Indefinite Strike started as negotiations fail

KM correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, February 5: More than half a million government employees in Kerala, irrespective of their political affiliations, have started an indefinite strike from midnight on Tuesday demanding restoration of their benefits curtailed by the Antony government after the talks between the government and the unions failed to reach an agreement.

The unions owing allegiance to the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) constituents have also joined the strike making things worse for Chief Minister AK Antony. Ministers representing UDF constituents have also attended today’s talks with the representatives of the unions of the government employees and teachers. However, a powerful section of Antony’s Congress party, led by former chief minister and senior leader K Karunakaran, is supporting the strike besides the Opposition Marxists-led opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The government has threatened to handle the strike with an ‘iron hand’ by invoking Kerala Essential Services Maintenance Act (KESMA) to ban the strike. It has also brought 24 services under the Act that gives it powers to arrest the troublemakers without a court warrant and suspend their jobs. The dies non (no-work no-pay) has also been invoked.

Police have been put on high alert throughout the state and the government is keeping the option of calling the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) open in the wake of the reports that the state police are reluctant to act, as they are also at the receiving end of the austerity measures Antony announced to bring the staggering economy back on track. The intelligence wing of the police had warned of the chances of the Marxists resorting to violence and disrupting normal life.

Peace talks failed as the Government made it clear that it left with no option but to bring in stringent austerity measures and there would be no going back on the decision scrapping the leave encashment facility, deferment of salary payments for months of February and March by two weeks, redeployment of over 60,000 staff who have no work, voluntary off-duty scheme and application of the contributory pension scheme for the fresh recruits.

“The talks were a farce. The chief minister was insulting us by calling for talks and refusing negotiations,” the Action Council of Employees and Teachers convener CH Ashokan said. The pro-UDF unions also accused the government of being negative on their demands. “The government did not even consider suspension of the orders to pave way for talks,” they said.

During the three-hour talks, Antony was maintaining that the austerity measures were not negotiable and kept on requesting the staff to cooperate with the government to take the state out of the deep financial mess. He only promised to have a second look on the measures as and when the finances improve.

''We put forward several proposals for additional resources mobilization. But the Chief Minister was not willing to discuss the issue,'' the action council leaders said.

Expressing displeasure over the failure of the talks, pro-Congress NGO Association leader Managad Rajendran said all the employees would go ahead with their strike till their demands were met.

Efforts by the Congress state unit president K Muraleedharan and UDF convener Oommen Chandy to keep the pro-UDF unions away from the strike also did not bear fruit, as they had nothing to offer.

The state cabinet meanwhile decided to tighten the security around all the government establishments in the state. It also decided not send six companies of the police to Uttar Pradesh for the elections as was decided earlier. It will also call the CRPF if necessary.

The chief minister convened a high-level meeting of officials to take stock of the situation. All the examinations (both written and practical) of Kerala Public Service Commission scheduled for February 6, 7 and 8 have been postponed.

Directions have gone to the entire district superintendents of police (SPs), various wings of the police including intelligence, crime branch and control rooms to step up vigilance for the next two days. Intelligence agencies have been asked to keep a close watch on the activities of the trade union leaders. The Government might also order a crackdown on top leaders of employees' and teachers' organizations to weaken the strike right in the beginning itself, reports said.

The employees started pen-down strike from Tuesday morning itself stalling the movement of files at almost all the government offices in the state.The Government Guest House here also witnessed a sit-in by the journalists protesting the government's decision to keep them away from the venue of the talks.

Scores of journalists, who were prevented at the main entrance, squatted at the main road for more than an hour shouting slogans for restoration of press freedom. They demanded that visual media and photographers should be allowed in for a few minutes before the meeting commenced. However, the government turned down their demand.
CPI-M worker hacked to death.

GULF BIDS FAREWELL TO LORD TUGENDHAT IN HIS ABBEY NATIONAL ROLE

February 5, 2002 keralamonitor.com

Lord Tugendhat, Chairman of Abbey National Plc., the UK's sixth largest high street bank, was in the UAE last month as part of his farewell tour of the Gulf in his existing role.

Lord Tugendhat is retiring from his role as Abbey National chairman and has been succeeded by Lord Burns on 1 February 2002.

In a farewell lunch for business partners, the financial community, media and key accounts, held at the British Embassy in Dubai, Lord Tugendhat, who first came to the Gulf in 1966 reiterated Abbey National's commitment to the region.

Lord Tugendhat also expressed his personal views on the euro, in a keynote speech, he proffered a bullish outlook for the new European currency.

Mike Brighton, General Manager of Abbey National Offshore's Dubai Representative Office, closed the proceedings by presenting Lord Tugendhat with a framed collection of Maria Theresa coins, the first European currency to be traded in the Middle East, which entered the Gulf market in 1780.