IT needs CITU

Following up on intense discussions within the CPM on the formation of trade unions in the IT sector after a 8216;CITU-friendly8217; association was formed in West Bengal...

November 22, 2006 12:00 AM IST

4 min read

Following up on intense discussions within the CPM on the formation of trade unions in the IT sector after a 8216;CITU-friendly8217; association was formed in West Bengal, CITU president and politburo member M.K. Pandhe explains his case in the latest issue of People8217;s Democracy in a piece entitled 8216;Why formation of TUs in IT sector?8217; He argues for a comprehensive Bill on the 8220;living and working conditions8217; of IT employees so that they aren8217;t exploited 8212; something that the trade union has already demanded of the government. While state governments are falling over each other to attract IT companies by giving them various concessions, 8220;non-implementation of labour laws is one of the concessions being offered to them by various state governments, as a result of which not a single dispute is recorded in the IT sector in any state,8221; says Pandhe. What are these conditions that concerns CITU? One, there should be eight-hour shifts with overtime when employees work longer, IT companies usually have 12-hour shifts. Two, appointment letters aren8217;t issued so that services can be terminated without notice. Three, many women are present in numerous IT companies but if harassed at work, they choose to remain silent for fear of job loss. Besides, the CITU chief says, the industry does not have any grievance redressal mechanism. 8220;It is not true that employees do not want to form the union in the IT sector but employees are not allowed to form a union,8221; he says.

China SEZ something else

On the complex issue of transferring agricultural land for industrial development and SEZs 8212; over which the CPM has clashed with the government and with other Left Front partners in its own stronghold in West Bengal 8212; CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury provides an indication of what should be done. He cites China8217;s experience, a country he visited recently. In China, the bulk of land on which 8220;remarkable development8221; is taking place is marshy, he says, adding all land belongs to the government. Even peasants are given land on contract. In other words, there is no question of acquiring land from peasants for development. As China has less arable land than India, it is 8220;extremely cautious8221; about transferring such land fearing it could lead to a decline in food production. Driving his argument against the backdrop of the compensation package to farmers whose land has been acquired for industrial development in West Bengal, Yechury points to a 8220;complex scheme8221; for providing peasants with alternative economic activity to make up for loss of income from land. Using the Chinese case on FDI to bolster his party8217;s case on the same, he says, China gave a two-year tax holiday to companies in the initial years of reform followed by a three-year period when 50 per cent tax was paid. After that all enterprises had to pay full tax. Even in FTAs, there was VAT. 8220;Therefore, in all the major issues of dispute regarding SEZs in India, the situation in China is far from the 8216;truth8217; that the pundits of neo-liberalism in India would want us to believe,8221; says Yechury.

Left gets it right in South America

As Daniel Ortega joined Venezuela8217;s Hugo Chavez and Brazil8217;s Lula among other left leaders in South America following his victory in the Nicaraguan elections, a front-page editorial in People8217;s Democracy describes the Sandinista leader8217;s return to power as a 8220;stinging rebuff to the Bush administration8221;. In doing so, the Nicaraguan people had fought off US threats of blocking aid if Ortega came to power. The US had even tried to stop Ortega by trying to bring together the three Right wing parties in the country, the editorial says. However, on the other side, the new Nicaraguan president received support from Chavez who supplied subsidised fuel to Sandinista-run municipalities. 8220;It may be too much to expect, but hopefully the Nicaraguan results and the Republican debacle in the US Congressional elections will bring some sense of realism to Bush and his coterie,8221; the editorial says, reflecting the celebratory mood in the CPM over another left victory in Latin America.

8212; Compiled by Ananda Majumdar

Tags: