AITUC takes out march in Panaji to mark Workers' Day

Panaji, May 1 (PTI) Hundreds of workers on Thursday walked the streets of Panaji under the banner of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) to mark International Workers' Day.
"The working class is still oppressed in the state. The state government is hand in glove with the capitalists to ensure that the labour union movement is crushed," AITUC secretary Suhas Naik said while speaking to reporters near Kadamba bus stand from where the march began.
The increasing trend of employing workers on a contractual basis, both in the government and private sector, is an attempt to deny workers minimum wages and other rights, he claimed.
The Goa government invoked the Essential Services Management Act (ESMA) in the pharmaceutical sector to enable mass terminations and there were instances of this happening in the industrial estates like Verna (South Goa), Naik alleged.
After the march, union leaders including AITUC general secretary Christopher Fonseca spoke at a public meeting at Church Square in Panaji city.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)