All across the country, workers and working people from different sectors of the economy are preparing to make the All India General Strike of August 20, 2008 a big success.

Ever since the Sponsoring committee of Trade Unions gave the call for the All India General Strike on May 13, 2008, workers and working people have been making preparations for the strike through various ways. There have been gate meetings, Conventions at state level, Conventions at industry level, as well as joint rallies in all the state capitals and in New Delhi. Through these meetings and conventions, workers and working people have put forth their own charter of demands pertaining to their sectors, along side of the general charter of demands.

Government employees and teachers

The central and state government employees, and government school and college teachers, held their convention on July 8.  The Convention condemned the attempts of the government to withdraw the statutory pension scheme of government employees and replace it with a contributory system, and the move to hand over pension funds to corporates to speculate. They condemned the outsourcing of regular jobs, contractorisation and privatisation. They condemned the denial of minimum wages, and the moves to replace existing labour laws with ones which would facilitate intensified exploitation of workers and working people. They noted that the right to strike for government employees has been denied. Even though India is a member of ILO, it has refused to ratify ILO conventions regarding trade union rights, including convention 151 regarding rights for workers in public services. They demanded that the government ratify the respective ILO conventions and afford right to strike to government employees.

The central and state government employees and school teachers have also expressed their reservations regarding the 6th Pay Commission Recommendations. These include recommendations for corporatisation of major government departments, including railways and defence. They have condemned the recommendation to abolish Group D category employees and convert these jobs into contract jobs.

Bank employees

Bank employees are a major component of the working people who will participate in the August 20 strike. Apart from other issues, bank employees are opposing the privatisation of banks which is being proposed by various committees on banking and financial sector reforms appointed by the government, such as the committee headed by A Huda, member Planning Commission,  and the Committee headed by Dr R Rajan, former Chief Economic Advisor to IMF. The Bank employees are opposing privatisation in any form, which would lead to handing over of the Rs 24 lakh crore deposits of the public sector banks to the control of corporates. Bank employees are opposing the proposals of the above committees for mergers and consolidation of the 27 public sector banks into 5 or 6 banks in the name of global competitiveness.

Bank employees are also opposing plans of government to push through amendments to banking regulation act which will allow 74% FDI in banking sector. This would make it easy for foreign banks to take over both the private sector banks as well as the public sector Banks. Given the low capital base of the private sector as well as public sector banks, and the vast amounts of deposits they control, bank employees feel this is a real danger. Bank employees are demanding expansion of banking services to rural areas to cover the 50 % of people who do not have access to banking services. They point out that loans to agricultural sector are only 13% of total credit, below the stipulated 18%. Lending for agriculture through banking channels has come down from 37% to 27% while lending from private moneylenders has gone up from 16% to 26%. Moreover, banks are charging interest rates of 9% from credit to agriculture, as opposed to 7-8% for loans to the corporate sector. Bank employees are demanding that loans to agricultural sector be given at 4% rate of interest.

Bank employees are also demanding that loans for speculation and trading on food grains should be halted. These loans are contributing to hoarding, forward trading, black marketing and other speculative activates leading to artificial scarcity and price rise. They are also demanding recovery of the bad loans from corporate sector. They are calling for stringent action against corporate defaulters.

Coal workers

Workers in Public Sector coal mines are also planning to participate in the All India General Strike. The Public Sector Coal industry is in crisis, with state refusing to invest capital in this sector. While overall coal production in the Pubic sector mines has increased in the past seven years, it has not kept pace with the increase in demand. As a result, government is importing 30 million tonnes of coal, even though India has massive reserves of coal. The policy of closing mines, as well as laying off workers, has resulted in the workforce being reduced from 6.5 lakhs five years ago to 4.5 lakhs today.

coal workers are opposing closing down of mines which still have substantial reserves, because of refusal to deploy manpower and capital. Coal India is planning to form a new company, along with other companies, called Coal Videsh, to carry out coal production in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria etc. Workers are demanding that capital should be invested in exploiting the reserves in India, and not for maximum profits through exploitation of foreign resources. Coal workers are also demanding that the vast reserves of methane gas can and must be extracted. They are opposing the government's plans to auction coal blocks to private parties to produce the gas and make quick money. Anil Ambani as well as various foreign multinationals are eagerly eyeing this sector. Workers have declared that they will permit methane gas production only in the public sector.

Coal workers are also demanding the regularization of contract workers in the industry. While regular employment has decreased, contract workers have been increased, and over one third of coal production is done by contract workers. Despite the fact that the Contract Labour (regulation and abolition) Act prohibits contract labour in permanent and perennial nature of jobs, the government has actively allowed contract labour in the industry. It has even exempted some of the coal companies from the act. The workers are demanding that contract workers be paid the same wages as regular workers.

Rally in the capital

On July 30, trade unions and workers organisations in the capital held a rally outside parliament in which thousands of workers participated. They included railway workers, and workers from the industrial areas of the capital. Leaders of Mazdoor Ekta Committee, AITUC, CITU, HMS, UTUC, AIUTUC, and AICCTU addressed the rally. The workers condemned the UPA government for caring only for the profits of the corporate houses. Rising prices of foodgrains and other essential commodities is making life a living hell for the masses of toilers. They declared their opposition to the program of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, which the government is pursuing at the behest of the corporate houses. They declared that the August 20 general strike was but the beginning of a big political battle.

In addition to industry specific demands, the workers and working people across the country have raised the common demands that affect all workers as well as the whole of society. These include legalising the right to strike for all sections of workers and working people, the enactment of a law that will guarantee rights and social benefits to workers in the "unorganised sector" of the economy that is those workers who are not covered under the existing labour laws. Workers are demanding action to curb skyrocketing prices of foodgrains and other commodities. They are demanding that all moves to attack the rights of labour at the behest of the capitalist associations be abandoned, and minimum wages of workmen be revised taking into consideration what is the minimum required in today's conditions for a human existence.

Across the various sections of industry and services, workers are challenging the present course that allows the bourgeoisie a free hand to wreak disaster on the workers and peasants and whole of society. The struggle is on to bring the political demands and concerns of the working class and people to the centre-stage.