CHENNAI: The Left parties and VCK on Sunday extended full support to the nationwide general strike called by central trade unions, sectoral federations and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on February 12, against what they described as the Union government’s “multi-pronged attacks” on workers’ rights and people’s entitlements.
In a joint statement, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam, CPI state secretary M Veerapandian, VCK founder Thol Thirumavalavan and CPI(ML) Liberation state secretary Pazha Aasaithambi said the strike was aimed at opposing the four labour codes enacted by the Union government, which, they alleged, dismantle hard-won protections secured by workers over decades and favour corporate interests.
The leaders accused the Narendra Modi government of mounting sustained assaults on the working class both inside and outside Parliament, and said the labour codes had triggered widespread protests across the country. They also flagged concerns about opening the nuclear power sector to private and foreign companies under a new framework, arguing that provisions that dilute liability in the event of accidents undermine nuclear safety, national sovereignty, and the value placed on human life.
Criticising changes to the rural employment guarantee framework, the statement said the MGNREGA had been replaced by a new law that removed rights-based guarantees, shifted 40% of the funding burden to states, and excluded implementation during harvest seasons. This, the parties said, would deprive rural agricultural workers of assured employment at a time of acute joblessness.
The joint statement also opposed allowing 100% foreign direct investment in the insurance sector, warning that it would facilitate takeovers of domestic insurers by foreign firms. It raised objections to the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhistan-2025, alleging centralisation of powers and large-scale commercialisation of education.
Noting that youth, students, women and persons with disabilities’ organisations had rallied behind the ongoing workers’ and farmers’ movements, the parties said trade unions and farmers’ bodies in Tamil Nadu were preparing intensively to ensure the success of the February 12 strike. Calling the Union government’s policies anti-people and anti-worker, they appealed to democratic movements, working people and traders in Tamil Nadu to extend full support to make the protest a success.