Port Blair, March 29: In support of the All India General Strike on 27 -28 March, 2022, the CITU Andaman & Nicobar State Committee and Unions attached to it organized various programmes at different parts of the union territory. On 27th March, 2022, CITU organized a public meeting at Tiranga Park, Aberdeen Bazar, Port Blair in support of the Strike.
Addressing the public meeting, Shri D. Ayyappan, Vice President of CITU A & N State Committee explained in detail the issues highlighted by the central trade unions and other organizations during the All India General Strike. He said that the workers and employees were forced to go for the strike as no other alternative was available to them to oppose the various anti-working class, anti-people policies being pursued by the NDA government at the Centre. He said that the government in a systematic manner is trying to corporatize government departments and organizations and then to hand over the same to the private sector and pointed out that almost all the Ordnance Factories of the Defence where lakhs of government employees are working now, are being corporatized with an aim to privzatise it subsequently. He said that even during the Covid 19 pandemic, assets of a handful of persons in the country have increased in unimaginable proportion while crores of people have lost their income during this period. Millions of people lost their job and general public are forced to live in half-strarvation in the rural India. He lambasted the BJP-led central government for not filling up the vacant posts in various government departments under the Andaman & Nicobar Administration while tens of thousands educated local youths are waiting for a job.
Addressing the meeting, B. Chandrachoodan, General Secretary, CITU State Committee said that the central government continues to pujrsue anti-labour policies to deny the various benefits to the working class in the country. He said that even the rights given to the workers by the Britishers are being taken away by the Modi government through introducing the 4 Labour Codes in place of the existing Labour Laws. Speaking on the occasion, TS Sreekumar, former General Secretary of Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association dealt with in detail each of the points on which the central government employees organizations have joined the strike. Through this strike, the organizations are demanding restoration of old pension scheme in place of NPS, stop privatization of government sector, filling up of vacant posts, regularization of services of casual/ contract employees, etc. Shri D. Laxman Rao, trade union leader said that the government at the Centre is putting more and more burden on the poorer sections of society and pointed out the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel on daily basis. Shri Anadi Ranjan Bhattacharya of Postal Employees Union, Shri SL Vinjit, Asst General Secretary, Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers Association also addressed the meeting. Shri R. Surendran Pillai, President, CITU presided over the meeting.
At Diglipur, the workers affiliated to CITU took out a procession in the Diglipur bazaar on 28th March in support of the Strike which was led by Shri Barun Biswas,
At Rangat, the workers of Unions affiliated to CITU took out a huge procession at the Rangat Bazar which culminated near the office of Assistant Commissioner on 29th March 2022. Addressing the gathering, B. Chandrachoodan, General Secretary, CITU State Committee criticsed the Andaman & Nicobar Administration for causing unnecessary harassment to the workers and employees in every department. He explained in brief the issues being highlighted during the All India Strike. The workers also held mass demonstration in front of the office of the Executive Engineer, APWD, Rangat. Before the procession, the workers held a Convention at a Hall at Rangat, participated by a large number of workers which was addressed among others by B. Chandrachoodan.
Postal employees in the entire Andaman & Nicobar Islands went on two days strike and the postal activities were completely paralysed. The striking postal employees held mass dharna and demonstration in the Head Post Office Complex on both the days. D. Ayyappan, Vice President, CITU State Committee and TS Sreekumar, former General Secretary of NGOs’ Association greeted the postal employees and addressed them.