1 July 2019 • On 3 June, the Chief Minister of Delhi announced free passes for women across the metro rail and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus. • On 24 June, the Chief Minister of Karnataka met transport corporation officials in Bengaluru and rolled back the recent bus fare hike following the demonstrations by students. • On 25 June, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Corporation (BEST) sharply cut its bus fares in Mumbai by nearly 50% across the board. These developments provided some relief to working people in three of the country’s largest cities, but simultaneously they have reintroduced the issue of public transport in popular discussion. Unfortunately, the voices heard in Delhi did not quite reflect the needs of the large majority of people who use or want to use the city’s public transport, but rather reflected the voices of a few who thought the move would be a waste of public money. The 2011 census provided data on the patterns of commute to work for 20 crore working people. According to this data, 6 crore people do not commute and work in close proximity to their residences; of the remaining 14 crore, a quarter commute up to 1 km, while a third over 10 km. Why do some commute, and others not? Most cities and towns in India till the 1980s required not very long commutes and usually where commuting to work was a norm, there was an established public transport system that catered to commuters. Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai were cities where workers came in daily from the hinterland in local trains and then took the city’s public bus system to reach where they worked. Today however, most Indian urban centres follow a pattern in which there are satellite townships around a major city which are often separated by large distances and require long commutes while there is no developed public transport system between these and the city, for example, between Delhi and the satellite towns of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad. Beyond physical expansion, urban planning policies since the 1990s have heightened the need for commuting. Insufficient availability of rent-controlled housing alongside no control on house rent increases and on the sky-rocketing price of urban land have pushed many working people, especially of the middle and lower- middle classes into these satellite townships from where they have to commute every day. On the other hand the poor get ghettoised into unlivable slums within the city. They are the largest section of the people who commute less than a km to work. This is because they sleep in makeshift shanties or in extremely precarious housing arrangements at relatively very high rent as they cannot afford to live too far from their point of work. Thus, new cities develop a certain skewed economic composition of people by virtue of their realignment. At the same time, pollution has been a cause of rising concern in urban centres which has given industry a legitimate reason to relocate away from cities to areas where they have access to new first generation, often rural workers. This shift of industry from cities has pushed a large section of once formal workers and their families into seeking work in the informal economy which requires a constant search for work and longer hours of work. These are also the working families that live in the large slums within cities. The other large section of people who live in urban centres are the migrant workers. They often live as a group which ensures their safety and security in an otherwise hostile environment. Some stay for years, some for months, others for shorter periods but despite Road Less Travelled
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July 2019
•On 3 June, the Chief Minister of Delhiannounced free passes for womenacross the metro rail and Delhi TransportCorporation(DTC)bus.
•On24June,theChiefMinisterofKarnatakamet transport corporation officials inBengaluru and rolled back the recent busfarehike following thedemonstrationsbystudents.
•On 25 June, the Brihanmumbai ElectricitySupply and Transport Corporation (BEST)sharplycutitsbusfaresinMumbaibynearly50%acrosstheboard.
These developments provided some reliefto working people in three of the country’slargest cities, but simultaneously they havereintroduced the issue of public transport inpopular discussion. Unfortunately, the voicesheard inDelhididnotquitereflecttheneedsofthelargemajorityofpeoplewhouseorwantto use the city’s public transport, but ratherreflectedthevoicesofafewwhothoughtthemovewouldbeawasteofpublicmoney.
The2011censusprovideddataonthepatternsof commute to work for 20 crore workingpeople.Accordingtothisdata,6crorepeopledonotcommuteandworkincloseproximitytotheir residences;of the remaining14 crore, aquartercommuteupto1km,whileathirdover10km.
Why do some commute, and others not?
Most cities and towns in India till the 1980srequirednot very longcommutesandusuallywherecommutingtoworkwasanorm, therewas an established public transport systemthat catered to commuters. Chennai, KolkataandMumbaiwere citieswhereworkers cameindailyfromthehinterlandin localtrainsandthentookthecity’spublicbussystemtoreachwhere they worked. Today however, mostIndianurbancentresfollowapatterninwhichtherearesatellitetownshipsaroundamajorcity
which are often separated by large distancesand require long commuteswhile there is nodeveloped public transport system betweentheseandthecity,forexample,betweenDelhiand the satellite towns of Noida, Ghaziabad,GurgaonandFaridabad.
Beyond physical expansion, urban planningpolicies since the 1990s have heightened theneedforcommuting.Insufficientavailabilityofrent-controlledhousingalongsidenocontrolonhouserentincreasesandonthesky-rocketingpriceofurbanlandhavepushedmanyworkingpeople, especially of the middle and lower-middle classes into these satellite townshipsfromwheretheyhavetocommuteeveryday.Ontheotherhandthepoorgetghettoisedintounlivable slums within the city. They are thelargestsectionofthepeoplewhocommutelessthanakmtowork.Thisisbecausetheysleepinmakeshift shantiesor inextremelyprecarioushousing arrangements at relatively very highrentastheycannotaffordtolivetoofarfromtheir point ofwork. Thus, new cities developa certain skewed economic composition ofpeoplebyvirtueoftheirrealignment.
Atthesametime,pollutionhasbeenacauseofrisingconcerninurbancentreswhichhasgivenindustry a legitimate reason to relocate awayfrom cities to areas where they have accessto new first generation, often rural workers.This shift of industry from cities has pusheda large section of once formal workers andtheirfamiliesintoseekingworkintheinformaleconomywhichrequiresaconstantsearchforworkandlongerhoursofwork.Thesearealsotheworkingfamiliesthatliveinthelargeslumswithincities.
Theother large sectionofpeoplewho live inurban centres are themigrant workers. Theyoften live as a group which ensures theirsafety and security in an otherwise hostileenvironment. Some stay for years, some formonths,othersforshorterperiodsbutdespite
Road Less Travelled
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theirmobility the number ofmigrants in anycityonly increases.Someofthemcomealonewhile others come with their families. Theyusuallyliveinslumsclosertowheretheyworkbutwhenworkisnotfixed,theytooareforcedtocommute.
Recent efforts at slum redevelopment haveinvolvedrazingshantiesinthecentreoftownandmovingthepeopletotheedgesoftheseurban centreswhere there are no school, nowater and sanitation facilities, no hospitalsandmostimportantlynowork.TheDelhiHighCourt in May2002 gaveorders ford emo l i t i o nof the slumsat YamunaPushta. Outof a totalof 27,000families, only6000 wereoffered tobe resettledat HolambiKalan(22km),Bawana (39km), Narela(38 km), alld i s t a n c e sfromNewDelhiRailwayStation.Laterstudiesrevealed that the incomes of those whorelocateddecreasedbyalmost50percent.ThesameistrueforthecityofChennai.Themetrorail construction in the city recently evictedover 500 families to Kannagi Nagar (22 km),Eranavur (17.6 km), Thoraipakkam (19.5 km)and Chemmenchery (29.3 km), all distancesfromChennaiCentralstation.ThefamilieswereofferedconcretehousesintheseareasforRs.5 lakhs and a resettlement compensation ofRs.50,000.Theseareashavenoproperschoolsforthechildren,nohospitalsnearby,andmostimportantly, the resettled people need tocommuteamuchlongerdistancenowtofindwork.Asaresult,manyhaveabandonedtheirnewhousesintheseareasandreturnedtoliveinthecityinslums.
Thus, commuting to work is a trade-offbetweentheavailabilityofwork,thecostofthe
commute, the unpaid time spent commutingandtheavailabilityofaffordablehousing,basicfacilitieslikeschoolforthechildrenandmedicalfacilities. For most urban working families,averagemonthlyfamilyincomeisthegreatestdeterminantofwheretheyliveandseekwork.
Theneedtocommute isnotrestrictedtothepooralone.India’stop1%whoown76%ofthewealth in the economy also commute. Theydosousingpersonalisedformsoftransport.Intheyear2017-18,theautoindustrysawa12%growth,whichincludestwowheelersaswell.
But theboom in theautoindustryis not justbecause ofthe rich. Theboom wasp o s s i b l eb e c a u s etoday youcan buy asmall carif you canaffordtopayan EMI on aloanofaboutRs 4000-5000 per
Financialsectorliberalizationhasmadeiteasierto afford personal vehicles. Employers tie upwithfinancial institutionstoextendeasyEMIstoemployeestobuycarsandbikestocommute.This serves a dual purpose; employees nolongerdemandtransportfacilities (whichalsogives them time together todiscuss issuesatwork) and their ability to negotiate with theemployeronanythingbecomescompromiseddue to this new formof bondage.Net resultis we have more cars and bikes on the roadaddingtothetrafficandpollution.By-product,iswehavelessunionstrength.
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Costs of Commute
Accentuates Income Disparity: An interviewwith workers in Chennai revealed that someof them even spend up to a quarter of theirdailywagesoncommutingbypublictransport.However, for those who own cars, they onlyspendaverysmallfractionoftheirincome.Thisanomalyofcourseboilsdowntotheextremeinequalityinincomethatexistsinourcountry.
Unpaid Commute time:Besidesthemonetarycostoftransport,commute involvestimeandphysical energy. The average travel speedacross cities in India is just 24.4 kmper hour.Thismeansthaturbancommutersspendmoretimeinourcountrythanintheglobalnorth.Infact,astudyin2018revealedthatcommutersinMumbaispent135%moretimecommutingthan the average experienced in most Asiancities while in Delhi and Kolkata it is evenworse. This time spent commuting is unpaidtime spent to reachwork. It often cannot bespentdoinganyotherthingand it iscertainlynottimespentatrest.India’scommutetimeisalmost50%abovetheglobalstandard.
Non Participation in Workforce:Inmanycases,especiallyinthecaseofwomen,longcommutetime means they cannot rush back home toattendtotheirchildrenoroldparentsifthereisanyneed.Notjustthat, intheresettlementcolonies,therearefixedtimesgivenforwatersupply,fordrinkingwaterandifpeoplemissitduetotraffic,theyhavetolivewithoutwaterthat day. This has forced many women, whobearthedoubleburdenofcarework,livinginthesecoloniestooptoutofworkandbecomeunpaidcareprovidersathome.
Health:MosturbanareasinIndiaareseverelypolluted. Notsurprisingly,14outtheworld’stop15mostpollutedcitiesareinIndia.Vehicularemissions, according to many studies, is thesingle largest source of air pollution. A 2015studyfoundthatnearlytwo-thirdsofalldeathsfromairpollutioninIndiacanbeattributedtoemissionsfromdieselvehicles.
The working poor are more exposed to thispolluted airwhere they live, work andmove.Further, given their low nutrition levels andhencelowimmunity,theybearagreaterhealthburden.
Congestion and Road Accidents:Thenumberof registered motor vehicles has expandedfrom 5.5 crore in 2001 to 21 crore in 2015.Expansionoftheurbanroadnetworkhasnotkeptpacewiththisboom:in2001,therewere1,630motorvehiclesperevery100kmofroad,whilein2015,therewere3,861motorvehicles.Congestionon roads increased137%over15years.
Besides increasing commute time, this hasalso increased number of road accidents. 56pedestrians in Indiadie everyday, alongwith10cyclistsand134motorcyclists.
India currently is the world’s third-largest oilconsumer. The bulk of petroleum productsconsumed in Indiaare imported. In fact, Indianowimports84%ofitspetroleumneeds.Whatthis causes is a massive annual import bill, ahugetradedeficitandgreatdrainofresourcesto the country. Crude oil and petroleumproducts amounted to nearly a quarter of allourimports.Infact,in2018-19,theoilimportbill is expected to be roughly about 4% ofIndia’sGDP.
In 2014, according to a government release,13.15%ofdiesel is consumedbyprivatecars,8.94%bycommercialcars,togetheraddingupto22.09%oftotaldieselconsumption,railwaysuse3.24%,busesuse9.55%andtrucksconsume28.25% of total diesel consumption. On theotherhand,61.42%ofpetrol is consumedbytwo-wheelers followed by cars with 34.33%.Thus, private transport including commercialcars used in lieu of private transport are thelargestconsumersofpetroleumproducts.
Discouraging Private Transport
FreePublicTransport: InSeptember lastyear,thecityofDunkirkinFrancemadelocalbusesfree for the 200,000 people who live in thearea and saw a major, immediate increase inridership. In2013, theEstoniancapitalTallinnwasthefirstcitytoabolishtransportfaresforall registered city inhabitants. Luxembourg,a small European country,with ahuge traffic
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problem, first the first country to make itspublictransportfree.
This move as many reports indicate did notmakemuch impact in thesecities.Thereasonprimarily being that free public transport inthese centres were meant to replace cars.Carsareownedanddrivenbyacertainincomegroup who are not encouraged to quit theircomfortwithfreepublictransport.Asperthe2011 census and other studies, in India over80%ofallmotorvehiclesaretwo-wheelers.Iffree or even cheap public transport could bemadeavailable itcouldreplacetwowheelers,andthentheshiftwouldcertainlybevisible.
Taxation: High taxes on private cars andbikescouldbeyetanotherwaytodiscourageconsumption. Denmark had a tax rate of180% on cars till 2016. Under pressure fromcarmanufacturers and sellers, theparliamentwas forced to reduce the tax to 150% now.The highest tax on cars and bikes in India is28%. Low tax rate and easy availability ofEMIs encourages buying of private vehicles,sometimesevenmultiple.
Parking Rent: According to news reports,therentforparkingspace inthecityofHongKong,whichhasasevereparkingproblem,canoftenbehigherthantherentofasmalllivingapartmentinthecity.Evenresidentialparkingin public housing estates is expensive. Highparking cost again discourages ownership ofprivatecarsandbikes.
Againthe2011censusshowsthatonly2%ofmotor vehicles arebuseswhile it carriesover68%ofallcommuters.Busesareover6timesmore fuel efficient per passenger-km thancars and nearly 4 times more efficient thantwo-wheelers. Even in terms of pollution, ifcomparedataperpassenger-kmbasis,carsaretheworstoffenders.
So, simplyputa lotof theproblems facedbyall of us in urban commuting could be to agreatextentresolvedifweallshiftedtobusesor even the metro where it exists. They arecheaper,cleanerandmoreefficientthanacarorabike,andtheycertainlyensureabetterandcleanerfuture.Maybeweshouldleavebehindacleanerworldforourchildrenwheretheycanbreathethanafewcarsandbikesthattheymaynotbeabletoride.
Policy News
Maharashtra: Government hikes minimum wages for Shops and Establishment workers after nine years
25 July 2019: The Maharashtra Governmenthasdoubled theminimumwages forworkersemployed in shops and establishments after9 years. According to the Minimum WagesAct,minimumwagesneedtoberevisedevery5 years as per the recommendations of theMinimum Wages Advisory Board. However,the revision in Maharashtra was delayedbecause the government did not constitutetheMinimumWageAdvisoryCommitteeoverthelast9years.Minimumwagerevisionfor32industriesisstillpendinginthestate.
The revised minimum wages will benefitemployees of over 10 lakh shops andestablishmentscoveredundertheAct.WorkerswillbeentitledtothefollowingminimumpayfromAugust,2019:
Unskilled Semi-skilled Skilled
AreaA ₹10,021 ₹10,856 ₹11,632
AreaB ₹9,425 ₹10,260 ₹11,036
AreaC ₹8,828 ₹9,664 ₹10,440
Government introduces Two Labour Codes in Lok Sabha
23 July 2019: The Minister of Labour andEmployment, Santosh Gangwar introducedtheCodeonWagesandCodeonOccupationalSafety, Health andWorking Conditions in theLokSabha.TheCodeonWagescombinesandamends four existing laws – the Payment ofWagesAct,theMinimumWagesAct,thePaymentofBonusActandtheEqualRemunerationAct.TheCodeonOccupationalSafety,HealthandWorkingConditionscombinesandamends13existinglaws–theFactoriesAct,theContractLabour Act, the Interstate Migrant WorkmenAct, the Dock Workers Act, the Building andOtherConstructionWorkersAct,thePlantationLabour Act, the Motor Transport WorkersAct, the Cine Workers and Cinema TheatreWorkersAct,theBeediandCigarWorkersAct,theWorkingJournalistsandotherNewspaperEmployeesAct.
Chhattisgarh: Government increases retirement age of industrial workers from 58 to 60 years
23 July 2019: The Chhattisgarh governmentissued Government Order (G.O) under theChhattisgarhIndustrialEmployment(StandingOrder) Act, 1961, and the ChhattisgarhIndustrial Employment (Standing Order)Rule, 1963, increasing the retirement age ofindustrialworkersfromtheexisting58yearsto60years.Theorderwillbeapplicablefrom12August2019.
Legal News
Delhi: High Court upholds ₹20,000 per month minimum wages for nurses
26 July 2019: Ruling in favour of the DelhiGovernment, Delhi High Court upheld theGovernmentOrder to fix theminimumwageof nurses in the state at ₹20,000 permonth.TheAssociationofHealthcareProviders(India)had appealed against the GO stating that itwas ‘unreasonable’ and it would add to theburden of private hospitalswith less than 50beds.TheCourttooktheviewthatthewageswere justified and ordered for its immediateimplementation.
Home based garment workers entitled to Provident Fund, rules Supreme Court
24 July 2019:Reversingthe2012orderoftheBombayHigh Court, the SupremeCourt heldthat garment workers working from homewere also entitled to Employees ProvidentFund(EPF).TheApexCourtheldthatworkingoffsitedoesnotdepriveworkersofthestatusof employee of the company and orderedthe company Godavari Garments Limited,a subsidiary of Marathwada DevelopmentCorporation of the Maharashtra GovernmenttodepositRs.15.97LakhsasPFduesofwomenworkers for the period November 1979 toFebruary1991.
Calcutta High Court orders government to pay contract teachers equivalent to assistant teachers
05 July 2019:Inamatterbetween11contractteachersversustheWestBengalGovernment,
theCalcuttaHighCourtorderedinfavourofthecontractteachersanddirectedthegovernmentto pay the contract teachers on par withAssistantTeachersofSecondarySchoolsrunbythegovernment.
Contractteachersarecurrentlypaid₹8,000permonth while the wages of assistant teacherstandsat₹14,500permonth.The judgementwill affect the wages of around 1,50,000contract teachers employed at over 16,000secondaryschoolsinthestate.
Collective Bargaining
Workers hold protests across the country to oppose government’s move to privatise railways
Loco pilots and running staff launched a24 hour hunger strike at Vishakhapatnamunder the banner of All India Loco RunningStaffAssociation (AILRSA) on16 July againstgovernment’s decision to privatise railways.ThestrikingworkersalsodemandedscrappingoftheNewPensionSchemeandrevisionofthemileagerateaspertheRAC1980formulae.
TheAll India Railwaymen FederationWorkersopposedthegovernment’smovetobuyEMUand MEMU train sets from private players inChennaion15 July.Buyingtrainsfromprivatecompanies will not just lead to massive jobcuts,itwillcosttheexchequeraround2.5timesmorethanthecurrentprocurementprice.Thegovernmentcurrentlybuysan18coachMEMUtrainsetfromtheIndianCoachFactoryat₹97crore while it is priced at ₹245 crore in themarket.
Workers of western railway line of Mumbai struckworkon13 Julyopposinggovernment’sdecision to club 45 acres of prime residentialland belonging to Railways in Matunga withDharaviRedevelopmentProject.
Karnataka: Police uses tear gas, lathi charge to disperse garment workers in Special Economic Zone
24 July 2019: Police lathi charged and used
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tear gas on protesting workers of HimmathSinghGarmentfactoryattheSpecialEconomicZone–Hassan.Over5,000workers, includingwomen, were protesting at the factory gateon 23 July demanding pending wages andopposingconstantphysical,mentalandsexualabuse by management. Police also detainedover25oftheprotestingworkers.
18 July 2019: Workers of Zomato, a fooddelivery company, went on strike against cutin their commissions by the company. Theworkers were paid a commission of ₹60 perdeliverywhichgotreducedto₹30perdelivery.Company’s decision has impacted over 4,000workers who work with the company as‘independentcontractors’.
Transport workers strike against wage delays and privatisation
The employees of Haryana State TransportCorporation under the banner of HaryanaRoadways Employees Union went on strikeon 21 July demanding that the transportdepartmentscraptheKilometreScheme.Thisschemeproposedbythetransportdepartmentwill allow private buses to ply certain routeswith drivers employed by private parties andconductorsemployedbythedepartment.Theprivatebusfleetwillbechargedperkilometreunderthescheme.Theschemedoesnotonlyattempttoprivatise,buthasalsobeenmarredby irregularities and graft since its inception.The government had to scrap the tenderawarded for 510 buses earlier after cases ofgraftcametolight.
Employees of the metro bus service inAmritsar struck work under the banner ofBRTS Employee’s Welfare Union on 18 Julydemanding regular payment of wages. TheBusRapidTransportSystem(BRTS)projecthasbeenfacingfinancialcrisissinceitwaslaunchedinJanuarythisyear.
Over23,000employeesoftheTamilNaduStateTransport Corporationwent on strike againstnon-paymentofwagesforthemonthofJuneon1 Julybringingtohaltover3,200busesrunbythecorporationinChennaidistrict.
Karnataka: ASHA workers demand scrapping
of ‘soft-payment’ system
9 July 2019: ASHA workers of the DakshinKannada district staged protests under theaegis of Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHAKaryakarteyara Sangha demanding thescrappingof the ‘soft-payment’ systemwhichhas led to anomalies and delays in paymentanddemandedhike in theirhonorarium from₹8,000 per month to ₹12,000 per month.Over48,000ASHAworker’ssalarieshavebeendelayedduetothefaultypaymentsystem.
Tamil Nadu: BSNL workers demand pending wages, launch hunger strike
3 July 2019: Over 400 contract workersemployedinClassIVandClassIIIjobsbyBharatSanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in Coimbatorewentonhungerstrikedemandingpaymentofwages. Contract workers have not been paidwagesforthelast6months.
Workplace Safety
Construction
On 23 July, Rahul Kumar (21), Kirpal Kumar (29) and Surendra Kumar (48) were killed assafetylocksofatemporaryliftwereaccidentlyreleasedinanunder-construction MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) quarters in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh. The workers, employed oncontract byNagarjunaConstructionCompany(NCC), were migrants from Bihar. The policehaveregisteredacaseunderSection174oftheCrPC.
On21July,Dev Raj (52)waskilledasthewallof an under-construction building where hewasemployedcollapsedowingtoheavyrainsinNagarota Bhawan area in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. The police have registered a caseunderSection174ofIPC.
On July 3, 2workersMohammad Hafeez (45) and Harsha Dewasi (20),diedasa10feethighwallofanunder-constructiontemplecollapsedon them.Policehave registereda caseunderSection 174 (unnatural death) of the CrPCagainstthetempletrust.
On 3 July, Radhelal Patel (25), Mamata (22), Jitulal Patel (50), Pradeshnin (45), Jitu Rawate (23) and Pralhad (21)diedasa50feetwalloftheunder-constructionSinhgad Technical Institute
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inMaharashtracaved inon them.Policehaveregistered a case against the contractor andseveral others from the institute’s managingboard invoking Sections 304A (causing deathbynegligence),337,338(causinggrievoushurtby act endangering life or personal safety ofothers)and34(commonintention)ofIPC.
Manufacturing
On 27 July, Shambhu (40) and Ram Paswan (38) were killed and 8 others;Mintu, Prabhu,PradeepKumar,RajeshKumar,Jeetu,HarinderKumar, Sanjay and Chandan sustained severeburn injuries due to a boiler explosion at theDC Steels factory in Ludhiana. The explosionoccurred around midnight when 25 workerswereonnightshiftduty.
On26July,Mallesh (27),acontractworkeratArjas Steel died after refractorybricks fell onhimleadingtohisfallingonthesharpforkofthemachinewhichpiercedthroughhisneck.
On 26 July, contract worker Ajay Keshav Motghare (22) was crushed to death under amachine unloading coal from awagon at theNTPC power plant in Mouda, Nagpur. Ajay’sservices were contracted out byNTPC to Sai Urja Indo Ventures.AcasehasbeenregisteredunderSection174ofCrPC.
On17July,2workersKannan and Shenbagraj died after a fire engulfed a medicinemanufacturing factory in Ilanji, Tirunelveli.The police have registered a case againstthe owners of the unit under Sections 285(negligent conduct with respect to fire orcombustible matter), 287 (negligent conductwith respect to machinery) and 337 (causinghurtbyactendangeringlifeorpersonalsafetyofothers)ofIPC.
On13July,Daya Gaud (40),amigrantworkerhailing fromOdishaemployedat ahandloomfactoryinSuratdiedofelectrocution.Over500workersprotestedthedeathoftheircolleaguecausedbynegligenceof theemployer. Policeused tear gas and arrested 21 workers onchargesofriotinganddamagingproperty,whileno casehasbeenfiled against theemployersforcausingthedeathofDayaGaud.
On13July,3 workers Sangeeta Devi (46), Manju Devi (50) and Shoaib (19) diedwhenafactoryin Jhilmil Industrial Area in Delhi caught fire
around9am,justaftertheworkhadstartedinthe factory. The factory according to the firedeparment did not have a valid no-objectioncertificate.
On11July,aseriesofexplosionsatachemicalfactory in Derabassi, Punjab killed 2 workers Sukhwinder Singh (22) and Ravi Kumar (20)andleftover12workerscriticallyinjured.
Philippines: Unions oppose President’s vetoing of the Security of Tenure Bill
26 July 2019: President Rodrigo Dutertevetoed the Security of Tenure Bill on 26 July2019alsoknownasanti-endo(endofcontractbill).TheBillwouldhaveputanendtolabourcontractingbycompanies.Thevetohascomeinthelightofdemandsplacedbyindustrybodieslike the American Chamber of Commerce ofPhilippines,MakatiBusinessClubandEuropeanChamberofCommerceofthePhilippines.Anti-endo was being pushed by the unions as itwouldhave led to theendofprecarious jobsandstoppedcompaniesfromoutsourcingcorejobstocontractors.
Spain: Court rules in favour of Deliveroo workers, holds them as employees
23 July 2019: A Madrid Court has held thatworkers of the delivery company Deliverooare employees and not ‘freelancers’ or‘independentcontractors’.TheCourtheldthatworkerswereheldtospecificinstructionsandlackedtheautonomyenjoyedbyindependentcontractors. The orderwill enable over 1,500
DeliverooworkersacrossSpaintoclaimworkerrights such as paid leave, social security andmedicalcover.
South Korea: Trade Unions step down from Minimum Wage Committee opposing lowest wage hike in a decade
15 July 2019:4representativesoftheKoreanConfederationofTradeUnionssteppeddownfrom the MinimumWage Committee after itdecided to raise theminimumwage bymere2.9% to $7.32 per hour, lowest hike in overa decade. The trade union confederationalso called upon 9 experts to step down for‘wrongfullyleadingthewagediscussions’.Theunionhasbeendemanding10,000Wonperhourasminimumwages as promised by PresidentMoonJaeininhisvision2020.Underpressurefrom workers and their unions the Presidentissuedapublicapologyforbacktrackingfromthepromisedwage.
Amazon workers across Germany and US strike work on Prime Day
8 July 2019: Amazon workers across severallocations in Germany including Werne,Rheinberg, Leipzig, Graben, Koblenz and BadHersfeld, and in Shakopee, Minnesota in theUnitedStateswentonstrikeonAmazon’sprimedaysaledemandingbetterworkingconditionsandworkhours.Whitecollarengineersjoinedtheircolleaguesinthestrikeandraisedsloganslike ‘Stop Bezos’ and ‘We are not Robots.’Amazon’s warehouses are infamous forexploitationofworkersandstarvationwages.
Our Story
Health as Fundamental Right completes 70 years
Ourhealth isdeterminedbytheconditions inwhichwe are born,we grow,we live andwework. The right to health thus includes notonlytherighttohealthservices,butalsotothewiderangeofthingsthathelpus live ingoodhealth such as proper housing, education,employment,socialsupport,familyincomeandaccesstohealthservices.
The National Health Service (NHS), launchedon5July1948intheUK,wasthefirstinstanceof completely freehealthcare thatwasmadeavailabletoallonthebasisofcitizenshiprather
thanthepaymentoffeesorinsurance.
Itbroughthospitals,doctors,opticians,dentistsand nurses together under one service. Ithad huge public support, though the BritishMedical Association until as late as February1948 threatened to boycott it. The newlycreated health boards took control of 2,751ofBritain’s3,000hospitals,whichwererunbycharitiesorlocalauthorities.Bythedayofthelaunch94%ofpeopleenrolledwith theNHS.TheNHSmadehealtha fundamental rightofthepeople.
• There are now 1.7m people employed bytheNHSacross theUK,making it thefifthlargest employer in the world. There arenow10timesasmanydoctorsworkingfortheNHSastherewerewhenitwascreated.
• Theamountspentonhealthisnow12timeshigher than in 1948, taking inflation intoaccount.Todaygovernmentspends30poutof every £1 collected as taxes on servicesforhealth,whichwas11.2%in1951-52.
On 1 April 1991 the NHS came under severeattack.Healthauthoritiesstoppedrunningthehospitalsandinsteadbeganbuyinghealthcarefrom these hospitals for the patients in theirarea.Thiscreatedadividebetweenthehealthauthorities as “purchasers” and hospitals as“providers”.
In2012,theBritishparliamentpassedtheHealthandSocialCareAct,2012thatinstitutionalisedthe most extensive reorganisation of thestructureoftheNHS.ItremovedresponsibilityforthehealthofcitizensfromtheSecretaryofState for Health, abolished the NHS primarycare trusts and Strategic Health Authoritiesandallowedforincreasedprivateplayers.Thegrowing involvement of private companies isthreatening the core function of theNHS: toprovidehealthcarebasedonneed.
Inaworldofincreasinginequality,theNHSasitwasconceivedand run for severaldecades,hasbeenagreatlevellerandanexampletobefollowed.
