AICCTU held a state level Women Workers’ Convention in Tirunelveli on June 30. The convention paid homage to the army jawans and others who lost their lives in the rescue operations in Uttrakhand and those died in the manmade disaster.
The convention raised the following demands:
Enumeration of permanent and non-permanent, organized and unorganized women workers in the public sector, private sector and in the government departments in the state.
The state government should take immediate efforts to get Presidential assent for L.A.Bill 47/2008 which will protect the rights of women workers of sumangali scheme at least to a certain extent.
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 should be implemented immediately in the state.
Women workers should be paid equal wages for equal work.
Meaningful social security measures for women workers.
Revision of minimum wages for garment workers in the state. (It was last revised in 2004).
Fixing minimum wages for domestic workers.
The convention was held in a background where lakhs and lakhs of beedi women workers are missing from the records of District Labour Commissioner’s office and there by those lakhs of beedi women workers are denied of their statutory rights. Around Rs.73 crores is lying in the PF office unclaimed. When the Supreme Court asked why the TN government should not raise the cess from the construction work to 1% instead of the existing 0.3% to give more benefits for the construction workers, the State government has replied that the construction wokers’ welfare board has enough funds left after giving enough benefits for the construction workers and hence the question of raising the cess does not arise. But the ground situation in TN is that not all construction workers, majority of them women are registered under the welfare board and that even those registered are not getting and welfare benefits.
Vahida Nizam, National Vice President, AITUC, Malathi Chittibabu, National Vice President CITU and Sujatha Modi, President, Women Workres Trade Union addressed the convention.
The convention was presided over by Com. Anbuselvi, AICCTU State Council Member. Com.Thenmozhi, State Vice President, AICCTU placed the resolutions. Com. T. Sankarapandian, General Secretary, AICCTU, inaugurated the convention. Com.Bhuvaneswari, State Deputy General Secretary, AICCTU addressed the convention. Over 100 women workers participated in the convention.
The convention decided to organize demonstrations all over the state stressing the demands raised in the convention.
