Similarly in our association also. Some are worried about 3.7% IDA. Some are donating even one lakh rupees to help the needy people. Some are donating their one month pension.
The workers are not in a position to celebrate May Day this year.
Corona virus has taught Many lessons. Are we going to learn from this?
Capitalist countries are facing severe crisis. But the countries having left ideology are comparatively better.
Government hospitals are doing their yeoman service. Even Spain has to nationalise private hospitals.
People from all walks of life are appreciating the services of Doctors, health workers, police, small retailers, electricity, water etc. The government has to rethink its approach towards privatisation.
Because of nearly 40 days lock down in India, the most affected are daily wage earners.
A survey says post-corona situation will be very serious. There will be a 10 lakhs job loss in Automobile industry alone and 13.6 crore jobs would be lost. This shall have a cascading effect.
Santosh Mehrotra, a human development economist and Professor at the centre for Informal sector and labour studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University said that there were 49.5 crore labour force but in 2017-18 three crore lost jobs. So, it's only 46.5 crore labour force. Out of this, 90.7% are in informal sector.
20.5 crore are in agriculture sector and 26 crore are in manufacturing, services, non-manufacturing sectors. They are all casual, contact, daily wage earners. For 13.6 crore workers there is no written contract even.
In Tiruppur 1500 export companies employed six lakh workers most of them are daily wage earners who got Rs.450/- per day.
Manufacturing sector employs 5.64 crore in India.
In India's manufacturing sector, textiles and apparels employs 1.8 crore people.
Foot-wear industry in Agra - there are 250 mechanised factories and 5000 cottage industries there employing 4 lakh workers; half of them are daily wage earners.
Non-manufacturing sectors like construction, mining, electricity, water and gas etc. Employs 5.9 crore.
Service sector employs 14.4 crore people out of which 3.7 crore are from Retail Trade.
Micro. Small. Medium Enterprises are very badly hit.
All these sectors including tourism, hotels are very much affected.
The government of India has simply announced an economic package of 1.7 lakh crore which is only 0.85% of GDP. This is highly insufficient. Many countries in the world have announced even upto 16% of GDP as stimulus package.
India can give a stimulus package of 5 to 6% of GDP. There are 26 crore families in India out of which 50% are very badly in need of government aid. They should be given at least Rs.5000/- per month in addition to free supply of ration. It's not an impossible task but it requires a will rather political will.
Indian government's debt is only 68% of GDP and many European countries are having 100% of GDP as debt according to renowned economist Shri Kaushik Basu.
The government has to help the agriculture sector to lift their products and offer them remunerative prices that is 50% more than the production cost as recommended by Swaminathan committee.
The government has to extend necessary help to the MSME sector which offers maximum employment next to agriculture and earns 32% of GDP and helps export thereby earning foreign exchange. This is the requirements of supply side.
To create demand, there should be money in the hands of large majority of people. Freezing of DA to government employees and pensioners and arbitrarily cutting wages would seriously affect the demand side.
The government should be forced not to adopt pro-corporate policies but to adopt pro-people, pro-labour policies. That pledge is the need of the hour in this May Day
DG,
Vice president CHQ,
AIBSNLPWA.
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