People’s Lockdown Today

 

A scene from the Jan strike

The government kept the country locked down for three-quarters of a year. Now the people have called for a lockdown of their own. Today is a national strike called by all the trade unions together except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh which is affiliated to RSS. What are the grievances of the people, the working class?

First of all, we should remember that this is the second such strike called all over the country. The first was on 8 Jan which saw 30 crore workers joining in. India’s total labour force, including the workers in agriculture, is 56 crore. So the figure of 30 crore is significant. Also remember that the farmers have been agitating in many parts of the country in the last many months, Punjab being the latest example.

BJP may keep winning elections (who knows how?) but people aren’t happy with them. That’s quite obvious. Why? Let us look at some of the problems raised by today’s strikers.

In the last strike – the January one – the workers wanted better remunerations. Rs 21000 per month is the minimum salary they are demanding. Quite fair when we compare that sum with those taken home by our government executives, politicians, endless staff of the politicians, and other government staff. I’m purposely leaving out the private sector which is not doing quite well these days in spite of the sops given them generously every now and then.

Though the private sector isn’t doing well at all, the government is keen to privatise almost everything in the country – from railways and airports and harbours to forests and banks and rivers. The country is being sold piece by piece. This was the second grievance of the strikers in Jan. Stop selling the country.

The first strike’s impact was stolen by the pandemic that succeeded it immediately. Everyone experienced helplessness to some degree or the other. The government declared three packages to help out. None of these packages helped the labourers. They helped the corporate sector. Obviously, the labourers felt betrayed by the government. [They voted for the same government in the recent elections, however. One of the infinite mysteries that plague Indian politics!]

The tragic truth is that the Modi government took the pandemic as an opportunity for implementing their hidden agendas. For example, the 29 labour laws were transmuted into 4 codes which regulate wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational security. In the process job security just disappeared. You can be fired at any time from your job. one of Modi sarkar’s many gifts to you.

The public sector in India is crumbling because of the government’s eagerness to sell the country to Ambanis and Adanis. The package declared for BSNL was actually for asking the workers there to take voluntary retirement and go home. BSNL is merging into Ambani’s infinite private property. Much of India is Ambani’s private property already.

The sheer insensitivity of the government towards the working class may be illustrated by the fact that while the minimum wage in the country is a paltry Rs202, the management is given the power to cut eight days’ wages if a worker strikes work one day. That is how the government cares for the labourer!

Today’s strike is a fight for survival. It is a reminder to the government that its callousness revealed during the lockdown exodus won’t be acceptable anymore. Ensure the welfare of the struggling poor by giving unemployment allowances and food articles. Repeal anti-labourer laws. Support labourers. Make them pensionable too.

The demands are justified. A country shouldn’t belong to the minority of the rich and the privileged.