2nd September 2016 General Strike
Reflection of Workers’
Anger
Hemalata
The country wide general strike on 2nd September
this year was even bigger and more widespread than that held on the same day
last year, as initial reports from all over the country suggest. The country
wide general strike this year too was held on the same 12 point charter of
demands. The central trade unions claimed a participation of 15 crore workers
in the strike last year. The impact of the strike this year was so huge that
even before the trade unions made any claims, the electronic media reported
that 18 crore workers participated in the strike.
This gives big rebuff to the claims
made by the government that it was working for the benefit of the workers and
for providing them social security benefits. It is also significant that the
BMS, which withdrew from the strike in the last minute in 2015, did not join
the strike call this year at all. Besides, the BJP led government used
everything within its capacity to create confusion among the workers and
sabotage the strike. The BMS became a willing ally of the government in these
efforts, declaring that it was ‘withdrawing’ from a strike that it has never
called, but also claiming ‘historic victory’ for the workers. All these were
nothing but manoeuvres by the BJP and the BMS, both members of the same parivar headed
by the RSS to deceive the workers in their efforts to serve their corporate
masters. The corporate media, particularly the electronic media, as usual,
aired these false claims and added their might to the misinformation campaign.
But the working class of the country
refused to be deceived. As the reports show, despite the call of the BMS
leadership to organise ‘victory rallies and meetings’, BMS members were not
willing to oppose the strike. In fact, in several places they joined the
strike. Workers who were not organised into any unions, who joined the strike
last year, as in Pune industrial area, joined the strike this time too. In
several places the strike spread to newer areas encompassing newer sections of
workers. In many states, not only the states that are traditional strongholds
of trade unions, but in many others, the strike turned into a bandh. This was
mainly due to the massive participation of the road transport workers as a
result of which life in these states came to a standstill. In many districts of
Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab
wore a bandh like look. Despite the attempts by the TMC government in West
Bengal to suppress the strike by issuing warnings and threats to the workers,
state transport buses in the state plied empty and a bandh like situation
prevailed in almost all the districts. In Kerala and Tripura, as always, strike
turned into a bandh.
The
anger of the workers against the policies of the government was visible in many
ways. Around 70000 anganwadi employees and ASHAs, most of them who were not
members of any union joined the strike in Gujarat. Thousands of them
participated in the demonstrations held at the district headquarters in many
districts. All the workers in the minor ports of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, Gangavaram
and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh joined the strike. These workers are not members
of any of the central trade unions that called the strike. Similarly in many
industrial clusters across the country, thousands of workers, who are not
members of any union, joined the strike.
While there were a few areas like
the port sector where the strike was not as good as the last time, and a few
districts where the strike in the road transport sector was not as effective as
last year, overall the strike was observed in many more industrial clusters and
sectors and many newer sections of workers joined it.
It was not only the misinformation
and misleading campaign of the government with its huge advertisements in the
media aided and abetted by the BMS that the workers confronted. In several
states they were subjected to victimisation, police repression and physical
attacks. In Haryana 22 leaders of road transport workers’ union were arrested
and the striking workers were lathi charged; police went to the residential
areas where contract workers lived and coerced them to join duties. Several
coal workers in Jharkhand were suspended for joining the strike. The police
conducted a flag march to intimidate workers and also lathi charged workers
standing peacefully near a theatre in Noida. In West Bengal CITU leader and
former MP Suraj Pathak and many CITU leaders were arrested. TMC goons attacked
the workers and their supporters, including women, participating in the
rallies. Around 5000 workers were arrested in different parts of Assam.
The extent of the strike and the
support it received could be gauged from the reports that were available till
the evening of 2nd September though comprehensive reports from
all the states and sectors are yet to come. In several states local state level
unions joined the strike. In Telangana, the TRS affiliated union joined the
strike; the TNTUC belonging to the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh supported the
strike in Telangana. Even in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, though TNTUC opposed
the strike, workers belonging to it joined the strike. In Odisha the chief
minister himself expressed his support to the strike when the trade union
leaders met him. The Left parties openly supported the strike. Even while the
BMS was not part of the strike and BMS leadership directed its members to
observe ‘victory rallies’, local units of the BMS were not in a position to
oppose the strike; in several states BMS members joined the strike.
Overwhelming majority of bank and
insurance employees all over the country joined the strike. State government
employees in most of the states joined the strike. Particularly noteworthy is
the participation of state government employees in the north eastern states
including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya etc who
participated in the strike for the first time. Participation of central
government employees – of the income tax employees, postal employees in
particular was massive. Defence employees in several defence production units
joined the strike. BSNL employees all over the country joined the strike. The
strike was near total in the coal sector. Overwhelming majority of contract
workers in the public sector participated in the strike. Strike among medical
and sales representatives was total in almost all the states.
Scheme workers including anganwadi
employees, ASHAs, midday meal workers participated in the strike all over the
country. Teaching and non teaching staff of National Child Labour Project
joined the strike in Bihar, Maharashtra etc. Traditional sector workers like
the plantation workers, cashew, coir, and fisheries workers participated in the
strike in their lakhs. Unorganised workers in beedi, construction, head load
workers, auto and rickshaw drivers, street vendors, domestic workers in several
states joined the strike and also participated in the demonstrations, rasta
roko and rail roko. Municipal and conservancy workers, panchayat workers,
village chowkidars etc also joined the strike.
In Andhra Pradesh, strike was total
in Vizag steel and DCI; around 70% of workers of permanent workers in the Vizag
Shipyard participated in the strike. The TTD in the holy town of Tirupati was
totally paralysed. Autos all over the state went on strike. Almost all the
industrial clusters including the Renigunta industrial area were closed down.
In several major cities truck owners associations participated in the strike.
This along with the strike of the head load workers throughout the state
brought all commercial transactions in the state to a standstill.
In Assam strike took the form of
complete bandh in almost all districts seriously affecting public and private
transport. No oil refinery in the state functioned. ONGC remained paralysed.
More than 15 lakhs tea garden workers joined the strike. All public and private
educational institutions remained closed. Railway transport was disrupted due
to the rail roko by the unorganised workers, peasants, agricultural workers
etc.
In Bihar too the strike was turned
into bandh in many districts. Road transport including bus and tempo services
was off the road. Workers in several industrial clusters went on strike.
Workers in almost all the major
industrial areas in NCR Delh joined the strike. Massive joint demonstrations
were held in several centres. The central demonstration was addressed by the
national trade union leaders.
In Gujarat, an estimated 4 lakhs
workers in 22 districts joined the strike and organised demonstrations in many
districts.
Strike
was highly successful in Haryana including in the Gurgaon, Manesar industrial
areas. Workers in the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Hero Honda and
other industrial units joined the strike and held demonstrations.
Demonstrations were held in Jammu
region in support of the strike while Kashmir region continues to be under
curfew. Thousands of workers from different sectors participated in the
demonstrations
In Jharkhand strike was observed in
industrial areas including in Jamshedpur that never participated in any strike
till now. It was reported to be more massive than the strike in 2015.
An estimated 50 lakhs workers
participated in the strike in Karnataka. Strike was total in the road transport
sector and in all the major industries in Bengaluru and Mysore. 19 lakhs
workers in the industrial clusters of Bengaluru joined the strike. Strike was
total in both the units of Mico, L&T, Chenna metals, Toyota, ITC, Vikrant
Tyres etc. In BEL in Bengaluru, the union affiliated to INTUC did not join
the strike; despite this 80% of workers, 800 out of the total 1073 workers,
more than the membership of the CITU affiliated union, joined the strike
The strike in transport sector in
several cities and towns in Madhya Pradesh was total. Hamalis of agricultural
mandis also participated affecting commercial transactions.
Strike was total in many private
industrial areas in Maharashtra including the Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nasik,
Mumbai, Solapur etc. Major industries like Ceat Ltd, Thysun Crupp, Sansonite
India, Crompton Grieves, beer manufacturing units, pharma industries, liquor
and textile industries were closed. Strike was total among beedi and power loom
workers in Solapur.
Strike created a bandh like
situation in Odisha. It was total among iron ore, manganese and coal mines
workers and near total among the contract workers. Road transport including
autos was totally paralysed.
Strike evoked massive response in Punjab
with workers. Road transport was paralysed and industrial clusters remaining
closed. Unorganised workers participated in the demonstrations in
thousands.
The garment industry in Tiruppur in
Tamil Nadu witnessed total strike. Strike was also effective in the Coimbatore
industrial area. It was total in Ashok Leyland, Ennore Foundries, Simpson Group
of companies and all three factories of TI Group in Chennai. Workers in BHEL
Trichy and Ranipet, ordinance factory in Nilgiris, defence production units in
Avadi and Aravangadu were totally in strike. In Aravangadu, BMS members also
joined the strike. Contract workers in Manali industrial belt MFL, ATC Tyres in
Tirunelveli and TCL Lancer, in L&T, in Tyre machinery making Honey Well
company went on strike.
There was bandh like situation in
the state due to the total participation of road transport workers in the
strike in Telangana. There was total strike in most of the public sector
undertakings in the state. Strike was also total in most of the industrial
clusters in and around Hyderabad. On the whole the strike was reported to be
even more successful than last year
Strike was total in Udhampur
industrial area of Uttarakhand and partial in that in Haridwar. It was also
total in public road transport in the state but partial in private road
transport.
In West Bengal, bandh like situation
prevailed in many districts despite the threats and intimidation of the TMC
government and its goons. Government ran buses without passengers in the
morning but was compelled to withdraw later. Jute mills were closed. Commercial
activities were nominal. Educational institutions in several districts were
closed. Most of the tea gardens remained closed.
This strike, the seventeenth joint
country wide general strike after the advent of neoliberal policies in the
country, was preceded by joint campaign that was better organised and
taken up to the block and in some states lower level to reach the workers. In
addition, CITU prepared campaign material to make the workers aware of the
issues and their relationship to the government policies. Booklets exposing
government claims were also published which were translated into local
languages. During the strike the lower level committees were regularly up dated
with information exposing government claims. This has helped in preventing the
workers from succumbing to the confusion sought to be created by the government
and the BMS.
This country wide general strike
will definitely be a mile stone in the working class struggles of the country.
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