Against the Attack on Livelihood in the name of Demonetisation
COUNTRYWIDE PROTEST
DEMONSTRATION ON 3RD JANUARY 2017
The secretariat of CITU, which met in New Delhi
on 19-20 December 2016 has called upon the working people to voice their
protest through holding country wide massive demonstrations on 3rd
January 2017 against the so called demonetisation drive of the BJP led
government at the centre, which has imposed serious hardships upon the
workers, particularly those in the unorganised sector, on the farmers, on the
small business people, small traders and street vendors etc. CITU demands the
government to mitigate the sufferings of the people by ensuring availability of
cash in adequate amounts and immediate payment of wages to all the workers.
The CITU secretariat noted that all over the
country thousands of small and medium sized units and businesses have closed.
The services of lakhs of contract and casual workers, fixed term employees,
trainees, apprentices etc have been terminated without payment of any
compensation. Migrant workers employed in construction, brick kilns and
plantations are forced to go back to their villages as no work was available.
Transport, automobile ancillary production, power looms etc have been seriously
affected. Workers have not been paid their wages. In several places the
employers are forcing the workers to share the cost of exchanging old notes.
The government which initially said that the
measure was intended to curb black money is now talking of evolving a ‘cashless
economy’. Many eminent economists have made it clear that demonetisation cannot
be an effective measure for curtailing black money as cash forms only a small
proportion of around 3 to5% of the black economy. The super rich and big-business
who evade taxes and generate black money invest in real estate, speculation,
gold and jewellery or stash it in foreign countries have not been touched,
rather are being allowed to continue their loot and plunder on the exchequer
and the people. Talking of converting India into a ‘cashless economy’ at
this point of time, when around 35% of our villages do not have banking
facilities and optic fibres for internet coverage have been laid in only
9000 out of the total 6 lakhs villages, is nothing but ridiculous. Overwhelming
majority of the unorganised sector workers and daily-wagers are not having live
bank accounts; in that situation, making payment of wages through banks
compulsory will empower the employers to harass the workers on wage-payment.
That can be conceived only after ensuring bank accounts for all workers and
bank branches in the vicinity of all habitations in towns and villages, that
too with the consent of the workers.
Simultaneously, every other day the Govt has been
imposing restriction in withdrawal or exchange of demonetised notes, the latest
one being one-time dispensation of Rs 5000/- in respect of exchange/deposit
although it is still ten days left for the last date for exchanging demonetised
currency notes till 30th December 2016.
This measure is only intended to help finance
capital by sucking in people’s money into the banks for their recapitalisation
so that they can provide cheap credit to the big corporate and business
houses.
CITU calls upon the workers to participate in the
demonstrations in large numbers on 3rd January 2017
throughout the country demanding immediate payment of their wages and making
available cash in adequate amount.
Issued by:
Tapan Sen
General Secretary
CITU
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