Defence civilian employees of two ordnance factories in Tiruchi affiliated to five national-level federations of trade unions will join their counterparts across the country in indefinite strike from July 26 in protest against the Union Cabinet’s decision to split the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) into seven fully government-owned corporate entities.
The strike will impact the functioning of the factories as employees belonging to All India Defence Employees’ Federation, Indian Natinoal Defence Workers’ Federation, Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh, National Progressive Defence Employees’ Federation and All India Bahujan Defence Employees Federation are to take part in the “fight to the last” to save the ordnance factories with a 76,000-strong workforce.
Terming the Union Cabinet’s decision “arbitrary, one-sided and biased” that violated all the previous written agreements and assurances, they have demanded the immediate withdrawal of the government’s corporatization plan.
The government of India has defended the splitting and corporatisation plans of OFB explaining that the long-delayed move will usher in better management practices and improve efficiency. But, terming the Union Cabinet’s June 16 decision “the most dangerous decision taken” by the government, the federations aver that the entire process to corporatize OFB is “stage-managed, hasty and taken in a hurried manner, without any application of mind about the impact of this decision”.
The federations fear that splitting of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven corporations is against the national interest, defence preparedness and security of the country.
AIDEF (All India Defence Employees Federation) General Secretary C. Srikumar said that we will send the notice for the strike on July 8, both independently and jointly. Srikumar also said that the federations’ joint decision has been conveyed on June 29 to the Defence Minister, Secretary of Defence Production and Defence Secretary.
Srikumar said that the decision to go on an indefinite strike was taken at a joint meeting of the federations held on Sunday. The strike that was originally planned from October 9 last was deferred based on a conciliation settlement. The conciliation proceedings were abruptly closed by the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) earlier this month.
The federations have planned to mobilise the support of Chief Ministers of all States and leaders of political parties and the Parliamentary Defence Standing Committee for the cause, Srikumar said.
