'We Are 93' March For Workers' Rights

“Aamra Tiranabboi”  (We are 93) organized a rally Rally at Rani Rashmoni Road on November 11, 2014. Two processions started at 12 p.m. from Sealdah and Howrah

We are 93% of the work force in India, producing 67% of the country’s GDP.  We are unorganized sector workers.  Our daily problems are insecurity in work and deprivation from any kind of social security; low wages in the midst of huge inflation; inhuman working conditions. We have understood in our work and our communities that the political situation and the socio-economic conditions at the State level and Central level are responsible for our dire situation.  The rally took  place under the banner of the Ossongothito Khetra Sramik Sangrami Manch (Unorganised Sector Workers' Platform for Struggle), the conveners of which are Swapan Ganguly and Somnath Ghosh.

Among the issues highlighted at the rally were: 

·The attacks by the Government on the fundamental right to association. These form a part of the general police and gunda raj that prevails in the state. The experience of the civic police volunteers and brickfield workers who are members of the Manch is especially notable in this respect.

·The reluctance of the State Government to implement the Minimum Wages Act, especially in the context of tea plantation workers. 

·The failure of the State and Central Government to provide minimum food security to workers through the implementation of the National Food Security Act

·The dilution of the 100 days work programme under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the attempt to withdraw it by the Central Government.

We are apprehensive about the attempts to create divisions amongst the working class by communal forces in our state and our country. The role of the party ruling at the Centre is especially worrying, as is the pandering to communal elements by the parties at both the Centre and State. The unity of the workers is our strength and divisions can only weaken us. Our rally is also taking place in this context.

Among those at the rally were agricultural workers, marginal farmers, construction workers, biri rollers, brick field workers, Health Department link workers, midday meal scheme cooks, civic police volunteers, members of self-help groups, sericulture workers, fish workers, tea plantation workers, hawkers, contract workers and many others. Workers camme from the hilly tea gardens in the north and the fisheries on the coast in Sunderbans, from Purulia in the west and Murshidabad in the east.

Our specific demands are:

·Stop taking away workers’ rights, including the right to strike;

·Declare Rs.15,000 per month as the minimum wage for all workers in all trades, including tea plantation workers;

·Establish democracy in all spheres of society. Stop political violence and attacks on opposing forces and give every person the freedom to express their views;

·All workers must be covered by ESI (health security), provident fund, pension and other social security measures. Pension must be 50% of last wage drawn;

·Stop the appointment of contract, “volunteers” and temporary workers to work that is permanent in nature;

·Women’s safety in the workplace, in public places and in the homes must be ensured;

·Creches must be set up in all work places;

·Social and economic security of all Dalits, Adivasis, religious minorities and other deprived communities must be ensured;

·Stop dilution of the 100 days MGNREGA programme;

·Implement the limited provisions of National Food Security Act immediately and amend the Act to make it a law guaranteeing real food security;

·Remunerative prices for produce and subsidies for inputs must be guaranteed for small and marginal farmers;

·Affordable housing must be guaranteed for all workers near their places of work; pattas for homestead land must be given to all tea plantation workers;

·All closed tea gardens must be re-opened; 

·Implement the 2014 Hawkers Act immediately.

WBCPA: Press Conference Invitation

The West Bengal Civic Police Association, a member organisation of the Ossongothito Khetra Sramik Sangrami Mancha, cordially welcomes you to a press conference at the Kolkata Press Club on November 4, 2014 at 3 p.m.

The West Bengal Civic Police Association (WBCPA) is an association of men and women who are employed by the State Government of West Bengal in India to supplement mainstream policing and to provide short duration routine guarding duties. WBCPA was formed in December 2013 for the betterment of its members’ working conditions.  

On October 10, 2013, 130,000 men and women between the age of 18 and 28 years were recruited by the West Bengal government as “civic police volunteers”, with a wage rate of only Rs.141.82 per day and extremely precarious working conditions. With the help of the Ossonghotito Khetra Sramik Sangrami Manch the civic police began self-organising in November 2013, with meetings and conventions in many police stations and districts. During the Lok Sabha elections, they were on duty. However by June 30, all of them were thrown out of employment. The young men and women therefore organised a large protest meeting in Kolkata on July 10, 2014, which was attended by about 35-40,000 youth. 

The members of WBCPA have had to face huge repression after their July meeting. Despite High Court orders in their favour, many facing dismissal have not been reinstated.  

It is in this context of repression, false police cases, physical torture and other illegal acts that the WBCPA is calling this press conference to declare its future programme as well as to give details of the problems being faced by our members.

For WBCPA

Sanjay Poria, President

Police, ruling party goons attack Civic Police demonstrators

We strongly protest the illegal arrest, harassment and brutal behaviour of West Bengal Police administration along with ruling party supported goons against members of the West Bengal Civic Police Association in particular and unorganised sector workers as a whole. The West Bengal Civic Police Association is a member of Ossongothito Khetra Sramik Sangrami Manch. 

On October 31, more than 150 Civic Police assembled in a meeting near the Malda Town Hall with prior intimation to the administration to give deputation to the Superintendent of Police (SP) and District Magistrate (DM) of Malda district. After they assembled, without any reason the police arrested more than 140 Civic Police and confined them in English Bazar Police Station. Two of them, Mahesh Saha and Musaraf Hossen, were severely beaten up by the police and became seriously ill. They were taken to the Hospital by the police in haste. 

The deputation was to protest against the illegal dismissal of the entire civic police volunteer force in the district. The work of about 4,500 of them was stopped in June 2014 and they were not reinstated after that, despite of the fact that the Government’s order (GO no. 1940-PL/PB/3P-31/12) dated 14.07.2014, clearly mentioned that all of them should be reinstated and no new appointments should be made. The dismissed Civic Police of Malda wrote letters to the respective Police Stations and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Malda protesting the dismissal. They moved three writ petitions in Calcutta High Court. The Court ordered the SP of Malda on 5^th, 19^th & 25^th of September 2014 either to reinstate them or explain why they are not eligible for the job of Civic Police within 4 weeks time. No action has been taken so far by the SP. 

According to the ASP Malda, the young men were arrested because Section 144 (banning assembly of more than 5 persons) had been imposed in the area. He claims that the civic volunteers were informed in writing about this, but had still persisted in having their meeting. The civic police on the other hand claim that they were informed that they were violating Section 144 just minutes before their arrest, without giving them even time to disperse.   Press reports on the 1^st December claim that the DM and the Subdivisional Officer (SDO) who are empowered to declare Section 144 also had not idea about the impostion of Section 144. 

The Malda incident is a continuation of a series of actions being taken to suppress the movement of the civic police volunteers. Just a few days ago, on 29 October 2014 the Civic Police Association of Hooghly district organised a meeting at Arambagh Bus Terminal after giving prior information to SP, DM and IC Arambagh Police Station. When 300 of them assembled there, goons of the ruling party armed with lathis surrounded them and threatened them for dire consequences. The President of Hooghly district unit Subroto Hazra was confined till 7 pm and severely beaten up. Earlier Ramchandra Poria, father of Sanjay Poria, the President of the Association was threatened by armed goons of local ruling party to burn their house and belongings if Sanjay got involved in movement of Civic Police. Ramchnadra Poira was also told to stop his participation in the Paschim Banga khet Majoor Samity, another member organisation of the Ossongothito Khetra Sramik Sangrami Mancha. 

The Mancha has decided to organise a public meeting in Kolkata on 11-11-2014 to highlight various demands of unorganised sectors workers and the undemocratic situation prevailing in the state.

 We demand:

1. Immediate reinstatement of dismissed Civic Police following Hon'be Calcutta High Court Order.
2. Stop harassment and vicitimisation of Civic Police.
3. Ensure gurrantee of constitutional right of  'Right to Association'.

Swapan Ganguly, Somenath Ghosh 
for Ossongothito Khetra Shramik Sangrami Mancha            

Minister Agrees To Minimum Wages Panel In Tea By November First Week

A delegation from the United Tea Workers Front (UTWF) was told by Shri Moloy Ghatak, Minister-in-charge, Labour Department, Government of West Bengal that minimum wages in the tea industry would be implemented in another six months.A set of demands was submitted to him by the UTWF which are as follows:

a.       The State Government must immediately convene a tripartite meeting with the employers and unions in the tea industry to reach a mutual understanding on the wage issue;

b.       Regardless of the outcome of such a tripartite meeting, the State Government must immediately declare a minimum wage for the tea industry;

 c.        In the declaration of such a minimum wage, the State Government must ensure parity with the minimum wage it has already declared in other sectors, while also following widely accepted legal norms such as the 15^th ILC norms and Supreme Court orders in the Workmen vs Reptakos Brett case and Unichoy vs State of Kerala. 

The Minister informed the delegation that the employers were stubbornly sticking to a raise of only Rs.132 in 3 years, which the Government found unacceptable, hence they were unwilling to call a tripartite meeting as they knew workers would also not accept the same.  On the other hand, the minister accepted the demands made by UTWF and agreed to set up a committee for the minimum wage of the tea-plantation workers under section 5(1) of Minimum Wages Act,1948 The hon’ble minister assured the delegation that his department would issue notifications for the said committee by the first week of November, 2014 and it would be mandated to submit reports and recommendations to the government within 3 months from its date of formation. He said that the government would thereupon issue the draft notification for the minimum wage for the plantation workers. As per Section 5 (2) of the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the minimum wage would then become enforceable within three months of the draft notification.

He thus assured the delegation that the minimum wages for the tea-plantations would be instituted within six to seven months. In response to the demands made by the delegation on the issue of closed gardens and their proper reopening, and the state government’s initiative and actions on the issue, it was reported that the hon’ble chief minister of the state has already written to the government of India about a possible takeover of closed tea gardens and their reopening.

UTWF affirms once again it stands for a consistent united struggle for the minimum living wages of the workers of the industry.

Signed: Anuradha Talwar, Kiran Kalindi, Sushovan Dhar, Debjit Dutta, Dipak Nag, Rohit Nag