20일 세계노총이 성명을 통해 9월24일 예정된 인도세계노총의 총파업에 연대의 의사를 표시했다.
세계노총은 <인도의 공공서비스노동자(Scheme workers)들은 안전보장, 노동자보험제도화, 최저임금・연금보장을 요구하는 9월24일 총파업을 결행한다>라며 <그들은 팬데믹기간 자신들의 삶을 희생하며 민중의 영양있는 식사와 건강을 위해 전국에 배달노동을 제공했다. 정부와 민중간의 연결고리나 다름없었다.>고 밝혔다.
이어서 <고강도노동에도 불구하고 그들에게 주어진것은 아무것도 없었다. 심지어 마스크나 세정제도 제공되지 않았다.>라며 <국제노동규약을 어기고 있는데 대해 인도정부는 범죄적인 침묵과 태공을 유지하고 있다. 인도정부는 심지어 공공서비스노동자들을 <노동자>로 구분하고 있지도 않다.>고 규탄했다.
그러면서 <대다수의 민중들이 수입감소와 실업으로 고통받는데 따라 더 많은 재정이 공동무상의료에 요구되고 있다. 그러나 인도정부는 공공서비스과 관련해서 예산을 감축했다.>라며 <게다가 인도정부는 공공서비스를 사영화하려는 계획을 갖고있다>고 고발했다.
인도세계노총은 <우리는 정부에 대해 45차인도노동자대회가 만장일치로 정한 공공서비스노동자들에게 법정최저임금을 지급할것과 사회보장혜택을 받는 노동자로 인정할것을 요구한다>고 강력히 주장했다.
다음은 전문이다.
| CENTRAL TRADE UNIONS DEMAND LEGAL ENTITLEMENTS AS WORKERS TO ALL SCHEME WORKERS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT TO THE ALL INDIA STRIKE OF SCHEME WORKERS ON 24 SEPTEMBER 2021 The Joint Platform of Scheme Workers has decided to go for an all India Strike of Scheme workers on 24 September 2021 on their long pending demands of safety, risk allowance, insurance coverage and regularization, minimum wages and pension. Nearly one crore Scheme Workers including the Anganwadi, ASHA and Mid Day Meal workers are delivering the basic services of nutrition and health to the majority of the people, risking their lives during the pandemic. They are the link between the government and the people. 10 lakh ASHA workers and facilitators are performing round the clock duty, without leave; they are asked to go door to door to conduct surveys, reporting the cases, getting tests done, getting medical help to the infected, monitoring the patients, follow up with the recovered ones and so on. These are in addition to the vaccination duties for almost 8-9 hours a day. Nearly 26 lakh anganwadi workers and helpers under ICDS who are also performing similar duties along with ASHA workers and also distributing the ration door to door to the beneficiaries. Nearly 27 lakh Mid Day Meal workers supply ration door to door to the school going children and perform duties in community centres and quarantine centres. Many other workers under the National Health Mission (NHM) including the 108 Ambulance workers are also performing their duty in the fight against Covid 19. Workers under schemes like NCLP, NRLM all of them work at the grassroots level among the community risking their own lives of and of their family members. But they are not provided with any safety equipments, even masks or sanitizers. They are not entitled to any risk allowance or compensation. The Rs.50 lakh insurance coverage which the government declared with much fanfare did not reach most of the families of the scores of these frontline workers who lost their lives. The payment of the meager remuneration which is far below minimum wages (Rs.1000 per month for ten months in case of mid day meal workers) is also pending since last three to seven months in many states. The government is criminally silent in a denial mode on the recommendations of the 45th ILC on regularisation, minimum wages and pension for the scheme workers. The Central Government has not included the scheme workers in the category of workers. Even for registration in the E Shram Portal, although some of the scheme workers are included, many other scheme workers are left out. When the majority of the people suffered from loss of income and jobs and resultant poverty and there was much more demand for universal free quality pubic healthcare, through the central budget 2021-22, the Central Government has cut down the allocations for the schemes. In Mid-day meal, allocation has been cut down by Rs. 1400 crore from what has been spent last year. In ICDS, the allocation has been reduced by 30% compared to allocation in last year’s budget. In NHM there was no substantial increase even to provide the life insurance of frontline workers. In addition, the government is going ahead with privatization of these schemes as well. The national Digital Health Mission and other proposals of privatization of district hospitals etc are brought in health sector. In the ICDS, the government is introducing Direct Cash Transfers and targeting in the name of digitaisation, making efforts for handing over to NGOs and big Corporates by introducing various measures thus converting it into a charity service in place of a basic right. In Mid Day Meal scheme Direct Cash transfer is being introduced. In addition, big corporates and NGOs are brought to introduce Centralised Kitchens. The implementation of the three Farm Acts especially, the Essential Commodities Amendment Act will be the death knell of the schemes like ICDS and MDMS to ensure food security. In this circumstance, taking the call by Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions to intensify sectoral struggles on peoples issues, the Joint platform of Scheme Workers consisting of the organizations of scheme workers affiliated to the central trade unions – INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC , has decided to go for one day all India Strike. The Joint Platform of Scheme Workers has been continuously raising not only their own demands but the demands of the people for right to food, health and education and increased allocations for these basic services schemes. The Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions expresses solidarity and supports the call for strike by the scheme workers organizations. We call upon all the trade unions, working class and the people of the country to support the demands of the scheme workers. We demand that the government ensure the safety, risk allowance, compensation etc of the frontline scheme workers immediately. We demand implementation of the unanimous recommendations of the 45th Indian Labour Conference to recognise Scheme Workers as workers with attendant benefit of statutory minimum wages and social security benefits. We also demand the government go back from any move to privatise the schemes in any form. |