West Bengal 8th State Conference of AICCTU

The 8th State Conference of AICCTU, West Bengal, ended on a successful note with a pledge to build a strong movement to defeat the fascist regime. The conference was held in Moulali Yuva Kendra named after Sadhna Sen - Arup Chatterjee Hall and Barun Ghosh Manch. Worker representatives from tea gardens, jute mills, brick-kilns, hosiery, railways, the defence sector, construction and scheme sectors, public and private transportation, sanitation, and hawkers’ unions took part in this conference. Women worker representatives were also present in the conference.
The conference commenced with the flag hoisting by Meena Pal, senior leader and Vice President of AICCTU. AICCTU’s central observer Subhendu Sen, General Secretary Rajiv Dimri, CPIML Liberation’s West Bengal State Secretary Abhijit Majumdar, Party Polit Bureau member Kartik Pal, Central Committee member Partho Ghosh, along with AICCTU state leaders paid tribute to the martyrs. Following the commemoration and the inaugural ceremony, the delegate session officially began.
The session began with people’s songs by Comrade Babuni Majumdar of Ganasanskriti Parishad. Hereafter, the presidium and the minutes’ committee were formed. Subsequently, Comrade Basudev Bose presented the draft document on behalf of the outgoing committee.
Sumanti Ekka, recognised leader among tea-workers was the first speaker of the conference. She stated that minimum wage for the tea-estate workers has not been implemented to this date. The labourers have to work on the basis of interim minimum wages. The state government had assured them 5 decimal patta lands for residential use within the tea garden. However, the land on which the tea estate workers are farming slightly exceeds this measurement. This has led to their demand that the government issue land patta for the actual size of the land where the workers live and cultivate. Recently, the workers have been pushed far away from their land and the tea-estates are being handed over to private players. This situation has posed a new crisis in the lives of the workers and has deeply unsettled them. They are thus demanding a resolution to their problems.
Majar Khan, leader of jute mill workers, pointed out that the jute industry is failing to attract new workers primarily because of its remarkably low wages. The owners’ organisation of the jute mills (IJMA) is determined to sabotage the existing wage structure by allocating more funds for overhead expenses instead of increasing the workers’ basic salary. United struggle is being fought against this. The permanent workers are drastically being replaced by daily wage labourers thereby leading the entire industrial relations much more informal and crueller.
Sanjeev Chakraborty emphasized the importance of a collaborative initiative by the trade union of scheme workers and women’s organization to organize scheme workers. He also highlighted the significance of the joint endeavour by AICCTU and AIARLA to organize the continuously growing unorganized segment of the non-agricultural sector workforce.
Nirmal Bera, from the defence sector, stated that apart from opposing the anti-worker EDSA, it is crucial to establish a robust movement against the central government's privatization of the defence sector.
Durgamukhi, a sanitation worker from Medinipur, shared her experiences of how their union achieved numerous rights for workers through long protracted movements. Currently, their union is actively challenging the delayed payment of salaries to sanitation workers.
Pradeep Sarkar, an organizer from the Construction Workers Union, highlighted attempts to undermine welfare schemes for construction workers. He pointed out that the online registration process for the welfare board has significantly reduced workers participation, leading the state construction workers union to call for both online and offline registration methods. Sarkar emphasized the importance of politically consolidating the construction workers and advocated for a higher daily wage of Rs. 1000 for skilled labourers. He also criticized the state government for delaying pension payments and occasionally withholding them for various reasons.
Uttam Saha, representing Eastern Railways workers union, emphasized that the central government employees' convention on October 1st at Delhi's Ramleela Maidan signified an unprecedented protest in the movement to restore the old pension scheme. IREF, the Indian Railway Employees’ Federation was one of the main organisers of the rally. This convention proved that if the union can capture imagination of the working class at large, then the question of official recognition by the government becomes irrelevant.
Balaram Saha, leader of the contractual workers’ union at Jadavpur University, shared experiences of movements that won them several important demands like PF, ESI, etc. He also discussed the current workers’ movement to ensure job security.
Sheikh Ibrahim, leader of Beedi workers’ union, discussed upcoming state-wide programs and underscored the importance of collective efforts as a prerequisite for securing the right to minimum wages.
Gourango Sen, an organiser in the transport sector, highlighted the state government's mass layoffs of workers and its transfer of several routes to franchises. He pointed out a deliberate effort on the part of the government to destabilize the transport system by selling valuable state transport department land to private corporations. Many retired workers are still being deprived of their pensions. Sen focused on the need to build a broader movement to save the State Transport system.
Chandi Chattaraj spoke about the plight of contractual workers in ECL and shed light upon the onslaught brought down by the unholy nexus of administration, contractors and local political leaders of Trinamool Congress.
Snigdha Basu, an organiser among the working women of Kolkata, stressed the importance of mobilizing working-class women throughout the state. She also shared her experiences of organizing women in various working-class neighborhoods in Kolkata.
Comrade Rajiv Dimri, the all India General Secretary of AICCTU, emphasized that the crucial task in the coming days is to defeat the BJP government in the 2024 general elections. This is the prime responsibility of the entire working class of India. The huge protest demonstration held in Delhi on October 1st, opposing the new pension scheme by central government workers, holds immense importance.
The BJP is expected to play its tactics of intensifying communal hatred and aggressive nationalism, aiming to divide the common people, especially the working class, closer to elections. Comrade Dimri stressed the importance of remaining vigilant during these critical times. He also pointed out that although all state governments had agreed to implement a neo-liberal economy, it was the Modi Government that replaced 44 labour laws with 4 anti-worker labour codes. Moreover, the government and its bureaucracy have created an atmosphere where employers now have the audacity to disregard even court orders regarding labour welfare.
The Central Trade Unions and the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha have decided to build a united movement. A nationwide strike might be announced in the coming days. Comrade Dimri concluded his speech by urging everyone to prepare for a prolonged battle in the days ahead.
Comrade Atanu Chakraborty, President of the outgoing committee pointed out the sectors in which AICCTU has to put more efforts like gig workers, entire scheme sector, sanitation workers and the vast informal sector. He emphasized that despite a significant rise in global productivity over the past century, workers worldwide, including those in India, have not only seen a decline in their real wages but have also found themselves burdened with increasing levels of debt. The latest global wage report by the ILO highlighted this decline in actual wages. The decline in real wages is a prevailing trend in India, evident in various countries. Social security, workplace safety, and job security are universal demands today. In the coming days, these demands will be at the forefront of our struggles. Summarising deliberation of the house, AICCTU state secretary Basudev Bose, delivered the concluding speech and emphasized the need for further democratization within trade unions and for bringing in new set of cadres for the trade unions. A total of 231 delegates participated in the conference, including 38 female representatives.
A state council comprising of 111 members, including a 37 member executive committee and a 19-member office-bearer body was elected. At the state level, both the president and the general secretary, Atanu Chakraborty and Basudev Bose respectively, were re-elected. A 9 member presidium conducted the entire conference. The members of the presidium were Nabendu Dasgupta, Dibakar Bhattacharya, Benu Ghatak, Jayashree Das, Abul Kasem, Manoj Roy, Tapan Mukherjee, Sumanti Ekka, and Omprakash Rajbhar. The conference concluded with the singing of the Internationale. n