisation and also against
denial of wage revision, Insurance employees fighting against disinvestment,
Medical and Sales representatives struggling for people oriented drug policy,
Scheme workers on continuous struggle for getting the status of workers and
related benefits, private sector workers in struggle in various parts of the
country struggling against denial of Trade Union rights, Various sections of
informal workers raising demands of minimum wages and social security and above
all contract, casual and outsourced workers from various sectors including
Central and State Government departments - All were there to raise their voice
of protest.
It is this urge that prompted
such a big number of delegates reaching Delhi, many of them not finding a place
even to stand inside the stadium.
The speeches of the leaders of
the Central Trade Unions reflected fully the aspirations and expectations among
the participants.
The declaration adopted in the
convention dealt with the situation among all sections of working people in the
country.
Noting the unprecendented
unity among the peasantry in the country and the militant struggles going on in
various states, the convention extended ‘full solidarity to the fighting
farmers’. The declaration noted that it is the same set of pro-corporate, pro
landlord policies which have created a severe crisis in Agriculture, leading to
continuing increase in spate of suicides.
The convention called upon all
sections of working people to unitedly struggle against the anti-people
policies of the Government. The declaration noted that ‘the task before the
Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and independent National Federations is
to further intensify the surging struggles in various sectors through concerted
united agitation and mobilisation at national level, to be followed by country
wide general strike action a culmination and consolidation of all sectoral
struggles.’
Charter of demands
The convention reiterated the
12 point charter of demands, whcih formed the basis of the previous countrywide
strikes, especially after 2014. The convention noted that ‘the Government has
been continuing arrogantly ignore the 12 point charter of demands on minimum
wage, Social security, worker status, pay and facilities for the scheme
workers, against privatisation and large scale contractorisation etc being jointly pursued by the entire trade union
movement of the country’.
The background of the demands
It is of great importance to
the trade union movement of the country to remind itself, the background of
certain demands put forward by the joint platform.
One of the most important is
the demand for Rs.18,000 per month with indexation. This demand itself is an
interim one on the basic demand of fixing minimum wages as per the unanimous
decisions of the 15th Indian Labour Conference and the Supreme Court directives.
Indian Labour Conference (ILC)
the highest Tripartite forum related to
labour had in its 15th session in 1957, adopted a scientific basis for fixing
minimum wages. Later on, the supreme court in its judgement in a case related
to Raptakoss and Brett added 25 percent in addition to the ILC recommendations.
ILC decision on minimum wages is a scientific method, based on energy
requirement to a worker and family.
The Trade Union movement in
the country has been raising this issue of minimum wages all these years.
Historic Strike
It is to the credit of the
Central Government Employees movement in the country, that they took up this
issue and conducted strikes and struggles from 1959 onwards.
Most important of the struggle
was the one day strike on 19th September 1968. Major demand of the strke was
the acceptance of the 15th ILC decision on minimum wages. Even after 49 years
of this historic strike, the demand is still not met. But, how the ruling class
of India tried to drown a day’s strike by its own employees in cold blood,
exposed once again their anti worker approach and their class biased policies.
Seventeen employees were
killed on the strike day in police firing and lathi charges. Some were even
thrown down from high rise office buildings. Hundreds were injured in lathi
charges, tear gas etc.
Government had involved
Essential Services Maintance Act (ESMA) days before the strike. After the
strike 64,000 temporary workers were sacked. 40,000 regular workes were
suspended. Many of these were punished in various ways, including termination.
Some of those who were
terminated had to wait till 1978, when congress was defeated in 1977 elections,
to get reinstatement.
Trade Union Movement in India,
can never forget such large scale killings and victimisations just for a day’s
strike. That too, when the one day strike was for a demand which the government
had agreed to, in the highest tripartite body. The fact that the Government had
not yet accepted this principle exposes governments at the centre, though led
by various parties and fronts.
Central govt employees are
even now on struggle on this demand of minimum wages and in March, 2017 had
conducted a day’s countrywide strike.
Exploitation through contract,
casual and out sourcing systems are continuing. Lakhs of workers in sections
like Gramin Dak Sewa, Scheme workers like Anganwadi, Asha, Midday meal workers
continue to suffer under govt. of india, without even getting the status of
workers.
This experience shows that the
struggle should be more inclusive of all those who are affected by the policies
of the Government and the struggle has to be developed in to a struggle against
the policies of the ruling classes.
Next Phase
It is with this in mind, the convention
has called for campaigns and conventions from the local, regional and state
level and for massive mobilisation at Central level.
Three days mass Dharna on 9th,
10th and 11th of November in New Delhi
will witness massive mobilisation from all over the country.
The convention has also called
upon the working people to prepare for indefinite, countrywide strike action
against anti-people, anti national activities of the Government.
Against disruptive forces
Need of the hour is total
unity of the working people. The convention has noted the danger of disruptive
forces active in the country. The convention ‘recorded its strong denunciation
against communal and divisive machinations on the society being carried on with
the active patronage of the government machinery under the present polity and
called upon the working class ‘to raise their strong voice of protest.’
While these campaigns will be
jointly undertaken, various organisations will also concurrently conduct
independent campaigns to prepare their own ranks and also others for the joint
struggle.
All out efforts are required
to reach out to all sections of working people. With the government and all
their supporters including the corporate and government led media on their
side, the efforts of the unions and its floor level cadres have to be strengthened
in whatever ways possible to meet all the challenges.
The days ahead are those of
massive, militant struggles, and every one has to be prepared to take up the
tasks.
No comments:
Post a Comment