Long Live May Day!

Statement of the Maharashtra Regional Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India on the occasion of May Day 2016

Comrade Workers,

On the occasion of May Day, Communist Ghadar Party of India extends its heartfelt greetings to the working class of India as well as to workers all over the world who are fighting against the savage attacks on their rights by the capitalist class.

Statement of the Maharashtra Regional Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India on the occasion of May Day 2016

Comrade Workers,

On the occasion of May Day, Communist Ghadar Party of India extends its heartfelt greetings to the working class of India as well as to workers all over the world who are fighting against the savage attacks on their rights by the capitalist class.

On the 14th of April 2016, in a united action, workers in 40 countries all over the world, including India, struck work demanding living wages, i.e., wages sufficient to live a humane and dignified life. On 31st March a million workers and students of France took to the streets to protest against the changes in labour laws that are being brought in by the Government of France. These changes would make it easier to hire workers on contract as well as increase working hours and this according to the capitalists would make French industry more competitive.

May Day celebrations in Mumbai

The Trade Union Joint Action Committee celebrated May Day 2016 by taking out a march from Dadar, Plaza cinema to Chaitya Bhumi, through crowded residential areas.

There was bonhomie and comradery between the hundreds who were present. Members of the Kamgar Ekta Chakwal and Communist Ghadar Party distributed leaflets to all the people. Activists and leaders of the CPI, CPI (M) and SUCI were there as well as those of CITU, AITUC, INTUC, HMS, etc.

All the speakers denounced the increasing attacks on the working class. Labour laws were being changed to benefit the capitalists and deprive the workers of all their hard fought rights. They hailed the garment workers of Karnataka who fought so boldly against the EPF rule changes that the government was planning that would prevent the workers from accessing their provident funds. The government was forced to retreat. The meeting also pledged to participate actively in the all India protest on 2nd September 2016.

In India, too, the Modi led BJP Government is trying to implement policies that would make it easier for the capitalists, Indian as well as foreign, to squeeze the workers and increase their profits. The Apprentice Act has been amended to allow capitalist companies freedom to exploit young workers to the bone. No labour laws will be applicable to these workers who will be called apprentices and trainees.

The “Start-up India” program announced by the Government covers enterprises having investment of less than Rs. 25 crores. As per this program, the Labour Secretary, Government of India issued an executive order on January 12, 2016 granting exemption to all start-up companies from inspection and application of nine major labour laws, including Trade Union Act, Factories Act, and the Minimum Wages Act for five years. Also, the capitalists of these companies need not pay any tax to the government on the profits earned for three years.

The Maharashtra government, led by BJP, has declared its intent to be the most capitalist friendly state in the country and has announced that permission to start an enterprise will be given in one week through a single window and if within this time the concerned government departments have not replied, then the permission can be deemed to have been granted! It also wants to make Maharashtra the ‘start-up’ capital of India.

The Central Government has announced plans to privatise the banks and insurance sector. The high level of bad loans (NPA) of the public sector banks, the headquarters of many of which are located in Mumbai, are being used as a pretext to reduce government shareholding in public sector banks. The ultimate aim is to privatise the public sector banks. The high level of NPA is also being used to justify the merger of 27 public sector bank into 6-8 large banks. This move will lead to large number of bank workers losing their jobs. What is being hidden is the fact that it is the collusion of the capitalist class with top functionaries of the Government and the banks that has resulted in this situation.

The Government has also announced plans to privatise the Railways as per the recommendations of the Debroy Committee constituted by it. However the mass opposition of the Railway employees, cutting across unions, forced the Government to go slow on this. It is going about privatisation in a piece meal manner while at the same time lying to the workers and public that the railways will not be privatised.

The working class of India has unitedly come out in opposition to all these “reforms” and there was a country-wide general strike on September 02, 2015. The central trade unions have put forward a 12 point charter of demands including an end to contract labour, scrapping of proposed changes in labour laws, a minimum wage of Rs. 15,000 for all workers and social security including pension after retirement and a halt to all privatisation of Public Sector Undertakings including banks, insurance, railways etc. A country wide general strike has been called for 2nd September 2016.

Comrade Workers,

Maharashtra is presently facing the worst drought in the last hundred years. Out of 43,000 villages in the State, 27,700 villages – 64% of the total, have been officially declared drought affected. Many parts of the State have been getting water supply only once in 15 or 20 days. Consequently, Section 144 of IPC has been imposed to avoid water riots. Our peasant brothers are facing an unprecedented crisis which forced nearly 3200 of them to take their lives in 2015. The neglect by successive state governments, whether led by Congress-NCP or by BJP and its allies has forced more than 20,000 peasants in Maharashtra to take their lives in desperation since 2001, which is the highest number of peasant suicides for any state in India.

Lakhs of workers have lost their jobs due the factories closed down in Maharashtra during the last fifteen years, again due to the policies followed by successive state governments, whether of Congress or BJP.

Comrade Workers,

Twenty five years ago, the big capitalists launched the program of globalisation through liberalisation and privatisation. It is a program designed to fulfil the global imperialist aims of the biggest monopoly houses of the country, at the expense of the livelihood and rights of the toiling majority of people. To facilitate rapid global expansion of Indian corporate houses, successive governments headed by the Congress and BJP have been opening up the country to the biggest multinational corporations of the world. The livelihood and rights of workers, peasants and adivasis have been repeatedly attacked for the sake of guaranteeing maximum profits for Indian and global capitalist corporations.

The super-rich in our country have grown richer year after year. According to recent estimates, there are roughly 1000 persons with individual wealth of more than Rs. 650 crore (US$ 100 million). 62 richest capitalists of the world have as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population! Those whose toil creates wealth are growing poorer, while those who exploit and rob them are becoming enormously rich and still richer every year. Today the capitalist system all over the world is in a crisis precisely due to the growing concentration of wealth in a few hands. A majority of the people do not earn enough to buy their daily necessities.

Comrades Workers,

It is the workers, peasants, women and youth of our country who fought and shed their blood for independence from British colonial rule. However, it is a tiny minority of big capitalists and big landlords into whose hands power was transferred in 1947. In colonial times, less than 50,000 Britishers ruled over 30 crore Indians. Today, about 150 monopoly capitalist houses, at the head of about 2 lakh capitalists, rule over 125 crore Indians.

The big capitalists rule over the toiling majority of people by controlling the same bureaucracy, army, judiciary and other arms of the state apparatus that the British colonialists had built to enslave Indians. They use the same tactics of divide and rule and use the same colonial era laws like the Sedition Act to imprison and even hang those who challenge them, just like the British did to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev and countless other patriots. They rule through a political process in which their trusted parties take turns to act as their management team, while reducing the vast majority of people to vote banks.

It is the capitalist class, headed by the monopoly houses, which is acting against the interests of the nation. It is responsible for wrecking the economy, impoverishing the masses of workers and peasants, denying the youth their future, and exacerbating divisions among the people on the basis of religion, caste, language, nationality etc.

Comrade Workers!

In 1917, the workers and peasants of Russia rose up and overthrew the rule of the capitalists and landlords though the Great October Socialist Revolution and established the power of the workers and peasants. The year 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of this world shaking historic event. The working class of USSR kept power in its hands for 40 years. During this time it transformed Russia from “the sick man of Europe” into a mighty economic and political power. The brave workers and soldiers of the USSR were in the forefront of the crores of people from all over the world who defeated the fascist forces, led by Hitler. Following the defeat of fascist Germany in the Second World War, workers and peasants of many countries took power in their hands.

The 21st century is calling on the workers all over the world to challenge the rule of the minority of capitalists and imperialists and take over power in their hands.

We the working class of India have the duty and challenge to lead our people on the historic mission to seize power from the hands of the minority of big capitalists ruling our country. We must be at the head of laying out the vision for a new India where state power would be in the hands of the workers and peasants and the means of production and distribution would be under social control. To realise this goal we need to use the experience of the workers’ struggles in other parts of the world as well as our own rich historical experience and the thought material handed down by our forefathers.

Comrade Workers,

The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls upon all workers to actively participate in building and strengthening our united opposition to the capitalist offensive. Let us build and strengthen our unity in action. Let us unitedly develop a new vision and program for India, where the working class will hold political power in alliance with the peasantry. Let us rally under this program all the oppressed sections of Indian society, the youth, the women, the oppressed nationalities, the dalits and adivasis, religious minorities, and all those who are fighting for their rights. Let us take up our historic responsibility to build a new society where exploitation of man by man will have no place.

The day is not far off when we, the workers of India, will lead the peasantry and all other exploited and oppressed masses of people to end the bloody rule of the bourgeoisie and usher in the liberating rule of the workers and peasants!

Workers, Peasants, Women and Youth, We constitute India, We are her Masters!

Let us establish the rule of workers and peasants in our country!

India demands the Red Flag on the Red Fort!

Workers of the World Unite!

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