M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Mar 26: Palamu labour leaders Rajiv Kumar Singh, Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Diwakar Pandey, Mukesh Kumar, Shashank Suman, Afzal Ansari, Anita Devi and others at a joint press conference today outlined the preparedness for the two-day nationwide labour strike beginning March 28.
Briefing the media persons, Rajiv said that the Modi government is anti-labour. “It has brought in 4 labour codes and we demand its repeal.”
Mithilesh Kumar said that it is time that people should resist and oppose the privatisation of things on the ground and in the air. “This government is helping the big corporate houses and neglecting people who toil hard to survive. We believe the two-day nationwide labour strike will jolt the central government. If labourers suffer, the country can’t afford to grow,” he said.
Diwakar Pandey said, “We have been asking the central government to waive GST from the medicines. There are three slabs of the GST for the medicines and even medicines for cancer, TB etc have GST.”
Rajiv said as this financial year is going to end on March 31, the SBI has not joined the strike but nevertheless, the bank is giving full moral support to the strike. The Indian railways have abstained too.
“Our labour union leaders of the LIC establishment are working even today, which is the last Saturday of this current financial year,” he added.
Anita Devi of Rasoiya Sangh is fighting for the labour cadre to be awarded to the Rasoiya.
Rajiv said that there are many such workers like Rasoiya, Sahiya, etc who are denied to be categorised as labour. “We want them to be included in the list of the labour,” he added.
On a vital issue, which is not connected to the nationwide strike of the labourers on March 28 and 29, Mithilesh Singh said, “We the labour leaders will try to secure the future of those students who have returned from Ukraine and are now doing nothing for their studies at their homes.”
He even noted down the numbers of such returnees from Ukraine to find out as to how these students will now finish or complete their medical courses left midway following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian troops.
“There will be a sit-in at the Chhoumuhan on the first day of the 2-day strike,” informed Rajiv just to express solidarity with the labourers and their unions.
Sources said there was some strong resentment raised by media persons at the press conference today when a labour leader spoke about biased and auctioned media accusing them of working to the tune of the Modi government refusing to see the ground realities and issues that affect the lives of the common people most.
The labour leader was suggested to raise his voice freely and vigorously against such media on some different platforms and not right in the press conference to which the labour leader said this point is well taken.
