Rights of the Working People

Agricultural Workers

The CPI(M) will uncompromisingly struggle for:

A central legislation for agricultural workers to protect the basic rights which should include:

· guaranteed minimum wages;
· pension and other social benefits;
· provision of homestead lands;
· equal wages for equal work for women agricultural workers;
· provision of workmen’s compensation for accidents.

Working Class

The CPI (M) will fight for:

· Revival of sick units, halt privatisation of profitable public sector units, revival of sick public sector units by a suitable package of measures including reorienting the government policy on tax-concession, order-placement, credit, etc., in that direction.

· Rejecting the retrograde recommendations of the Report of the Second National Commission on Labour aimed at vesting the employers with the right to ‘hire and fire’ to the detriment of the interests of the workers.

· Rescinding the notification issued by the government adding a new classification of ‘fixed term employment workman’ under the Model Standing Order Rules, a concept which will wipe out permanency in all jobs even in the organised sector.

· Provision of need-based minimum wage for workers, revision of the statutory minimum wages in that direction with the provision of automatic linkage of the emoluments with price index. Restoration of interest rate in Provident Fund.

· Rejuvenating the enforcement machinery of labour laws and social security legislations and suitable amendments in the laws to provide for stringent punishment for violation and expanding their coverage.

· Comprehensive legislation for the workers in the unorganised sector and home-based workers to govern their service condition, job-security, grievance-redressal and social security benefit adequately financed by budgetary allocation by the government.

· Recognition of trade unions through secret ballot and protection of trade union rights and right to collective bargaining by a truly representative forum.

· Effective scheme for workers' participation in management in both public and private sector.

Protect the Right to Strike

· Safeguarding the right to organise, collective bargaining and the right to strike for all workers, including government employees, by legislation adopted in Parliament to annul the Supreme Court judgement prohibiting strikes.

· India should ratify the International Labour Organisation convention 151 which accords government employees the rights which other citizens enjoy, subject to their administrative responsibilities.

Women’s Rights

The CPI(M) commits in policy and practice to fight for women’s rights in every sphere at a time when women face the worst assault on their rights.

· While holding the NDA government squarely responsible for the shameful failure to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill the CPI(M) pledges to continue its firm support for one-third reservation for women in the legislatures and to work for its passage in the new parliament.

· It also supports the important amendments to the Domestic Violence Bill moved by women’s organisations and will work for its passage. It will also work for the adoption of laws against sexual harassment and child abuse.

· The CPI(M) supports a huge expansion in employment opportunities for women in the organised sector and in rural areas with equal wages; it will fight all attempts to remove protective legislation for women in the name of labour reform; it supports legislation for unorganised sector workers including home-based workers and domestic workers.

· It demands implementation of joint pattas for women in all land distributed including housing plots given in urban areas by government and special schemes for female headed households.

· The state should provide credit at low rates of interest to self-help groups and assistance to market their products.

· Condemning female foeticide and the alarming decrease in sex ratios, the CPI(M) pledges to strengthen existing laws against female feoticide, implement them and support social campaigns in favour of the girl child. It will strongly oppose any coercive population control measures or the promotion of hazardous contraceptives for women.

· The CPI(M) advocates equal rights for women of all communities. It demands compulsory registration of marriages. Eradication of the practice of dowry as a national mission.

· It also stands for a comprehensive media policy to check the growing trend of commodification of women.

Children’s Rights

· Universalisation of child care services; all children upto 6 years should be in anganwadis.

· Prohibition of child labour and enforcing rights of children subject to such exploitation.