A joint platform of ten central trade unions and farmer outfits held nationwide protests against the Centre’s policies on Sunday, the anniversary of Quit India day. Named “Save India Day,” the protests, trade unions said, is the beginning of a “united struggle of non-cooperation and defiance to anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies of the Centre”.

The action programmes were organised in almost all the States, at work places, union offices, on roads and streets and included processions, cycle and motorbike rallies and public meetings. The programmes organised at more than one lakh places saw participation of over one crore people. There were programmes in some States yesterday and will be held tomorrowin some other States.

Addressing a protest here, leaders of the trade unions said all workers are not being taken back even as the lockdown ended. Only a small percentage is getting their jobs back, that too with reduced wages, and refusal to pay lockdown period salary. “Such denial of employment and wage-reduction have to be unitedly combated. The MSMEs themselves are reporting that 30 per cent to 35 per cent units may not be in position to start their activities. Unemployment rate is high and job losses continue. Malnutrition will increase, hunger deaths will become a daily reality, and there is real threat of depression resulting in suicides amongst workers, say eminent scientists and medical experts. All these issues are enraging workers,” the trade unions said in a joint statement.

Privatisation opposed

They said the Centre failed to recognise the services provided by employees of Railways, Defence, Banks, Insurance, Telecom, Postal and other sectors providing essential services during the lockdown period, did not address the problems they faced.

The CTUs also reiterated their opposition to disinvestment and wholesale privatisation of public sector enterprises and entry of FDI in core sectors up to the tune of 100 per cent. “The Government continues with its arrogant attitude of going ahead with privatisation and sale of PSUs, and dangerously liberalising foreign entry in vital sectors of the economy like defence production from 49 to 74 per cent along with corporatisation of 41 ordnance factories for privatisation; it is also going ahead with its project of privatising Indian Railways in phases, the latest being its destructive decision of privatising 151 train services in highly remunerative routes to facilitate private players to make huge profit using infrastructure and manpower of Indian Railways,” they said.

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