Over 15,000 workers participated in a mass rally at Azad Maidan, Mumbai on 3rd February at the call of Trade Union Joint Action Committee and State Govt Employees Union. The rally was to protest against the governments refusal to protects the livelihood and rights of working class in the conditions of the deepening economic crisis.

Women workers constituted a big action of the rally. They carried placards and banners denonuncing the price increases of essential commodities and demanded immediate relief. Protestors demanded implementation of the 6th Pay Commission for state government employees. "Implement the Hakim Commission Report", they demanded. It may be recalled that the Maharshtra government had st up the Hakim Commission to recommend the revised salaries for government employees. Maharshtra has 14 lakh government employees, including school and college teachers, doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff, state road trasnport workers, workers in muncipal services, workers providing services to agricultural sector in rural areas, electricity workers, and so on.

The rally demanded that government pay unemployment allowance of  Rs 1,000 per month to all workers who have lost their jobs. The rally noted that many workers in the so called unorganised sector of the economy were not even being paid the miserably low statutory minimum wages. It demanded that the government immediately take measures to ensure payment of minimum wages to such workers.

At the rally, working class leaders and activists expressed their resolve to oppose attempts to pass the burden of the ongoing economic crisis on to the workers through wage & job cuts and bail out packages to the capitalists. They also resolved to fight for their long standing demands.

On February 4, a day after the rally, the Maharshtra Chief Minister announced the acceptance by his government of the Hakim Commission Report. As a result, the 14 lakh state government employees as well as 7 lakh pensioners are likely to benefit. This is a partial victory for the workers of Maharashtra. The struggle to ensure minimum wages for all those workers who are still getting paid below this statutory level, as well as the struggle to ensure unemployment allowance for workers who have lost their jobs, continues.