CITU rally marks 11th Madurai district conference

  “Workers’ protest for their rights across the State is not just for them but for the entire humankind,” said Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan.  

Speaking at the Centre of Indian Trade Union’s 11^th Madurai district conference here on Saturday, he added, “A case in point is the Samsung workers’ protest which witnessed participation of 1,000 members. Even when the number counts, the protest shook the sentiment of the entire society.” 

Though the protest could be seen as a success to the workers, the actual scenario in the nation favouring the corporates should be introspected to make the upcoming struggles stronger, he noted.  

“The existing powerless laws have failed the labourers by denying their rights enshrined in the Constitution,” he added.  

When the law stipulated eight hours of work per day, many surveys have proved that workers toil for more than 10 hours a day, he stated.  

Noting that the eight hours work pattern was according to the earlier industrial era period, Mr. Venkatesan said, “After several decades of industrial development and availability of sophisticated equipment the eight-hour work pattern continues.” 

When the profits of the developments were enjoyed by the owners, the labourers’ struggle for even a minimum wage prolonged, he added.  

At a time when governments and corporates were vouching for 12-hours-work schedule, labours and unions across the world demand for six-hours-work, Mr. Venkatesan noted. 

“When Madurai district has close to four lakh workers, only 17,000 workers were in CITU. Even when the workers’ strength was enough to decide the politics of the district, many factors prevent them from uniting together,” he said.  

More than increasing the strength of the union, politicising the existing workers was more essential and was also the need of the hour, he said.  

The CITU members went on a rally at Sellur to mark the beginning of the event.