ARTICLE ON 51ST YEAR OF 1968 SEPTEMBER 19th STRIKE
M. KRISHNAN, SECY. GENERAL, CONFD. OF CGE & WORKERS
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2019 September 19th is the 51st Anniversary of 1968 September 19th one day strike. All leaders and workers who led and participated in that historic strike have either retired from service or are no more.
The indefinite strike of Central Govt. Employees in1960 was the first major strike of Central Govt. Employees after independence. The five days strike from 1960 July 11 midnight was brutally suppressed by the Central Government declaring it as “Civil Rebellion”. The main demand of the strike was improvement and modifications in the 2nd CPC recommendations. The Need Based Minimum Wage, though adopted by the 15th Indian Labour Conference in 1957, was rejected by the 2nd CPC.
The Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) was constituted in 1966 by then Home Minister Guljarilal Nanda, as per the decision of the Government. The apprehension of the progressive leadership that this negotiating machinery may not settle any major demands of the Central Govt. employees and may become just a talking shop or a time killing business, ultimately resulting in abnormally delaying the genuine demands, came true within a year of its formation. In the very first meeting of the National Council JCM, the following three demands were notified by the staff side.
1. 1. Grant of Need Based Minimum Wage as approved by the 1957 Tripartite Labour Conference.
2. 2. Merger of DA with Pay
3. Revision of DA formula
After prolonged discussion for about one and a half year, disagreement was recorded. As per JCM Scheme once disagreement is recorded, the item should be referred to compulsory arbitration. But Govt. rejected the demand for arbitration. Protesting against this arbitrary stand of the Govt. the staff side leadership walked out of the JCM and decided to go for one day’s strike. A Joint Action Committee was formed and the date of the strike was decided as 19th September 1968. Even though, the INTUC affiliated organisations were initially a part of the strike decision, later on they decided not to join the strike due to the intervention of the then Congress Government headed by Smt. Indira Gandhi.
The following were the main demands of the strike charter of demands.
departments including Railway, Defence, P&T etc. About 64000 employees were served with termination notices, thousands removed from service and about 40000 employees suspended. Seventeen (17) striking employees had been brutally killed at Pathankot, Bikaner, Delhi Indraprastha Bhavan and in Upper Assam lathi charge, firing by police and military and by running the train over the bodies of employees who picketed the trains.
manner. On the 51st anniversary of the historic strike, let us pledge that we shall continue our struggle for realization of the demands raised by the martyrs of the 1968 strike. Let us pay respectful homage to those valiant fighters who sacrificed their life for the posterity. Let us salute and honour all those who participated in the historic strike, especially those who had been victimized severely for joining the strike.
LONG LIVE 1968 SEPTEMBER 19TH STRIKE MARTYR.
LONG LIVE, LONG LIVE.
THIS YEAR OF COURSE 55TH ANNIVERSARY |
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