The Convention was organized to demand withdrawal of the draconian TESMA of the Tamilnadu government banning strikes, to protest the attack, imprisonment and dismissal of thousands of government employees and teachers, and to express protest and opposition to the Supreme Court judgement, in connection with the Tamilnadu government employees and teachers movement, that held that government employees had no right - fundamental, legal, moral or equitable - to go on strike.
All India leaders of various Central Trade Unions - Comrade Krishna Chakraborty, Vice-Presi-dent, UTUC-LS; Comrade M. K. Pandhe, General Secretary, CITU; Comrade Gurudas Dasgupta, General Secretary, AITUC; Comrade Balasubramaniam, Vice President, AICCTU; Sri C. Kuppusamy, President, LPF; Sri Soundarajan, INTUC; Sri Rajasridhar, HMS and Sri Muthu, MMDK Labour Union - addressed the gathering. Leaders of various Employees' Federations - K. Balasubramaniam, TNGEU; N. L. Sridharan, TNGEA; C.H. Venkata-chalam, AIBEA; Duraipandian, CCGF; Mathiavanan, NFTE and J. Gurumurthy, AIIEA also spoke.


Speech of
Comrade Krishna Chakraborty

Congratulating the fighting government employees and teachers of Tamilnadu, Comrade Krishna Chakraborty said, interalia : The Tamilnadu government's attack on employees and teachers and the judgement of the Supreme Court banning strikes only marked end of a phase of struggle and the start of a new phase, the phase of a higher and bigger struggle. The first phase was the struggle only of the Tamilnadu government employees and teachers against the curtailment of the benefits while the new phase of struggle will be the struggle of the government employees and teachers of the whole country not only to restore all those benefits but also to assert their rights, particularly the right to strike. So, this phase of struggle will be higher not only because of its magnitude but also because of its higher aim and object. Nobody has gifted the right to strike to the working people. This right was acquired by the working people from the days of freedom movement through life and death struggle, by shedding blood and sacrificing life. I firmly believe that the working people will not hesitate to give blood and life again if needed to restore this right.
There is an impression that such an unprecedented suppression could take place in Tamilnadu because of Ms Jayalalitha's whims and autocratic attitude. It is true that she is whimsical and autocratic. But surely it is not because of her personal attitude. Fact is that such attempts are going on everywhere in every state even at the central level. There is an attempt - a planned and systemic attempt - of downsizing the workforce. And this is being done on the plea of financial crunch. Side by side there is an attempt to introduce the system of employment on contract basis. So, if we study closely it will be clear that all this is being done in conformity with the policy of globalization. In course of globalisation, the imperialists-capitalists, in order to rescue the crisis-ridden imperialist-capitalist economy from its ultimate doom, are trying to shape up a so-called New World Order. In this new world the very existing concept of job will be changed. In the changed system there will be no scale of pay, promotion, retirement benefits etc. The 'new world order' will push back the working people behind 1886 when the American working class led life and death struggle for 8-hour working day.
There is a widespread confusion that the powerful imperialist countries have imposed globalisation on our country. But this is not true. An unwilling horse can be at best dragged to the river but cannot be forced to drink. It was the Indian monopoly houses, which in their frantic bid to get a share in the 'globalized market', entered into the WTO. This is why both the central and all the state governments are implementing the policies of globalisation and privatization and all of them are taking measures to shape up this so-called 'new world order'. Labour laws are also going to be changed accordingly giving power to the owners to hire & fire the workers. Even the educational system is going to be patterned in conformity with the same. The Supreme Court has played its part. The ruling class tries to make people believe that judiciary is neutral and many believe it. But judiciary, like army, police, bureaucracy, is also a permanent organ of the state machine and the state is a coercive instrument in the hands of the ruling class to suppress its adversaries. Ours being a capitalist country, our state is a capitalist state. No wonder, that judiciary being a part of the state machine, will defend the ruling class at the hour of its crisis. Capitalism today is in deep crisis. The measures that the state and central governments are taking are bringing more and more untold sufferings in the life of the people and anger is growing in them. Any time it may burst out like an upheaval. Anticipating such a dangerous possibility, the Supreme Court has taken the precautionary measure so that such a movement does not take place.
The Supreme Court in its judgement has told that the employees and teachers have no moral right to go on strike. But the sense of morality in a class-divided society cannot be the same for both the exploiting and exploited classes. In a capitalist society like ours what is legitimate for the working people may not be legal. And it is mostly not. In every exploitative society, there is a contradiction between legitimacy and legality. And it will be a big mistake to expect that the rights of the working class will find place in the bourgeois constitution. If you find any anywhere, it is surely because of the pressure of the working class movement.
Several anti-employee measures of the Tamilnadu government curtailed one after another different benefits of the employees and teachers within one month, in April, issuing four Government Orders forcing them to take to the path of strike. But instead of strongly censoring the Tamilnadu government, the highest court of the land has punished the victimized employees and teachers by taking away their right to strike and that too not only of the government employees of Tamilnadu but also of the whole country including the central government employees. In a bourgeois society, this is known as justice!
So, being disillusioned about the 'neutrality' of the judiciary or the 'sagacity' of the governments, the employees and teachers all over the country, will have to launch a powerful movement to restore their right. On 26th September the Central Trade Unions held an All India Convention in Delhi where they decided to go for a general strike, the date of which will be announced in due course. No doubt a general strike is the only way to reassert the right to strike. And in this struggle I can assure you, you will not be alone. I have already mentioned that the implementation of privatization and liberalization has brought down unprecedented and all-out attacks on all sections of the working people and has caused untold sufferings to them. Hundreds of thousands of working men have already lost their jobs and many more are going to lose. Hundreds and hundreds of poor and middle farmers have been pushed to a situation where they have to commit suicide. Millions of youths are remaining unemployed having no future hope. The situation of the whole country is very grave. So, if you build up movement against these policies of the government and to assert your rights, all sections of toiling people will join you in this struggle.
And fearing this very possibility of surge of movements of all sections of toiling people against such oppression just like Antony government of Kerala, the Jayalalitha government of Tamilnadu also tried to create confusion among the people. The Tamilnadu government told that 90% of the revenue is spent only for the payment of salaries of the employees and teachers. This is not at all true. An impartial study shows that the government does not spent more than 36% for payment of salaries to the employees and teachers. And out of that also the lion's share goes to the payment of salaries to the officers of top-heavy administration. Districts have been bifurcated in order to further centralize control of administration necessitating huge expenditure on setting up police administration, district courts, civil administration etc. in those new districts. And the huge amount of money the chief minister and other ministers spend for their tours and security arrangements cannot but eat up a big portion of the revenue but for no benefit for the people. But an air has been created as if almost the entire revenue is being spent for the employees and teachers. This mischievous propaganda has been made to create cleavage between the employees and the common people. They try to make the common people believe that the problems of their life are not because of the capitalist exploitative system and particularly not for the policy of the globalization but for the employees and teachers. And this is also an attempt of the government to create enmity between the employed and the vast number of unemployed who have no security whatsoever in their life and hence are liable to fall victim to such misleading propaganda.
You will have to not only consolidate your organization but also mobilize all sections of the toiling masses of the country by removing all such confusions. And I believe if you all take up this task with all seriousness and build up a mighty movement throughout the country to assert your rights, victory will surely be yours.

Published in Proletarian Era on !st.Nov. 2003 issue The Central Organ of S.U.C.I