By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: The federal government should declare Ockhi cyclone as a national disaster and take steps to protest poor people in the coastal belts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, says the official arm of Indian Catholic bishops Office of Labor.
The Workers India Federation (WIF) has also has urged federal and state governments to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their disaster management authorities.
The federation that met in New Delhi for its annual general body meeting expressed distress and anguish on the “lapse and the negligence in conducting the rescue operations by the appropriate governments on time.” It wants the federal government to “expedite steps to protect the life and livelihood of the poor people in the coastal belts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”
The Ockhi cyclone wreaked havoc in the coastal belts Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka for three days starting November 30. It has created miseries and troubles to the coastal areas of these states. “It is really shocking to know that more than 3,000 fish workers are missing from Tamil Nadu and Kerala alone,” says a press statement the federation issued at the end of the December 8-10 meeting.
The federation wants government to allot modern electronic amenities such as GPS and wireless sets to each fishing vessels. The disaster management department should regularly provide updates and warning to the fishers in the sea and convey to the people in the fisher villages also, it adds.
“Ample compensation should be given to the victims. Sufficient program for the rehabilitation of the victims has to be implemented with utmost urgency. Central Government must to allot sufficient fund to the respective state government for the rescue and rehabilitation of the affected,” the statement asserts.
The meeting noted that the demonetization of currencies and implementation of GST were done without appropriate and enough preparations. Such moves have brought misery and suffering to the poor workers in the unorganized sector. “The poorest workers like farmers, agricultural laborers, construction workers, migrant workers, women daily wage workers have lost their livelihood and are driven into poverty and indebtedness,” the federation notes.
The Church body wants the government to revive these sectors of employment through appropriate measures to help poor workers. The federation urged the government to rationalize the implementation of GST on the produce of local artisans, rural products and items and small scale entrepreneurs in the rural areas.
“The inappropriate implementation of GST on these sectors has drastically affected millions of workers in the rural areas and small merchants in the urban centers. It is totally abominable that the GST is even charged for the sanitary napkin of women and the girls,” the statement says.
The meeting also expressed concern on the restructuring of the labor laws of this country under four labor codes brought out by the present government.
“The labor law should protect the weaker sections in the labor market but ironically it calls the powerful to exercise authority over the weak. We fear that many rights of the workers are being eroded in the new conceptualization of the labor law and many of the workers are excluded from the benefits of labor law totally. We urge the Government to put the labor codes into wider consultation and public opinion.”
The annual general body has demanded protection of 96 percent women workers who are in the unorganized sector. It demanded action to prevent violence against women in the process of development. It lambasted tendencies to cover violence against women under the curtain of sexual violence. It also noted denials of nutrition, education, menstrual hygiene as violence against women.
Others forms of violence against women, according to the federation, are poor working conditions of women, less amenities at work place for them and poor implementation of labor laws that deny women’s gender needs. “Therefore we urge the government to bring legislations that protect the rights of the women workers in the unorganized sector. We need a comprehensive legislation for the domestic workers in the country. ILO Convention 189 needs to be ratified in the coming winter session of the parliament.”
The meeting was opened by Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and a symposium on ‘Decent Work Decent Life” on December 9 at Sadbhavana, Okhla, New Delhi suburb.
Bishop Oswald Lewis of Jaipur, chairman CBCI Office for Labor, presided over the meeting. Others present were Bishop Jose Porunnedom, vice chairman, Archbishop Thomas Ignatius Macwan of Gandhinagar, Joseph Jude, federation president and Fr. Jaison Vadassery, its director.
Annie Raja of National Federation of India Women addressed the Conference on the topic gender violence of Development. George Kurian,vice chairman National Minority Commission, spoke on the rights of minorities in India.
Father Suresh Mathew, Chief Editor of Indian Currents weekly, discussed the topic ‘Widening Social and Economic Disparities, Implication for workers in India.’
J. John, former executive director of the Centre for Education and Communication, explained the topic, ‘Labour law reforms in India – Implications on the unorganized workers.:
Jesuit Father Denzil Fernandes, director of Indian Social Institute, New Delhi, spoke on Advocacy and Lobbying for the protection of labor rights.
A panel discussion also held on Caring for Migrants, involvement of CBCI Office for Labour /WIF. Lata Raj spoke on the Study on Tribal Migrant Construction Workers in Delhi, and Jose Abraham, advocate of the Supreme Court, president of Pravasi Legal Aid Cell, talked about legislations related to migrant workers.
As many as 71 delegates from five national movements affiliated to the Federation and 12 labor movements of the Regional Bishops’ Councils attended the three days conference.
The five national movements are National Domestic Workers Movement, Christian Workers Movement, Young Christian Workers Movement, Pastoral Care of Nomads in India and the Apostleship of Sea.
The leading regional movements are Kerala Labor Movement, Tamil Nadu Labour Forum, Karnataka Labour Network, Andhra-Telangana Labour Network, and Bihar Labor Forum.