(English Translation of letter in Marathi)
AITUC
ALL INDIA TRADE UNION CONGRESS
Maharashtra Rajya Council
To,
Hon’ble Chief Minister,
State of Maharashtra
Mantralaya, Mumbai.
Hon’ble Transport Minister,
State of Maharashtra
Mantralaya, Mumbai.
Subject: Support of AITUC (Maharashtra) to ST workers’ strike
Sir,
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, known as the public enterprise owned by the people of Maharashtra, has been serving people in the remotest villages, fulfilling the concept of ‘where there is a village, there is the ST’. ST workers and officers have worked ceaselessly to serve common man. Subsidising the fares of various communities but not compensating the corporation and providing licenses to private transport services and ignoring their illegal practices has led the corporation to incur immense losses. It is extremely important that the people of Maharashtra continue to receive this service.
As the government did not accept their just demand that the ST corporation should be merged with the state government, ST workers came together and decided to strike.
Even after the court declared the strike to be illegal, ST workers maintained their unity and continued the strike. AITUC (Maharashtra) salutes the fighting spirit of the workers and calls upon the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Hon’ble Transport Minister to fulfil the striking workers’ demands and end the strike respectably. No action should be taken against any worker.
Yours faithfully,
Com. Shyamji Kale
General Secretary, AITUC Maharashtra
ST workers just like every other public sector has been serving our people for so many years. They work in harsh conditions and are under attack right now. This is an attack on all of us. We are the consumers and an attack on one is an attack on all. There is an urgent need to support workers from all sectors to work towards a united struggle. That is the only way forward💪🏽