Trade unions to hold convention on July 24

To mobilise support for the general strike to be held on Sep 2

Tirupati: The leaders of national trade unions as well the employees and workers associations held a meeting here on Monday to discuss on the enlistment of support for the success of the nationwide general strike on September 2.

The general strike was called by the national trade unions including CITU, AITUC, INTUC and other unions against the BJP-led NDA government’s anti-employees and workers policy and to achieve 12 demands of the workers.

CITU State vice-president K Murali said that despite the Seventh Pay Commission recommendation and the demand from the trade unions to hike the minimum wage to Rs 18,000 keeping in view of the abnormal price rise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi government decided to fix the minimum wage at Rs 6,098. While at the same time the government did not refrained from hiking prices of fuel, electricity charges and rail and road transport charges causing burden on the common man compounding the woes of the poor.

The Central government also rejected the resolution passed by the Indian Trade Unions to recognise the employees working in government-run institutions and industries as ‘worker’ so as to make them eligible to get the minimum wages, he said.

Not even single demand of the workers including hiking the monthly minimum wage to Rs 18,000, extending pension and social security benefits to all employees and workers, removal of ceiling on bonus, stopping dilution of PSUs and filling up of vacant posts was conceded, the CITU leader said and added that the trade unions would intensify the stir if Modi government did not budge. He informed that as preparatory excise to the general strike a convention of trade unions and employees association will be held in Tirupati on July 24 to mobilise support for the strike in which State trade union leaders will participate. District presidents of the trade unions Ratna Kumar (INTUC), Murali (AITUC) and others also spoke.