The labourers on the hunger strikes
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Leaders of ten central trade unions will sit on a day-long hunger strike at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat on May 22 as part of its nationwide protest against the "anti-worker" move to suspend labour laws in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the joint platform of the ten central trade unions -- INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, UTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC -- on May 14. The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has called a separate protest on May 20.
At Rajghat, the national leaders of trade unions will sit on hunger strike while simultaneous protest actions will be jointly organised in all states. The demands include immediate relief to stranded workers for safe reaching to their homes, food to be made available to all, universal coverage of ration distribution, ensure wages to all of the lockdown period, cash transfer to all unorganized labour force, withdraw DA freeze to central government employees and pensioners among others.
The national leadership has also instructed its state units to intensify state-wise and sector-wise issue-based ongoing protests. They also decided to further strengthen the united struggle to halt the "retrograde policies of trampling the hard-won labour rights" through the nationwide strike in the days to come.
The central trade unions have already decided to send a joint representation to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the suspension of labour laws that resulted in violation of international commitments on labour standards and human rights.
"Taking shelter under the umbrella of COVID-19 pandemic, every day the government is taking one or other decisions to attack the working class and common people of the country who are already in deep distress and miseries in the midst of lockdown in the country," the trade unions said.
The government's announcement on May 14 "did nothing for relieving