The Bihar State Construction Workers Union affiliated to AICCTU held a huge rally in front of the Chief Minister in Patna on 1 December 2016. The rally was to protest against the withdrawal of all schemes of the Construction Workers Welfare Board including registration of construction workers by the Nitish government. A demand charter was submitted to the Chief Minister asking: reinstatement of all Welfare Board schemes including registration; increase in social security amount in proportion with price rise; accident compensation of 4 lakhs; normal death compensation of 2 lakhs; marriage aid of Rs 50,000; old age pension of Rs 3,000; family pension of Rs 2,000; and strengthening of the Welfare Board against the conspiracy to loot 8 billion rupees.
The rally and meeting were attended by about 2,000 construction workers from various districts of Bihar and led by State President of the Union SK Sharma. During the protest, a 5 member delegation met the Chief Secretary of the Labour Resources Department for talks.
Addressing the meeting at the protest venue, the speakers condemned the Nitish and Modi governments and said that only those forces which attack and snatch away the rights of the workers and the poor are supporting demonetization. 50 to 60 crore workers are on the brink of starvation and more than 100 people have died due to demonetization but both Modi and Nitish are silent on this. Nitish Kumar is following the same path as Modi and is depriving workers of their rights. Payment under Welfare Board schemes are long pending whereas 8 billion rupees are still deposited in the Welfare Board account and officials and middlemen are conspiring to loot this amount. The speakers also pointed out that the Nitish government’s allotment for construction workers’ schemes is the lowest in the country.
The rally also strongly opposed the Modi government’s demonetization decision calling it a decision that has brought starvation and unemployment to construction workers, especially migrant workers, and submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister (through the Chief Minister) after passing a resolution against this pro-capitalist pro-corporate measure.
