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Activists of the Orissa State Electricity Board Bijuli Karmachari Sangh (OSEBBKS), southern zone held a demonstration and dharna in front of the corporate headquarters of the private power distribution company Southco in Behrampur on June 17, 2010. They were protesting against non-fulfilment of agreements with employees relating to filling of all vacancies of field staff, regularisation of contract employees and payment of yearly increment to linesmen.

Workers at Ford India near Chennai have formed a union (FIEMU) and have demanded that the Company negotiate with their union. Ford, like many other multinational companies, has the practice of actively discouraging the formation of unions. Instead it appoints a “workers committee” and deals with workers through such a committee.

Manholes and sewer lines overflowed and sunk Hyderabad city roads as casual workers of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board staff and workers’ union went on an indefinite strike on June 18, demanding regularisation.

In 1994, the Central Adminstrative Tribunal, Chandigarh, had ruled that workers working with the Railways on basis of Casual Labour Service must be absorbed as permanent workers. Sixteen years, later, the Railways has refused to implement this directive. According to the rules, the Railways had to absorb these erstwhile casual workers as permanent workers, once it stopped recruitment of casual labour.

On the morning of 28th May, when the correspondent of the Mazdoor Ekta Lehar went to the Air India Corporation Employees Union office located at the Indira Gandhi Air India terminal (Domestic), he found the door sealed with three locks. The employees who were around were so terrorized by the Management that they refused to divulge the whereabouts of the Union officials. After some time, the Joint Secretary of the Union, Shri Anand Prakash sent someone to fetch us and our correspondent was able to talk to him.

Twenty six years after the horrific Bhopal gas tragedy of December 2-3, 1984, a trial court in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, has given its verdict. This verdict is a complete travesty of justice. People all over India and across the world have expressed horror and anger at the verdict.

One year after the brutal rape and murder of 17 year old Aasiya Jan and 22 year old Nilofer Jan by men of the security forces in Shopian, Jammu & Kashmir, on May 29, 2009, the guilty remain unpunished. Inspite of widespread protests in Kashmir as well as in other parts of the country, demanding justice, conviction and punishment of the culprits, every effort has been made to systematically tamper with evidence in order to cover up the crime and shield the guilty.