Left parties support general strike against new labour laws

New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) Left parties on Tuesday supported the July 9 general strike called by the Joint Platform of Trade Unions comprising 10 Central Trade Unions (CTU) and independent all-India sectoral federations and associations against the new labour laws.
    In a joint statement, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc said that the general strike has been called mainly against the implementation of the Labour Codes, which are "a key part of the corporate agenda aimed at severely curtailing the basic democratic rights of workers, including their right to organise and undertake collective action."
    "The BJP-led government, now in its third term, is aggressively advancing its neoliberal agenda, of which the Labour Codes are a central component. It is aggressively moving towards the privatisation of vital national resources, particularly in strategic sectors such as defence and communications," the statement said.
    "It is also seeking to suppress all opposition to these anti-worker policies," the Left parties added.
    They said the general strike reiterates the demands raised by the trade unions, which also reflect the concerns of peasants, agricultural workers and the broader public.
    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha and agricultural workers' organsations have also extended their support to the strike and called for massive mobilisation on the day.
    "The general strike, along with these solidarity actions by peasantry, will help strengthen the unity of the working people against attempts to divide them and spread hatred," they said.
    The Left parties also called upon the people to support the strike and urged all units to actively campaign and mobilise in large numbers to ensure its success.

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