The 16th triennial conference of Karnataka state of BMS was held in Bangalore recently. Inaugurating the conference, Shri P.T. Rao, BMS vice president and incahrge of south region, blasted the UPA government for its anti-labour polices and the Left parties for not playing pro-worker role. The Left, he said, maintains double standard in their dealings with the government, one for extracting political advantage and the other for supporting the ruling party even when its deeds go against the interest of workers.
Shri Udayrao Patwardhan, BMS general secretary, said the government has violated all the commitments it made to the people before election. ?Even the Common Minimum Programme agreed upon by all the UPA partners is not being pursued in letter and spirit. All favours are being showered on the big industrialists, foreign investors and MNCs. The government does not find time to look to the problems of growing unemployment and millions of workers losing their jobs through VRS,? he said, adding that the government betrayed the workers on EPF interest rate.
He further said the government completely deceived the Indian farmers and workers at the recent Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of WTO and it also misinterpreted India at the International Labour Conference held in Geneva last year. He said the BMS, the largest trade union of the country, was denied its right to represent the Indian workers at the meeting just to please the second-grade union, which is affiliated to the ruling party. Shri A.Venkatraman was elected president and Shri K.M. Suryanarayan Rao, general secretary of the state unit. Earlier over 2000 workers took out a grand procession in the city.
