Subodh Varma

On this May Day, the working class of India is reeling under the brutal onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic which has so far taken over lives in India since last year. While the deadly disease can affect anybody, it has had the most catastrophic effect on the poorer sections of society.

With over three fourths of the Indian healthcare system in private hands, the costs of receiving adequate healthcare attention are too prohibitive for most workers, and as a result, in vast parts of the country, they have had to simply suffer the alarming damage caused by the coronavirus.

More damaging and sweeping were the effects of the ill-conceived and heartless countrywide lockdown imposed by the Narendra Modi government last year, which led to mass closures of factories and offices, with the unemployment rate zooming up to an unimaginable 24% in April 2020.

The Modi government led the people to believe that the pandemic had receded by the time 2021 arrived. The Prime Minister and the Health Minister declared several times that the pandemic had been vanquished in India. They also declared that vaccines would soon be available to all the people and that would protect them in the future.

This has turned out to be monumentally wrong. The second wave of the pandemic – predicted by almost all scientists – has hit India in the most lethal manner, with daily cases increasing at a blinding near-4 lakh mark every day. More importantly, the disease has spread to the vast hinterland even as people are gasping for oxygen, medicines, transport, hospitals and even getting deprived of dignified last rites.

Afraid of imposing a lockdown after last year’s harrowing experience, the Central government has passed on the responsibility of fighting the pandemic to the state governments which, in turn, are whimsically declaring restrictions of this and that kind – somewhere there are weekend lockdowns, somewhere night curfews, and so on.

But, just like last year, no attention or thought is being given to the most crucial, life and death question that faces working class families – how to sustain themselves when earnings are stopped, or conversely, how to save oneself from the virus if one is forced to work even in the midst of the raging pandemic?

Provide Economic Support

The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions, consisting of 10 central trade unions and several sectoral federations has issued one of the most far-reaching and important demand charters for this May Day. Among various other issues, it demands that all families (that do not pay income tax) should be given direct financial support of Rs.7,500 per month for the coming months to tide over the earnings loss that they are bound to suffer because of the pandemic and/or the restrictions imposed because of it. (The statement is given below.)

In addition, the Joint Platform has demanded that all families be provided 10 kg foodgrain per person for the coming three months.

These two demands, though minimal, will help the country’s vast toiling people, as most of them depend on daily earnings through hard labour, and either getting sick or having to sit at home because of COVID r

This happened last year, too, causing widespread distress and hunger. Last year, the government doled out a meagre Rs.500 per month to all the Jan Dhan account holders, which constitute only one fraction of the poor. The government had also released 5 kg additional foodgrain per person last year for a few months. This again was highly insufficient and in any case, it left out millions of people.

The demand of the Joint Platform is thus far more comprehensive and will be able to give some support to the vulnerable population, already much weakened by last year’s faulty policies.

The charter also includes a set of demands for a better, equitable handling of the pandemic. The trade unions are demanding that vaccine production be ramped up and universal and free vaccination done in a definite time frame.

This may sound obvious to any reasonable mind – but sadly, in India, the Central government has handed over the production and sale of COVID vaccines to private manufacturers who are planning to sell the vaccine at exorbitant costs to state governments.

Besides universal and free vaccines, the Joint Platform is also demanding that public health infrastructure be ramped up (through public spending), new, trained personnel be inducted in hospitals and health centres, oxygen supply be increased and ensured for all those who need it.

Importantly, it has also demanded that ASHA workers and anganwadi workers/helpers, who make up the vast health workforce in villages and urban residential colonies of workers be given adequate protective gear and insurance coverage to carry out the crucial work of creating public awareness, ensuring primary health and nutrition, liaising with primary and secondary health centres which they have been doing tirelessly for the past year.

Prevent Job Losses and Eviction

The Joint Platform has also raised the crucial demand that the use of the Disaster Management Act to impose restrictions on movement or closure of work places should be such that it also simultaneously ensures that no worker faces loss of his/her job, that wages for the period that the work is stopped are paid in full, and that property owners do not evict tenants for not being able to pay the rent for the period when they are not earning.

These demands were raised last year too but refusal to accept them led to the agonising mass return migration last April where migrant workers trekked home to distant villages in hundreds of thousands, many dying on the way.

In a move that was beyond imagination, the Modi government used the pandemic period to pass several laws that would put workers’ jobs and incomes at risk. It also pushed through laws to corporatise farming and hand over trade of foodgrains to private traders. These measures would increase job insecurity and lower wages, while forcing farmers and agricultural workers to become slaves of big corporate houses.

Unfortunately, a government that is happy to allow pharma companies to make super profits in the face of this most dire situation, has little compunction in allowing employers to indulge in mass retrenchments and landlords in mass evictions. This is why the trade unions have to fight to protect the basic right to life of the working people.

Muted May Day – But Resolve is Firm

This May Day or Labour Day will perhaps be even more muted than last year because this time the destruction caused by the pandemic is much greater, and it is adding to the misery of the past year. It is expected that workers in small groups will hold the traditional hoisting of red flags at factory gates across the country. There will also be online meetings.

As the demand charter for May Day notes, the fight continues against privatisation of public sector enterprises, for scrapping of anti-worker and anti-farmer laws, and for economic justice.

But the fight for saving the people of the country from the pandemic’s sting, is intertwined with the fight for economic survival. And this May Day will be for pledging to carry out both – with resolve and energy.

(Courtesy: Newsclick.)

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Press Statement, April 28, 2021

Covid 19 Crises & Govt’s Anti-People Policies

Joint Platform of India’s Trade Unions

[The following statement was issued to the press by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions and sectoral Federations and Associations on 28 April 2021]

The online meeting of Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations held on 28th April 2021 expressed grave concern at the cruel insensitivity of the Government at the centre in addressing and combating the second wave of the Covid Pandemic. The alarming country wide surge of this second wave of Covid has thrown the lives of the people, working people in particulars in total jeopardy. The daily infection count has already crossed 3 lakhs and is estimated to grow further in the coming days. Number of daily deaths too has surged. A substantial part of deaths are preventable, being caused due to non-availability of basic infrastructure, oxygen, hospital beds and essential medicines. The CTUs and Sectoral Federations/Associations have written to the Prime Minister(The letter attached)

In the midst of such grave humanitarian crisis, the Central government ridiculously draws satisfaction over overcoming the crisis under the leadership of Narendra Modi! The Union Finance Minister has made mindless self congratulatory statement that their programme of privatisation/disinvestment is on track and in progress!

Caught unprepared, despite the warning about a second country wide wave, the Central government is now trying to blame the people, the state governments and everybody except itself for the surge of casualty with much more intensity and speed. The reprimand of EC by some High Courts has Vindicated the stand of Trade Unions having taken time to time. Now only the order has come not to organise any rally, celebration from 2nd to 15th may in the election bound states.

There is serious shortage of vaccines, testing facilities, hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen, medicines and above all trained personnel – doctors, nurses and other medical staff. The front line workers and employees are overworked and lack adequate protection. Instead of addressing these serious issues, BJP leaders including union ministers are engaged in shifting the responsibility to the state governments and indulging in blame games.

In the midst of this, the vaccine policy announced by the government puts corporate profits above the precious lives of people. Today, it is crucial to strictly regulate, under direct government supervision, the entire vaccination process to ensure that the entire population is vaccinated within a definite time frame. Vaccine production must be urgently scaled up; it must be imported as necessary. But the government is shamelessly succumbing to the profit hungry international drug mafia and liberalised vaccine sales. The new vaccine policy liberalises the vaccine sale by deregulating the prices through a discriminatory process that too without taking any concrete measures for augmenting availability.

States are not given the promised doses of vaccines. This has severely affected the first phase of vaccination itself. The new vaccine policy of Modi government stipulates that the state governments have to procure the vaccines from the open market with higher price of Rs 400/Rs 600 per dose as announced by the two vaccine companies in India. They will be thrown into unhealthy competition with each other and also with the private sector hospitals which are also free to procure the vaccines at Rs 600/ Rs 1200. More such notorious announcements are expected to pour in the days to come with the Govt-corporate nexus. It is atrocious that the Serum Institute which has announced Rs 400 per dose of vaccine for the state governments and Rs 600 for private hospitals in India.

Covisheild is priced at 1.78 Euro (Rs 160) in Europe and at $4 (Rs 300) in the US and Bangladesh, at Rs.237 in Brazil, at Rs. 226 in UK.

This pro-corporate deregulation on vaccine and other essential ingredients of pandemic management will further facilitate hoarding and black marketing which is already going on in case of essential medicines like Remdesivir and oxygen. Overwhelming majority of our people who cannot afford the huge price of the vaccine would be excluded. Policies of exclusion have now become the hallmark of the Central government.

The local and regional lockdowns and curfews being imposed in several states are creating uncertainties about the work and income among the working people, the migrant workers and workers in the unorganised sector in particular. Reminiscent of the migrant workers’ march around one year back, migrant workers are again heading to their native places. None of the orders under Disaster Management Act issued so far by various authorities on curfew or scaling down of operation by industry etc had cared to concretely direct the employers to protect employment/livelihood of workers, their incomes and residences. It is again an attempt by the governments, as last year, to sacrifice the lives and livelihood of the workers and the toiling people to safeguard the interests of the employers’ class.

The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Federations demands the government to withdraw the new pro-corporate as well as discriminatory vaccine policy and take immediate measures to ensure 100% procurement of the vaccine, adequate supply of vaccines to the states, free of cost, utilising the PM care fund. The government, sufficiently empowered by Disaster Management Act must not abdicate its responsibility of prioritising protection of the lives of the people during this grave pandemic, over profiteering by vaccine-pharmaceutical barons.

The joint platform of Central trade unions and Federations point out that it is the public sector companies that are, as ever, coming to the rescue of the nation in this critical situation. It is the public sector steel companies that are producing and supplying oxygen; it is the Indian Railways that is transporting Oxygen to the needy states. We also remind the government that it was the public sector financial institutions in our country that have protected the country against the 2008 world crisis. The joint platform of trade unions demand that the government must immediately stop its mindless privatisation drive. We demand that immediate measures be taken to strengthen the existing public sector medicine and oxygen production units which are already playing a frontline role in producing/supplying oxygen and other necessities and establish new ones to ensure universal and comprehensive public health care.

The Joint Platform also demands that the Govt must ensure that any order issued by any authorities under Disaster Management Act imposing restrictions in movement, curfew etc must accompany strict enforceable orders to all employers and all concerned banning retrenchment, wage-cut and eviction from residences etc. It cannot be just an advisory but a stringently enforceable direction and the Disaster Management Act adequately empowers the Govt to issue such orders and enforce.

The Joint Platform calls upon the workers and toiling people to observe the forthcoming May Day, the international working class solidarity day through jointly organizing agitation in as many locations throughout the country to press for the following demands, while expressing solidarity with the working class movement going on throughout the world:

1. Ramp up vaccine production and ensure universal free vaccination within a definite time frame. Ensure free supply of oxygen in the crises as in present situation.
2. Ensure adequate hospital beds, oxygen and other medical facilities to meet the Covid surge
3. Scrap anti-people discriminatory pro-corporate Vaccine Policy
4. Strengthen public health infrastructure including recruiting the necessary health personnel
5. Any order under Disaster Management Act issued by any authority imposing restrictions in movement, curfew etc must accompany strict order on all employers and all concerned banning retrenchment, wage-cut and eviction from residences etc and same must be strictly enforced.
6. Scrap anti-worker Labour Codes and anti-people Farm Laws and Electricity Bill
7. Stop privatization and Disinvestment
8. Cash transfer of Rs 7500 per month for all non income tax paying families
9. 10 kg free food grains per person per month for the next six months
10. Ensure non Covid patients get effective treatment in government hospitals
11. Ensure availability of protective gear, equipments etc for all health and frontline workers and those engaged in pandemic-management work including ASHAs and anganwadi employees along with comprehensive insurance coverage for them all

Covid protocols – wearing masks, maintaining physical distance etc should be strictly followed by all our leaders, cadres, activists and members to safeguard their own health and the health of their comrades, colleagues and family members.

INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF UTUC

And Sectoral Federations/Associations