Assam: AANSU and CITU protest for labor rights in south Kamrup district

Members of the South Kamrup District Sadou Axom Nirman Sramik Union (AANSU) and Center of Indian Trade Union (CITU) on April 6 took to the streets to demand better labor rights in the Chaygaon area of Assam. More than 500 protesters marched from Chaygaon Cattle Market towards Chaygaon Revenue Circle office through the National Highway 17, shouting slogans against the BJP-led central government to fulfill their demands.

However, the protest was obstructed by Chaygaon Police on NH 17, leading to the arrival of Soruj Sonowal, the revenue circle officer of Chaygaon, who spoke with the protesters and accepted two memorandums from them. The first memorandum is to the Prime Minister of India to fulfill 14 demands by CITU, and the second memorandum is to the Labor Commissioner of Assam to fulfill five demands by AANSU.

Nazrul Khandakar, General Secretary of the South Kamrup District Sadou Axom Nirman Sramik Union (AANSU), explained that various irregularities were happening in the Chaygaon Labor Inspector Office, such as the inspector being irregularly present at the office, leading to laborers waiting for many days and losing daily wages. Nazrul demanded that the confusion of workers' names registration should be removed from the online registration system, and identity cards online renewal should start as soon as possible. Furthermore, he called for the issuance of identity cards and receipt copies to those laborers who submitted their registration applications in 2021. AANSU also demanded adequate staffing in the Chaygaon Labor Inspector Office and scrutiny meeting of the Labor Inspector office as per the rules.

CITU's demands include the prevention of price increases of essential commodities, ensuring employment of unemployed at all levels, legal recognition of farmers' produce with minimum prices, the repeal of the four labor codes that replace 29 labor laws, fixing minimum wages at Rs. 26,000 per month, spending the Construction Workers Welfare Fund for construction worker welfare, equal wages for equal work, and complying with the Supreme Court's judgment, stopping the NMP project that sells the country's public resources, fixing daily wages of tea workers and agricultural workers in Assam at Rs. 661, reviving the Namrup Fertilizer Factory and Sualkuchi Textile Industry, stopping all evictions without alternative measures and resettling already evicted people, and discontinuing new pension schemes while restoring the old pension policy.

Anil Das, General Secretary, CITU South Kamrup unit, threatened to resume democratic movement very soon if the government fails to fulfill their demands immediately. The protest was one of many held by CITU members all over India, urging the government to address their labor rights issues.