THE Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, in a statement issued on December 20 has called upon its units to observe Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule’s birth anniversary on January 3 as Women’s Education Day.Savitribai was born on January 3, 1831 and as was the custom of that period, married to Jyotiba Phule at a young age of nine years. Jyotiba too was a child, aged only thirteen. Encouraged by Jyotiba, Savitribai went to school and got trained as a teacher.

THE neo-liberal economic regime has turned the country’s employment scenario upside down. There are no longer regular government and non-government jobs. You have only contract workers, daily wage earners, casual workers, scheme workers, etc.In the 12-year rule of Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s employment scenario has undergone a complete change, and now even doctors, nurses, professors are working on contract basis.

THE Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), in its office bearers meeting held on December 17, 2017 at Chennai decided to launch a series of struggle programmes to defeat the draconian anti-people FRDI bill and to protect the interests of the depositors.BEFI has called upon all its state units to collect crores of signatures from the public as part of the campaign launched by the United Forum of Bank Unions to be submitted to the speaker of the Lok Sabha in the budget session of the parliament.BEFI will conduct street campaigns, demonstrations culminating in a day long dharna in all the

IT has been reported in the media that the union cabinet has approved a bill making it a criminal offence to pronounce triple talaq apart from some other provisions. The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), in a statement issued on December 19 has condemned the hasty and extremely undemocratic manner in which the bill is being sought to be passed in the parliament without any public discussion and discussion with women’s organisations and groups working with issues related to Muslim women.AIDWA is against the criminalisation of pronouncement of triple talaq.

THE WFTU Asia Pacific regional conference of women workers was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on December 6-8, 2017 as a prelude to the World Working Women’s Congress scheduled to be held in Panama from March 8-10, 2018. The conference was hosted by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL). 14 women trade unionists from seven countries – Bangladesh, India, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Sri Lanka, representing 10 affiliated unions, participated in the conference.