Govt Blind to Plight of Rural Labour Even as Real Wages Fall

As many as 14 crore agri-labourers make up the biggest economic class in India – and the poorestIN the recently presented Economic Survey for 2022-23, tucked away in the verbiage and data, there is a nugget of information that should shock the conscience of all Indians, whether ruling BJP supporters or not. According to the calculations done by the government’s own economists, real wages – that is, wages adjusted to inflation – of rural labourers are either stagnating or showing a marginal fall over the past over two years.

Finance Minister’s Misleading Statement

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a misleading statement the other day that is not expected from a responsible member of the union cabinet. Talking about the resource transfer to the states in the recent budget, she said that the magnitude of transfer had been raised “sharply” (The Hindu February 11). Now, this statement, while creating the impression that the centre has been very “generous’’, gives absolutely no figures on any actual increase in transfer from the centre that would support the claim.

Tripura Assembly Elections: CPI(M) Delegation Meets ECI

A THREE-member delegation consisting of CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau Member Nilotpal Basu and Central Secretariat Member Muralidharan met the full Election Commission on February 13, 2023.The delegation apprised the Election Commission of the apprehension of violence among large section of the voters in Tripura. Such fears also arise from the fact that a large number of motorcycles have been imported into Tripura recently.

Coordination Committee of Domestic Workers Demands Prosecution of the Employers and the Agency

THE All India Coordination Committee of Domestic Workers (AICCDW), in a statement issued on February 11, has called upon the police to take the strictest of action against the employer couple who continuously subjected their young domestic worker to inhuman torture and abuse at their residence in Gurgaon. It also called upon the labour department to investigate and take action against the agency through whom the worker was placed in this household.

Why Do We Have a Balloon Hysteria in the US?

THE newsfeeds from the US seem to be completely insane. First, an F22 Raptor, the most expensive US military aircraft, is used to shoot down a Chinese balloon over the Atlantic ocean. Three more "unidentified flying objects" – definitely not balloons are shot down in three days, two over the US and one over Canada.

AIKS Calls upon People of Tripura to Defeat BJP

AIAWU All India Conference Begins in Howrah

THE 10th all India conference of the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) began on February 15, at Sarat Sadan, Jyoti Basu Nagar (Howrah) in West Bengal. Amidst slogans of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, AIAWU president A Vijayaraghavan hoisted the union’s flag. Before the flag hoisting, five torch-marches reached the venue and handed over the martyrs’ torches to the all India leadership of the union and to the reception committee of the conference.

Construction Workers Federation Holds National Conference

THE 10th all India conference of the Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI) that concluded on February 13, 2023 asserted its united resolve to intensify struggles against neoliberal policies aggressively pursued by the Modi led BJP government at the centre. It called upon the working class in general and construction workers in particular to get ready to unleash more combative direct class actions to defeat the corporate-communal policy regime and make headway for a change in the policy regime.

Governors as Agents of Ruling Party

THE recent appointment of six new governors by the president of India has revealed a lot about how the post of governor is viewed and cynically misused by the Modi government.The appointment of Justice S Abdul Nazeer, who had retired from the Supreme Court just two months ago, as the governor of Andhra Pradesh is an egregious example of how the Modi government distributes this sinecure post.

Assam: Asom Krishi Shramik Union Holds First State Conference

THE first state conference of the Asom Krishi Shramik Union, the Assam state unit of the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) was held successfully on January 31, 2023 in Rangia of Kamrup rural district. Senior leader and former MP, Uddhab Barman hoisted the flag of the union, followed by paying floral tributes to the martyrs column.Vikram Singh, joint secretary of the AIAWU inaugurating the conference discussed the sorry state of employment in rural India. AIAWU will continue to fight for a central legislation for rural workers and for pension to rural labourers.

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