CITU Calls Nationwide Strike on February 12 Against MNREGA Changes
He said that under the original scheme, the Central government fully funded MNREGA wages, but under the revised arrangement, 40 per cent of the wage burden had been shifted to the States.
Visakhapatnam: National general secretary of CITU and former West Bengal MP Tapan Sen on Thursday said a nationwide strike would be organised on February 12 to protest against changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), alleging that the revised framework does not guarantee employment.
Addressing a press conference in Visakhapatnam, Sen said representatives from various States, who had gathered in the city for the 18th All India CITU conference, discussed the issue and unanimously passed a resolution to launch the protest.
He said that under the original scheme, the Central government fully funded MNREGA wages, but under the revised arrangement, 40 per cent of the wage burden had been shifted to the States. “If States face a shortage of funds, the scheme will come to a halt, as there is no guaranteed work under the new framework,” he alleged.
Referring to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Sen said sustained struggles by trade unions had prevented its privatisation over the past five years, even though 30 per cent of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) had been privatised.
He said the conference also discussed the new labour codes, which, according to him, would curtail workers’ rights and weaken the trade union movement across the country.
