Editorial 2nd Quarter 2025

                              FIRE MAGAZINE, THE MOUTHPIECE OF AILRSA

                                                Editorial                            May 2025

 

                              Chief Editor                 Thota Hanumaiah

                                                      May Day 2025

ON this May Day 2025, the AILRSA extends revolutionary greetings to the toiling people of the world who are waging bitter struggle, to defend their hard-earned rights, against the aggressive onslaught of the neoliberal capitalist order engulfed in systemic crisis. The AILRSA  stand in solidarity with all working people in their struggles against exploitation, discrimination and for  decent standard of living with peace and harmony.

The AILRSA march in solidarity with the working class of India in gearing up to the all-India General Strike on May 20, 2025 under the banner of the joint platform of central trade unions and independent sectoral federations, which is going to be the biggest action of the Indian working class against the atrocious attacks of the ruling classes on the rights and livelihood of the toiling people. The struggle today is against the corporate loot and plunder of the people and the national economy; it is against the attacks on the basic democratic, constitutional and hard won rights of the working people.

The Global economy is witnessing    sluggish    growth, with inequalities, poverty, unemployment, hunger, and malnutrition on the rise. Global crisis is deepening, and world is entering into unlimited debt burden. Imperialist forces are trying to push the entire burden of the crisis over to the workers and people.

The AILRSA notes that the crisis, while increasing the misery of the working people, is also opening an opportunity to collectively combat the bankruptcy of the neoliberal capitalist order. There is increased resistance of various sections of the working people against the onslaughts of neoliberalism.

Last year has seen magnificent strikes and struggles of the working class and peasantry in various nations. Greece needs special mention with two massive strikes of the working class within a couple of months, which brought the country to a standstill.

The AILRSA realises that the Indian working class movement is facing an unprecedentedly challenging situation, stemming from the deepening crisis of contemporary capitalism. The ruling class's response has become increasingly aggressive and authoritarian, systematically stripping people of their democratic rights of engaging in collective bargaining action. This attack on the working class, both at the workplace and national levels, has become a hallmark of the NDA Government.

 

The NDA government, representing the interests of the corporate Coys, is desperate in pushing the neoliberal policies rabidly, through authoritarian measures in all fronts encompassing both economic management and societal governance. The attempts to implement the Labour Codes, which aim to impose conditions of virtual slavery on the working class is the desperate attempt of the NDA government in pushing the implementation of the Neoliberal policies. The sustained and strong resistance of the working class at various levels – sectoral and national, could stall the implementation of the Labour Codes till 2025, nearly five years since they have been passed.

The AILRSA also, notes that the employment relations in the organised as well as the unorganised sectors are being continuously restructured to promote extreme fragility and precariousness in the overall employment profile. Advanced technology including the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used against the interests of the working people for profit maximisation.  This is aimed at pushing the labour force out of all regulations and protection, to put in place a right-less workforce and a union-free workplace.  This is meant not just to minimise labour costs but more importantly to impose on them a condition of virtual slavery to facilitate elimination of trade unions that fight for workers’ rights. Labour Codes facilitate this process. Permanent employment will become a thing of the past being replaced by mass scale outsourcing, apprentices, trainees, interns etc. Innovative terminology is used to keep workers outside the purview of labour laws.

The NDA government seeks to reintroduce the draconian farm laws through back-door which the peasant movement of the country forced the government to repeal through the historic farmer’s struggle. The central government’s new Agri marketing policy is the expression of deceptive moves,  not only to open its agricultural market but also, to  to siphon off our natural resources including forests, mines land and ocean to benefit its cronies and monopoly capital. All these are having a detrimental impact on the environment and adding to the disastrous climate change.

They are aggressively pursuing privatisation, especially in the electricity, coal, other minerals, port and dock, banking, Railways, and insurance sectors. The AILRSA congratulates the workers of these strategic sectors, who are fighting with all might to protect the public sector and the interests of the people of India.

Various measures are being introduced to directly subsidise the capitalist classes out of national exchequer under the camouflage of multi-pronged incentive schemes. And as a supplementary measure, it is making efforts to suppress all opposition against neoliberalism by curbing the democratic and constitutional rights of the people, going to the extreme extent of criminalising the collective protests of the people through new legislation like Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita in addition to UAPA, PMLA etc.

Simultaneously, the NDA government has decriminalised 180 offences of corporates under 41 legislations including the Boiler Act, Forest Act, Tea Act, Rubber Act, several pharmaceutical sector related legislations etc., as per the provisions of the so-called Jan Vishwas Act. Provision for imprisonment for violating those laws has been withdrawn confining punishment to paying some fine. 100 more offences have been decriminalised in the latest Union budget. This is nothing but a licence to violate laws including labour laws with impunity. Shram Samadhan and Shram Suvidha portals have practically done away with complaint based inspection again to facilitate undeterred labour law violations by the employers.

On the other hand, collective actions by the workers to assert their hard won rights are being criminalised. So much so that collective lodging of complaint by workers and their unions is sought to be interpreted as ‘organised crime’ under section 111 of BNS (Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita), leading to police action including non bailable imprisonment. Already in several states trade union leaders are being implicated in false criminal cases for representing workers’ grievances to the management or even labour department. Even before the Labour Codes are implemented, routine trade union activities like gate meetings, departmental meetings, distribution of leaflets, submitting memorandum etc., particularly in government establishments/departments, are being virtually prohibited. These are meant to create an atmosphere of fear among the workers.

The country is witnessing unprecedented unemployment and continuing decline in real wages. The share of wages in the net value added declined from18.9 per cent in 2020 to 15.9 per cent in 2023. In the same period the share of profits rose to 51.9 per cent of the net value added from 38.7 per cent. Extreme poverty and malnutrition are on the increase. There is drastic reduction in public spending in employment, food, education, and health with massive budget cuts. Corruption has been institutionalised by the NDA rule at the centre and in various states. Debt-burden is increasing alarmingly among the poorer sections through private microfinance institutions who are earning super profits, pushing many debtors to suicides. On this May Day, the AILRSA pledges to fight against all these onslaughts and atrocities.

The AILRSA notes with pride that various sections of the working class of the country under the class oriented trade union leadership are valiantly resisting such a hostile and gloomy situation of unprecedented attacks on hard earned rights and cultural and social onslaughts. Innumerable struggles and mobilisations for the basic rights and against the atrocities were organised all over the country by trade unions. The strike by the Samsung workers in Tamil Nadu has not only inspired the working class world over but has given an increased vigour to the working class of India. Struggles and strike actions by the electricity employees are setting new standards in mobilising the class as well as getting solidarity and support from the people who are also the victims of the privatisation of electricity. Some of the successful struggles by the contract workers in many establishments during the intervening period are creating confidence that the atrocious project of the ruling class towards informalisation and fragilization of workforce cannot finally succeed, if the working class movement asserts combatively in the right direction in organising and rallying them in the class-battle. Various sections of scheme workers especially the Anganwadi, ASHA and MDM workers have been on continuous and assertive struggles at state and all India level with many achievements.

The peasantry is also outraged against the onslaught on their livelihood. The AILRSA welcomes the increasing coordination and united actions by the national platforms of the trade unions and farmers’ organisations – SKM at all levels with many united actions in the last one year.

On this May Day, while remembering the innumerable martyrs who laid down their lives in the fight for a just world,

THE AILRSA PLEDGES TO:

⮚      Expose the hollowness of the capitalist system even while continuing its fight on the day-to-day burning issues of the working class and all toiling people.

⮚      Build unity of the working class and peasantry through united actions and building it to a broader unity of the people in defence of democracy, equality, and secularism and against all forms of exploitation.

⮚      Create awareness among the Railwaymen and in particular the LOCO MEN to bring them together for a collective Trade union action of protecting their hard-won rights and against all sorts of exploitation and to ensure the security of employment.  AND TO

Ø    Scrap NPS + UPS and to Restore OPS.  >Stop privatisation of Railways.

Ø    Ensure safety of travelling public, Staff and Property.

Ø    Oppose penalisation of staff by invoking the draconian Rule 14/2 of RS(D&A)R in an incident of SPAD. Instead introduce counselling & training.

>       fill all the existing vacancies and relieve overburdened workload on the

         existing staff. Sanction additional posts on par with increased train service.

>       secure humane working conditions; maximum 8 hours work and minimum    

16 hours rest. Not more than 2-night duties a week. A 30 hour Weekly periodic rest  in addition to 16 hours headquarters rest in continuation. The Crew should be brought back to headquarters within 36 hours. Star hotel facilities in Running Rooms as per R.B norms. Abandon the wayside rest rooms.

            Long Live May Day!          Long Live Worker Peasant Alliance!