PBKMS announces its 10th State Convention at Badu Collective, Madhyamgram

District and block units of PBKMS assemble for the convention amidst the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections

Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS), one of the largest independent trade unions for agricultural workers and farm workers in India organizes the 10th State Convention in the sprawling campus of the Badu Collective. On 23rd and 24th January, 2021 members and activists across West Bengal will assemble for the state convention to discuss and deliberate on organizational issues and the general state of affairs in the state. The organization has always been at the forefront in upholding the constitutional rights of the people and advocating for effective implementation of rights based implementation(s). Against the backdrop of the upcoming assemble elections in West Bengal, we have begun our mass contact programmes to drive awareness about the relevance of issues affecting the working class and the apathy of the political leadership in taking them up. 'জলে কুমির, ডাঙায় বাঘ: এবার আমরা কি করবো?' (we are in a situation where we are finding ourselves in between the devil and the deep blue sea) is a call given by us to express the latent anger of the working class amidst the apathy and misplaced priorities of the political dispensation wherein political parties cutting across party lines are failing to address the concerns of the people. The recently ratified farm laws and the labour laws point clearly towards the intention of the central government which has taken a vow to erode the rights of small and marginal farmers, workers and people associated with the unorganized sector. The state government of West Bengal has also not adequate steps to ensure access to food, nutrition, housing, health, quality education and livelihood opportunities for the people. We are attempting to sustain a social media campaign to highlight important concerns of the people to enable the masses in taking an informed decision during the upcoming state assembly elections.   

From the tea gardens of North Bengal to the 'Amphan' affected coastal districts of South Bengal, we are relentlessly bringing up the issues affecting the working class and the vulnerable sections of the society. The proper functioning of the Public Distribution System and the public works programme in rural areas have been ensured in the numerous field areas across the state by our activists and members. Monitoring of existing grievance redressal systems and advocating for community led monitoring systems feature amongst one of the core activities of our field units.

Poster circulated widely on the announcement of our 10th state convention at Badu

The convention will witness presentation of various reports by the respective committees and deliberations on issues that require the immediate attention of the organization. We will be charting out our future roadmap and putting forward our demand charter along with resolutions to extend our solidarity with ongoing people's movements on numerous issues in different parts of the country.