M A I N   N E W S

Trade unions flay SC order on strike
Tribune News Service and agencies

New Delhi, August 6
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) today took exception to the Supreme Court’s judgement depriving government employees of their right to organise strikes terming it as “retrograde” as it had hit the fundamental and democratic right of the masses.

In a statement, the CPM Politburo said it was an unprecedented judgement which, at one stroke, had deprived lakhs of government employees of their basic right to organise and resort to strike action.

“This judgement is contrary to the fundamental rights in the Constitution and the ILO conventions to which India is a party”, the statement said, adding that the judgement had more or less endorsed the draconian ordinance amending the Tamil Nadu Essential Services Maintenance Act.

In another statement, the CITU said the judgement had hit at the fundamental democratic right of the people as it had grossly negated the statutory provision in the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 providing legal right of the working class to go on strike.

“It is unfortunate that while expressing opinion on effect of strikes, the judgement is shockingly silent on the causes which creates compulsion for the working class movement to go on strike as a last resort”, the CITU said . Describing it as an extraordinary challenging situation, the CITU asked the entire trade union movement to unite and take due initiative to address the situation.

Expressing shock at the Supreme Court ruling that government employees had no right to strike, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) today said the right to strike was sacrosanct the world over.

AITUC general secretary Gurudas Gupta, a former Member of Parliament, said in a statement here that his organisation would shortly convene a national convention here to find ways and means to defend the right of strike of working people in the country.

Meanwhile, the BJP today reacted cautiously to the Supreme Court ruling on strike by government employees saying it needs to be studied. Party spokesman V.K. Malhotra told reporters here that the judgement has to be studied in detail before any stand can be taken on the issue.