Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
Maharashtra Rajya Veej Karmchari, Adhikari, Abhiyanta Sangharsh Samiti (Maharashtra State Electricity Workers, Officers, Engineers Sangharsh Samiti) – consisting of 27 organizations of electricity employees and 12 contract workers’ organizations, organized a militant meeting, on March 25th at 130 PM in front of the Electricity Office in Rasta Peth in Pune to prepare for the All India Strike on 28-29 March. Several hundred employees including workers, engineers and officers from various offices related to the electricity sector in and around Pune participated in the meeting.
Several speakers addressed the one and half hour-long meeting. Mr Kedar Relekar, President of the Kruti Samiti declared that the Kruti Samiti has unanimously decided to join the All-India Strike against Privatization and for the demands as raised in the common Charter, on 28-29 March, 2022. He reiterated the call to all to militantly participate in the strike and join the gate meetings planned on March 28th and 29th.
Other leaders who addressed the meeting included Com Bhimashankar Pohekar of AITUC and Mr Babasaheb Bajirao Shinde of Tantrik Kamgar Union. All present joined in to shout the slogans against the privatization agenda being imposed on the people by both the state government in Maharashtra and the Central Government. All the speakers reiterated the resolve of all the organizations, to defeat this anti-worker, anti-people agenda of the state. The meeting ended with slogans – Hum sub ek hain, hamari union hamari takat, halla bol, majdoor ekta zindabad and inquilab zindabad.
The leaflet brought out by the All India Forum Against Privatization (AIFAP), expressing their solidarity with and whole-hearted support to the call of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral All Indian Federations and Associations for the country-wide two days general strike on 28 and 29th March 2022 against the anti-people, anti-worker and anti-national destructive policies of the Central Government, was distributed amongst the participants. It was very well received and several participants were happy to learn that such an initiative has been taken and so many organizations have joined AIFAP already. All resolved to fight and win their just battle against the privatization agenda announced by the Indian State and for the demands of the workers and people.
