Category: Latest posts

November 10 2010 witnessed tens of thousands of students marching through London in protest at plans to increase their tuition fees.

About 50,000 workers employed with 175 mini steel plants in Chhattisgarh face a threat to their jobs as the factory owners have announced plans to close their units amid rising prices of sponge iron used as raw material. This was announced by the President of the Chhattisgarh Mini Steel Plants Association. The Association is demanding a bail out package from the state government.

Thousands of workers of Karnataka from the "unorganised sector" of the economy — those not covered by the labour laws staged a protest march in Bangalore on November 24, 2010.

Denouncing the practice of contract labour, the workers demanded a hike in minimum wages, ration cards to all workers, and rice at Rs 2 a Kg to every family. 

On the eve of the Assembly session, unorganized sector workers held demonstrations all over Tamil Nadu to highlight their long standing demands.

Starting 22 November, Seafarers and Dockworkers Unions in India and Sri Lanka carried out a week long industrial action against ‘Flags of Convenience’ (FOC) shipping. Activists at all major ports in India and Sri Lanka launched investigations of ships, crew contracts, and working and living conditions on board FOC ships.

BYD Electronics, a Nokia supplier company located in a Special Economic Zone at Orggadam near Chennai, terminated the services of 2,500 contract workers, sacked 37 permanent workers, suspended 23 more and ordered 437 others to sign a letter of apology to keep their jobs and announced an illegal lock out on November 1.

 A six week strike by contract workers of Neyveli Lignite Corporation(NLC) in Tamilnadu ended on October 27, 2010. Nearly 13,000 contract workers were participating in the strike at this state owned coal and electricity generation company.

About 1,500 workers of a Steel factory in Kharagpur, West Bengal, blocked the National Highway on November 21, 2010, after the management put up a notice announcing suspension of work in the plant.

The NREGA workers of Rajasthan, who have been carrying on a dharna at jaipur’s city circle since October 2, 2010 have finally achieved victory. The State government agreed to their demands in writing. This includes linking the MGNREGS wage rate with the state’s minimum wage rate, which in turn will be linked to the consumer price index (CPI).