THE Working Committee of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti (AIKSCC) in their meeting on 29 June 2020 condemned the three ordinances against farmers and said that these ordinances only carry forward the policy of ‘Loot the farmers and benefit corporate houses’. The rights of States in matters related to agriculture have been snatched away through the ordinances on produce, trade and commerce (Development and Facility Ordinance 2020), price assurance and agrarian services (Empowerment and Protection of Farmers Ordinance 2020) and essential goods (Amendment Ordinance 2020) as well as the Electricity Amendment Act 2020. Changes have also been made in the agricultural market laws. These will lead to increase in hoarding and black marketeering, decrease in procurement price of crops, increase in farmers’ debt burden, eviction from land, and suicides.
Condemning the exorbitant hike in petrol-diesel prices, AIKSCC said that this has happened because government taxes have been raised. We demand from the government that the tax should be revoked and fuel prices should be slashed without delay. AIKSCC supports the countrywide protests on 3 July by central trade unions and the coal workers’ strike on 2-3-4 July. AIKSCC will organize countrywide protests to demand immediate withdrawal of abrogation of and amendments to labor laws and the process of snatching away workers’ rights.
AIKSCC believes that the Central government is misusing and taking advantage of the Lockdown to pass anti-farmer/worker laws and push forward pro-corporate policies. They have not even enquired about the workers who died due to this Lockdown and are busy with communal polarization of society and handing over the country’s resources and market to MNCs and big national corporate houses.
Despite declarations to do so, wages of workers during Lockdown have not been paid, their retrenchment was also not stopped; Rs 10000 per month was not paid to workers; DA of 48 lakh central workers and 68 lakh pensioners was frozen; working hours have been increased from 8 to 12 hours in many States. Wholesale privatization and disinvestment of Public Sector enterprises is being done. Covid-19nLockdown is being misused to facilitate loot of the country’s natural resources through permitting FDI in Indian railways, defence, ports, postal services, coal sector, Air India, banking and insurance sectors.
Migrant workers have neither been given work through MNREGA, nor has 200 days’ work and Rs 500 minimum wage been implemented in villages.
AIKSCC appeals to all farmers’ organizations in the country to join the countrywide protests on 3 July at their local levels. AIKSCC also fully supports the coal workers’ strike on 2-3-4 July against privatization of the coal sector, for giving wages to contract workers as per the high-powered Committee recommendations, and giving employment to dependents as per the national coal wage Agreement.
