A Report of the 3rd Odisha State Conference of the All-India Construction Workers’ Federation

The 3rd state conference of AICWF (All India Construction Workers Federation), Odisha unit concluded on 26th May 2023 at Nagbhushan Bhavan, Bhubaneshwar.
Delegates from districts of Khurda, Kendrapada, Puri, Gajapati, Angul, Sonepur, Nayagarh, Bhadrak and Jagatsing Pur participated.
Central observer Com. Kishore Sarkar hoisted the red flag to begin the conference.
The conference was conducted by a 5-member presidium including comrades Banshidhar Parida, Litulal Dev Subudhi, Srinivas Sahoo, Rajnigandha Barik and Samar Bal.
The conference started with the inaugural speech by Com. Yudhistir Mohapatra, State Secretary, CPI-ML Liberation.
The General Secretary of outgoing committee Com. Mahendra Parida placed the work report before the delegates. He explained how the Odisha government, in the name of applying online for registration and benefits, actually deprived construction workers of their rights. He called upon participants to join the campaign against this move and work towards the success of the August 9 Mahapadav (massive sit-in) programme at Bhubaneswar against anti-worker policies of the Modi government including 4 labour codes and rampant privatisation. He emphasised on conducting a membership drive to enrol construction workers en masse by the end of June, before the all-India conference at Kanyakumari on 8th - 9th July 2023. He also called upon the conference to launch a campaign in a big way, upto the lowest levels like panchayats, for the success of national conference of AICWF.
Com. Kishore Sarkar, while addressing the delegates, emphasised on the politicisation of construction workers and development of cadres. He said that the Modi government is just creating an illusion of social security among workers, while, in reality, it is taking away the social security benefits that were available till now. Lakhs of construction workers will be excluded from registration under the Board because of a new definition of the Code that stipulates more than 50 lakh rupees threshold level for any construction project. It is quite possible that those working in projects below 50 lakhs may not be considered as construction workers at all. He also emphasised on reorienting our work among construction workers as per the decisions of our Ranchi workshop. He gave a clarion call to fight anti-worker policies of the Modi government and to oust the BJP from power in 2024 elections.
Com. Radhakant Sethi, state working president of AICCTU highlighted the urgent need of combating fascism today and emphasised on the key role of the working class in the fight against fascism and the politics of hate by the BJP-RSS combine.
After discussions on the report, a 21-member state committee was elected with Com. Samar Bal as President and Com. Mahendra Parida as the General Secretary of AICWF, Odisha. n