All India State Government Employees Federation to Launch Nationwide Agitation : Subhash Lamba

OPS, Regularization, Privatization, Pay Commission, and Filling of Vacant Posts Are Key Issues of the Agitation

Labor Codes Are a Document of Enslavement for Workers : Kashmir Singh

Chandigarh 14 April ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : As part of the national campaign of the All India State Government Employees Federation, a trade union training camp for activists was organized on Tuesday at Bhakna Bhawan. Hundreds of participants from Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand attended the camp. The camp was jointly presided over by the Federation's National President Subhash Lamba, Vice President Teerth Singh Bassi, Secretary N.D. Tiwari, Abdul Nazar, Krishan Kumar Nain, Manjit Saini, Surjit Singh Gagra, M. Subramaniam, Gopal Datt Joshi, Hurabano, and others. During the camp, a decision was taken to intensify the nationwide agitation, accusing the government of ignoring the extremely critical and key demands of employees and of privatizing Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and public service departments. The details of this agitation will be announced during the National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for May 9–10. National President Subhash Lamba, General Secretary A. Sri Kumar, National Secretary of the Centre of Trade Unions Comrade Kashmir Singh, and National Executive Member of the All India Kisan Sabha P. Tyagi participated as key speakers at the activists' camp. The proceedings began with a heartfelt tribute paid to Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar on the occasion of his birth anniversary, followed by a solemn pledge to firmly resist all ongoing efforts to weaken the Constitution, constitutional institutions, and the public sector.

Addressing the activists, National President Subhash Lamba stated that the government is ignoring extremely critical demands, such as repealing the PFRDA Act to reinstate the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)—effective from January 2004—and regularizing contract employees, despite orders from the honorable courts. He further alleged that instead of filling vacant posts through permanent recruitment to provide employment to the unemployed, the government is proceeding with the privatization of PSUs and public service departments. The government remains unwilling to release the 18 months of pending DA (Dearness Allowance) and DR (Dearness Relief) arrears, or to amend the Terms of Reference for the 8th Central Pay Commission.

Comrade Kashmir Singh, National Secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), termed the four new Labour Codes—formulated by scrapping 29 existing labour laws—as a "document of enslavement" for workers and called for their staunch opposition. He asserted that these Labour Codes would effectively eliminate fundamental rights such as the freedom to form unions, the right to strike, and the right to collective bargaining. P. Tyagi, a leader of the All India Kisan Sabha (All India Farmers' Union), warned that the implementation of the proposed Indo-US Trade Deal would lead to the ruin of both farmers and the agricultural sector. He emphasized that the Central Government must never lose sight of the pivotal role the agricultural sector plays in contributing to the nation's GDP and employment generation.

Concluding the camp proceedings, A. Sri Kumar, General Secretary of the All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF), stated that it is imperative to impart trade union education to activists and to apprise them of the government's anti-employee and anti-worker policies, as well as its highly condemnable attitude regarding the workers' demands. He called upon the activists to begin preparations for a decisive mass movement. The conference was attended by several dignitaries, including AISGEF member Rekha Gaura; Krishna Kumar Nain, General Secretary of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh Haryana (All Employees' Union of Haryana); Senior Vice President Jarnail Singh; Gagandeep Singh Bhullar, State President of the PSSF (vigyanik ); PSSF Senior Vice President Karamjit Singh Billa; JKCCTU leader Hurra Bano; and Rajendra Katouch, President of the Federation of UT Employees and Workers, along with General Secretary Harkesh Chand and Assistant General Secretary Amrik Singh, among others.