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[Posted below is the belated announcement for an important event that
took place in New Delhi ; we expect to post reports on the event at
some later stage]
NIYOGI MEMORIAL CONVENTION ON OCTOBER 5,2004
NIYOGI MEMORIAL CONVENTION ON LABOUR STRUGGLES FOR JUSTICE
Thirteen years after the martyrdom of Shankar Guha Niyogi his legacy
lives on. Guided by his creative and charismatic leadership, the
Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha redefined trade union struggles by breaking
the narrow shackles of economism. Under the slogan of "sangharsh aur
nirmaan", this movement touched and transformed all aspects of
people's lives - it established a worker's hospital, led vibrant anti
liquor movements, and actively promoted local history and traditions.
It created an active relationship with the movements of the peasantry
and labour in the surrounding countryside. The slogan "Naye Bharat Ke
Liye Naya Chattisgarh" captures this people-centric model of
development. Niyogi's vision of a society free of oppression stands
in stark contrast to the lop-sided priorities of the development
model being implemented in Chhattishgarh today.
Shankar Guha Niyogi was murdered in the early hours of 28th September
1991 by the industrial mafia of Chattisgarh. At that time he was
organising contract workers in Bhilai. Even as the government of
Madhya Pradesh was wooing foreign investors and promising a dispute
free industrial haven, workers were unionising. The burgeoning
agitation launched by the contract workers for the implementation of
labour laws under his leadership posed a threat to the profits of
industrialists, and also to the unchallenged supremacy they enjoyed
in the area for decades. His cold-blooded murder sent shock waves
throughout the nation. In the trial for his murder, the trial court
for the first time in the legal history of the country convicted two
industrialists on the charge of conspiracy for the murder of a trade
union leader. The final appeals in this matter have been argued
before the Supreme Court and the judgment is now awaited.
The theme of the convention is "Labour Struggles for Justice" in
today's context of dilution of labour laws, attack on fundamental
rights like the right to strike, and growing repression of workers.
PROGRAMME
Session 1: 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm
Aruna Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Rajasthan on Rural
Workers' Issues and Struggles
Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University on Changing
Macroeconomic Policies and Growing Repression of Workers
Arundhati Roy, Author and Social Activist on Global Political Context
of an Increasingly Anti-Labour World Economic Order
Sudha Bharadwaj, Secretary, Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha on Challenges
Before the Workers' and Peasant Movement in Chhattisgarh
Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate, SC, on Judiciary and Workers Rights
Session 2: 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm
Comments by representatives of Trade Unions and Workers' Organizations
Chairperson: Dunu Roy, Environmental Activist, Hazards Centre, New Delhi
Venue : Deputy Speaker's Hall, Constitution Club, Viththalbhai Patel
House, New Delhi
Date : 5th October 2004
K.J Mukherjee Smita Gupta Vrinda Grover
SOLIDARITY GROUP FOR CHHATTISGARH WORKER'S MOVEMENT
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