Unorganised workers Struggle

Karnataka: CITU led workers protest lead to brutal lathicharge on CPIM leaders, Agitators arrested

The Unorganized workers led by Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) held a picketing programme on Sep 16th throughout Karnataka. Besides other demands, they were demanding the government to fix a minimum monthly wage of Rs. 10,000/- in Bangalore and Rs. 6,000/- in remaining places of Karnataka. The unorganized workers held demonstration in about 165 taluks out of 175 taluks in the state. In atleast 75 taluks, the protest was consistently carried on for 5 days. More than 70% of the protesters were women. The fury of the unorganized workers against the State BJP govt. could be gazed from the fact that even after repressive lathicharge, workers stood like rock solid till their arrested leaders were released. The unorganized workers included Anganavadi workers, Midday meal workers, gram panchayath employees, etc.

When the workers seized the offices of the Deputy Commissioner, the police resorted to violent lathicharge throughout the state and in atleast 4 districts – Raichur, Gulbarga, Hassan, Bellary - workers were subjected violent repression. The women workers were inhumanely manhandled by the male police. Women police were never deployed to deal with the women workers. Leaders and workers were arrested and kept in several jails across the state. The workers who got bail and thus released were again subjected to “Body Warrant” by the police. The whole state was shell-shocked to see this violent treatment meted out to the workers by the police. The State Human rights commission Chairman issued statement that he would initiate proceedings against such brutal violence against the workers who were demanding their rightful wages.

The Main demands of the unorganized workers are: Regularise the services of contract and daily wagers, Companies should stop layoffs, payoffs, retrenchment and closure and give compensation to the labourers, Fill vacancies in all the depts., Stipend to unemployed youths, Extend all the facilities on par with government employees, Provide residential quarters, Issue BPL ration cards, Job security, pension for each worker, Ensure stability in the prices of essential commodities and punish the hoarders, At least one member of each displaced family of national or state projects should be absorbed in govt services, Withdrawal of recruitment on contract basis, Non-privatisation of midday meal scheme, Making all labour laws applicable to the sector

CITU has warned the state government that unless the demands of the unorganized workers were met within Oct. 6th on which Chief Minister has called for the meeting with CITU, it would organize a state wide protest in all the taluk headquarters on 15th Oct.



Condemned
The CITU, Karnataka State Committee, condemned the lathi-charge and arrest of unorganised sector workers who were on a State-wide agitation. The CITU urged the Government to meet the demands of the protesters besides taking action against the police officials responsible for the lathi-charge.
In a joint statement, CITU General Secretary V.J.K. Nair, secretaries S. Prasanna Kumar and S. Varalakshmi, said that the workers of unorganised sectors staged a five-day dharna in 165 taluks from September 7, urging the Government to fulfil their demands. Opposing the Government’s inaction on the issue, over 75,000 workers held demonstrations on Tuesday in front of the office of the deputy commissioners in all districts.
CITU leaders said that the police had lathi-charged peaceful agitators which had resulted in severe injuries to three in Gulbarga, six in Raichur and more than 10 in Hassan and other places. “Women activists were also beaten up and policemen behaved rudely with them,” they alleged, in a release.
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) have called for a State-wide agitation on Wednesday in protest against the incidents.
- Jayakumar