Unions hit out against FM’s ‘privatisation’ announcements

Govt. using crisis to implement its political agenda, they say

17/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI

Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcements on Saturday of measures to boost several sectors through liberalisation of norms and increased privatisation were met with criticism from trade unions, including the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.

Ms. Sitharaman made the announcements as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan — the ₹20 lakh crore economic package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12.

Stating that they “objected” to the Minister’s announcements, the BMS said in a statement there was a need to find novel ways to revive the economy, “not failed ideas”. “The fourth day of announcements by the FM is a sad day for the nation,” the BMS said, after having welcomed the first three sets of announcements.

“Eight sectors [coal, minerals, defence production, airspace management, airports, power distribution, space and atomic energy] are in focus, but the government saying it has no option except privatisation is a show of dearth of ideas on economic revival in times of crisis,” the BMS said.

Stating that the trade unions were already agitating against plans to privatise in most of the sectors, the BMS said: “Now the government machinery will involve themselves with privatisation and in communicating with corporates and will not find time to give attention to social sectors like labour, agriculture and MSMEs.”

All-India Trade Union Congress’ general secretary Amarjeet Kaur said the announcements “had nothing to do with COVID-19 relief measures”. “The government is using the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to implement its political agenda. Unions in the mining sector and ordnance factories were already opposing the moves to privatise and the government had deferred the decisions. If unions go on strike, the government will portray them as a hindrance to the COVID-19 economic measures,” she said.