While the Central Govt is trotting the theory that public sector is inefficient and private sector runs efficiently, they do not have the answer to the question of huge accumulated loans not paid back to the banks by the private sector thus swelling the Non Performing Assets of the public sector banks to the tune of Rs 58000 crore. The corporate sector alone is responsible for more than 80% of this huge Non Performing Assets.

When the first installment of the shares of well run public sector units was sold by the Government, the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pointed out that the country lost Rs 3400 crore in the deal. However, the Government continued to ignore the findings and offer the public sector on a platter to the private sector. A section of these shares have been purchased by the MNCs with the objective of gainning a controlling hand in the concerned public sector units. The bungling went further to such an extent that in case of Gas Authority of India Ltd, the shares were sold at much below the market prices. Even former finance minister Chidambaram found some shady deal in the transaction. Another dangerous part of the deal was that those shares were off-loaded at a throw away price to three MNCs.

The recent decision to privatise Indian Airlines and Modern Food Industries Ltd, only expresses how the Vajpayee Government is in a hurry to sell the public sector units of the country to please the IMF and the World Bank. During the pre-budget discussion with the Central Trade Unions, the Union Finance Minister Yeshwant Sinha admitted that The Government of India received only Rs 16000 crore during the last several years by selling a substantial chunk of public sector share-holdings.

In a recent meeting convened by Standing Committee of Public Enterprises(SCOPE), former Chairman of Disinvestment Commission, G V Ramakrishna noted that The Govt was selling valuable assets of the public sector, only to meet the budgetary deficit and not for any developmental purposes. This, according to him was frittering away of public assets by the Government.

Despite opposition by the trade union movement, the Govt of India is doggedly pursuing this policy of privatisation . The Govt went to the extent of announcing 100% sell-out of some public sector undertakings.

SICK UNITS CONDEMNED TO CLOSURE

The sick units in public sector are perhaps worst hit. Many of the units were taken over by the Central Government after they were made sick by private owners. The Government of India failed to invest any capital for modernisation and revival. Only the losses were paid as loans to them by making them more sick and unviable. Even now many of them can be made viable provided Government gives financial assistance to run them economically. In case of NTC mills the Expert Committee pointed out that all of them can be made viable provided Government of India gives them Rs. 2500 crores for modernisation. Even the proposal to raise the funds by selling their surplus land could not be materialised with the result that NTC units have become more sick. The workers have to wait for months together even to get their monthly wages.

HSCL, TAFCO, NPCC, IDPL have not paid their wages for several months forcing the workers to literally starve along with their families.

The Government of India did not implement the commitment it has given to BIFR while finalising the package of the sick unit’s revival. In the last year’s budget proposal the Finance Minister announced that the Government would not give any help to the public sector for their revival. Many of the sick units are valuable to India’s self-reliant development and their becoming viable is important for India’s advance.

DOWNSIZING MANPOWER THROUGH VRS

Over three lakh public sector workers have lost their jobs in the name of golden handshake or VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme). This retirement is not voluntary at all since workers are forced to retire through several coersive methods. A study made of the workers who accepted VRS has shown that most of them were later forced to accept low paid jobs to make their both ends meet.

The National Renewal Fund which provided about Rs. 2000 crores for retrenchment of workers has resulted in reduction of skilled and highly skilled manpower in public sector. Yet Government wants further reduction of manpower in the name of cutting costs. The programme of retraining and redeployment failed to give any gainful employment to a large number of workers. In several public undertakings while regular man-power was brought down contract labour increased simultaneously resulting in more low paid jobs.

Despite sickness of public sector units many top bosses in league with ministerial officials have made crores of rupees through misappropriations. Recent examples of ECL Chairman, IISCO Managing Director etc. only showed how ill gotten wealth continued to be accumulated even from the sick units making them more sick. These bosses are never tired of blaming low productivity of workers as the cause of sickness of these undertakings.

Several workers in public sector had to forgo even due wage rise. Many of them have been denied the new DA formula. Many welfare members have been arbitrarily curtailed or withdrawn in the name of economy. Some have even to face wage cut for their survival. All efforts made by the workers to improve productivity have been used by top heavy administration to pocket money for their selfish benefits.

NEW ATTACKS ON WORKERS

The Department of Public Enterprises have issued guidelines that the wage agreement in public sector should be signed for a period of 10 years. This has stalled negotiations in most of the undertakings. No central trade unions has given consent to the 10 year clause and workers have resisted these unreasonable guidelines all over India. Even several management have appealed to the Government to revise the guidelines to make them 5 years. The recent indefinite Port & Dock strike has focussed the attention of the country to this problem and Minister of Surface Transport Rajnath Singh had to agree that the matter would be settled by the end of March. Over 90 per cent of the workers in the public sector have expressed their view in favour of long drawn struggle in the referendum conducted all over the country at the call of CPSTU on 11th january, 2000.

The other guidelines of DPE for wage negotiations in public sector undertakings are so arbitrary that the management is unable to have meaningful negotiations with the unions. More than 3 years have passed after commencement of the present period of settlement while the negotiations have yet to begin in right earnest. All this has made a mockery of collective bargaining in public sector undertakings.

NO INVOLVEMENT OF WORKERS IN POLICY DECISIONS

The Government of India has totally ignored the workers and their unions while taking vital decisions concerning the public sector undertakings. Even the special tripartite committee which was discussed the impact of economic policies of liberalisation on working class has not been called for the last 2 years. Unilateral announcement of decisions which have bearing on the working of the public sector are taken by the Government. While the views of ASSOCHAM, CII, FICCI etc. are being taken on every aspect of policy concerning public sector trade unions are not consulted at all by the Government.

This arbitrariness in the Government policies was strongly opposed by the CPSTU which has strongly condemned these policies of the BJP led Government. They have not only damaged the interests of the working class but the whole country.

The extended meeting of the CPSTU on 16th December has therefore decided to organise one day warning strike on 2nd February, 2000 to draw the attention of the Central Government to the accumulated discontent of the 2 million workers of the public sector undertakings under the Central Government all over the country.

The atmosphere of enthusiasm created among the workers all over the country has brought in the strike workers of other affiliations. The INTUC and BMS who are not officially supporting the action have extended their full endorsement of the demands raised by the CPSTU. In a meeting convened by the Union Labour Minister on 29th January, 2000 in New Delhi the representatives of INTUC and BMS advocated the need for settlement of the issues raised by CPSTU. The INTUC in West Bengal however has endorsed the call of strike on 2nd February while many INTUC and BMS unions individually have given strike notices and joined the mainstream of struggle.

If the Central Government does not settle the demands raised by the CPSTU it will have to face even bigger and longdrawn actions of the public sector undertakings. In several undertakings even the officers have given a call for action on 2nd February.