All India Strike on 2nd September 2015

Against FDI in Railways, Insurance and Defence: Item No. 9 - Explanatory Notes - Charter of Demands - All India Strike 2nd Sep, 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER 2nd ALL INDIA STRIKE - CHARTER OF DEMANDS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

CHARTER OF DEMANDS.

Item No. 9. Against FDI in Railways, Insurance and Defence.(ii) No Privatisation, PPP or FDI in Railways, Defence Establishment and no corporatization of Postal services.

The first Industrial Policy resolution of Free India was notified in 1948. The defense production specially arms and ammunition, Atomic Energy and Railway Transport were the three sectors where private entry was barred by the Resolution for the sake of National Security and people’s welfare. In 1956, the Government of India revised the resolution to bring in 17 Sectors in the exclusive realm of Government. In 1991, to usher in the LPG policies, Narasimha Rao Government amended the resolution to de-reserve nine of the seventeen. Railways, Defence production, Atomic Energy continued to be barred to private Entrepreneurs. The NDA Government in which BJP was the predominant partner further liberalized the resolution in 1999 but still retained the Defence production, Atomic Energy and Railways within the exclusive Governmental Sector. The Defence production went in for partial privatisation when the Government allowed FDI to the extent of 26% whereby the foreign Arms manufacturers were permitted access to the vital Defence sector, disregarding the national security perspective. In all developed Nations, Arms manufacturing is a business intended to make profit. In other words, war was and is business to them and war related agony to be the market for profit. Defence production for them was not only for the purpose of defence of the country but for waging offensive wars also. What is now decided by the present Government is to make Indian defence production on line with the international standards; i.e. attune it to make profits through export for which war perception and hysteria has to be created as a marketing technology ..Eventually this will lead to closure of Department controlled Defence production units, unable to face the unscrupulous competition from the Transnational Corporations driving thousands of workers to poverty and penury. The present decision of the Government to increase FDI in defence production to 49% will leave no room for the existing Defence production unit to survive.

On 22nd August, 2014, the Modi Government amended the1991 Government of India’s Industrial Policy Resolution replacing the words “Railway Transport” as “Railway operations” . Simultaneously, they also announced the induction of 100% FDI in Railways including operation, construction, design and maintenance. Contrary to the general perception, assiduously generated, Railways is not a loss making entity in India. The profit after dividend in FY 2013-14 was Rs. 7942 Cr. And the dividend paid to Government was Rs. 7839 Cr. The social obligation cost was of the order of Rs. 21.391 Cr. which the Government has not paid back to Railways at all. In other words, the Railways in the year 2013-14 have made a clean profit of Rs. 29333 Cr.

British India made the first experimentation of private operations of Railways by offering a guaranteed 5% return on investments. Neither the Railway net work was expanded, nor were the Government or the customers benefitted. British Government had to ultimately rescind its decision and took over the Railway operations in 1924.

Neither FDI nor the PPP will help the Railways. The DMRC had to ultimately take over the Airport Express Line and run it, for the Reliance who undertook the construction on PPP model found it not profitable. The induction of FDI and the consequent privatization of Railways will make Rail journey beyond the reach of the poor people of India. In the bid to maximize profits, Railways will be compelled to charge enormously for its services. The unprofitable lines will be closed down. No social obligation will be undertaken by the Railways. Lakhs of Railway workers will be compelled to seek employment elsewhere.

The Committee set up by the Government to suggest methods of reform in Railways under the Chairmanship of Shri Bibek Debroy submitted its report in March, 2015. The voluminous report has drawn the roadmap for eventual privatization of railway operations. In its core recommendations, it has suggested that there must be a change in the institutional arrangement between the Railways and the Government and introduce competition in the functioning of the Railways. In other words, Railway operations must be open to private enterprises so as to have competition. The Committee also inter alia suggested that the policies (and especially the fare fixation) must be left to a Railway Regulatory Authority and the Government should be divested of its present power to fixing or restricting the railway fare. One of its other bizarre recommendations is to introduce the bullet bond system for payment of retirement benefits to the employees with a lock in period of 20 to 30 years. i.e. the Retired personnel of Railways will provide the funds out of their legitimate dues after serving for 30 to 40 years to enable the Railways to make investment.

Railway will become a loss making enterprise in the days to come as is the case with the Railways in most of the advanced capitalist countries of Europe. The present decision of the Government to have 100% FDI in Railways, to say the least, is an unpatriotic act in search of profit. The Government of the day has thrown a challenge to working people of the country in general and Railway and Defence workers in particular.

The Task force set up by the Government under the chairmanship of Shri T.S.R.Subramaniam, former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, has recommended to convert the postal department into a corporate entity, perhaps on the lines the Telecom was made into BSNL,VSNL and MTNL. The Company so formed will have five subsidiary arms. The Corporatisation route may not bring about an immediate reduction in the manpower, but eventually will. The entire social obligations will be thrust upon the new company while the private players will take the creamy part of the communication business as was done in the case of Telecom. In the longer run, the Public Sector Company so formed would be made to incur losses and public opinion generated for its closure. Let there be no illusion; the Government’s decision is to privatize and make available the huge infra structure built over centuries of postal operations to the private enterprises ( As they eye only the prime real estate in the possession of the Postal Department) as also to hand over the lucrative business of Postal Banking and Postal Insurance to Transnational Corporations in the Banking and Insurance sectors.

ALL ITEMS OF CHARTER OF DEMANDS.

1. Urgent measures for containing price-rise through universalisation of public distribution system and banning speculative trade in commodity market [view].

2. Containing unemployment through concrete measures for employment generation. (iii) No ban on creation of new posts. Fill up all vacant posts [view]

3. Strict enforcement of all basic labour laws without any exception or exemption and stringent punitive measure for violation for labour laws. Against Labour Law Amendments [click to view]

(viii) No labour reforms which are inimical to the interest of the workers.

4. Universal social security cover for all workers

(v) Scrap PFRDA Act an re-introduce the defined benefit statutory pension scheme. (6)Assured enhanced pension not less than Rs. 3000/- P.M. for the entire working population.

5. Fix minium wage with provisions of indexation.

(i) Effect wage revision of the Central Government Employees from 01.01.2014 accepting memorandum of the staff side JCM; ensure 5-year wage revision in future; grant interim relief and merger of 100% of DA; Include Gramin Dak Sevaks within the ambit of 7th CPC. Settle all anomalies of 6th CPC.

6. Stoppage of disinvestment in Central/State PSUs. . Stoppage of contractorisation in permanent perennial work and payment of same wage and benefits for contract workers as regular workers for same and similar work.

(v) No outsourcing, contractorisation, privatization of governmental functions; withdraw the proposed move to close down the printing presses, the publications, form stores and stationery departments and medical stores Depots; regularize the existing daily-rated/casual and contract workers and absorption of trained apprentices.

7. Removal of all ceilings on payment and eligibility of bonus, provident fund; increase the quantum of gratuity.

(ix) Remove the ceiling on payment on bonus

8. Compulsory registration of trade unions within a period of 45 days from the date of submitting applications; and immediate ratification of ILO Convention C 87 and C 98.

(vi) Revive the JCM functioning at all level as an effective negotiating forum for settlement of the demands of the Central Government Employees.

9. Against FDI in Railways, Insurance and Defence.

(ii) No Privatisation, PPP or FDI in Railways, Defence Establishment and no corporatization of Postal services.

10 Remove arbitrary ceiling on compassionate appointment.

11. Ensure five promotions in the serve career.

Source: www.staffnews.in