ON MAY DAY - LTUC Affiliates with AICCTU

LTUC (The Left Trade Union Centre) declared its affiliation to AICCTU through a massive public meeting at Ambattur on May Day 2025. Comrade Barathi, the State President of Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam (Workers’ Rights Movement), presided over the meeting. LTUC State President Comrade AS Kumar coordinated the meeting and rendered a poignant song written by one of the towering communist and the working class leaders of Tamil Nadu, comrade Jeeva.

AICCTU all India President Comrade Shankar and LTUC Advisor Comrade S Kumarasami released the joint statement of affiliation of LTUC to AICCTU, in the public meeting of thousands of workers.

Comrade Barathi presented an account of the LTUC’s journey since it was floated in 2019 and various initiatives taken in difficult times of the pandemic. He mentioned briefly about various efforts of LTUC on the streets and the courts to ensure minimum wages for over 8000 sanitation workers and to prevent outsourcing of sanitation work in Chennai Corporation. He added that the attempt by the Chennai Corporation to privatise sanitation work in various zones will also be defeated by the might of the sanitation workers’ struggles. He also mentioned about the initiatives taken by LTUC among MNC workers in and around Sriperumbudur, about two successful conferences on the demands of workers of the MNCs, about LTUC’s initiative that resulted in regularisation of around 100 workers, about the initiative of LTUC among various other sections of workers. He called on workers to rise in struggles to defeat attempts of the fascist forces to divide the people, and to foil the attempts to snatch away the hard-won rights of workers in the name of four Labour Codes.

One of the state secretaries of LTUC, Comrade Ariprasant said that the voice of workers should knock the deaf ears of the DMK government for which a representative of workers in the meeting should win elections, go to the assembly and raise the voice in the assembly. Other leaders of Workers’ Rights Movement comrades Jothi, Prasant and Tamilselvan said that the struggles of sanitation workers will defeat the attempts of the Chennai Corporation to privatise sanitation work and to deprive workers of their rights.

Comrade Gnana Desikan, the State General Secretary, AICCTU came down heavily on the deportation of Indians with shackles from the US and the silence of the Indian government. He condemned state and union governments for denying rights to workers and for safeguarding the interests of the corporates. He also condemned the politics of hate and dividing of workers by the fascist forces. He called upon workers to make the May 20 all India General Strike called by the workers and farmers of the country, a great success. 

AICCTU State President Comrade Eraniappan said that the occasion of LTUC affiliation to AICCTU is a historic one and this affiliation is bound to further strengthen the working class struggles. He questioned the state government for not honouring the poll promise of regularising the services of those working in various departments of state government and demanded that workers of zoo and Chennai Corporation should be regularised forthwith.  While condemning the attack on innocent tourists in Pahalgam, he pointed out the escalating jingoism and advocated peace. 

Comrade Bhuvana, the Honorary President of LTUC, pointed out the enormous wealth accumulated in the society in these 140 years through the sweat and toil of workers since they won the right to 8 – hour work day. She also said the the working class should demand a 6 – hour work day in the present circumstances. In order to sensitize the Chennai Corporation and the Tamil Nadu government which has scant regard for the plight of sanitation workers, she said that a team of sanitation workers and their leaders should visit the same European countries visited by the Chennai Mayor, study the working and living conditions of sanitation workers there and place it before the authorities. She called upon women workers to rise against the DMK government which boasts of the size of women work force in the state but seldom cared for their working conditions and rights. She questioned the logic of Infosys Narayanamurthy’s clamour for 70-hours work week while his 17 months old grandson, who could hardly perform any labour, is receiving more than Rs.3 crores by way of dividend in his company.

Comrade Govindaraj, the State General Secretary of LTUC, ridiculed the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for extending May Day greetings to workers because it is the same Chief Minister who attempted to implement 12- hour day in 2023. The attempt was later defeated by series of protests by the working class in the state. He also listed out various other anti-worker measures of the DMK government. 

Comrade Shankar, the all-India President of AICCTU, began his speech by expressing his happiness over the affiliation of LTUC to AICCTU. He stressed that we should fight for the social dignity of sanitation workers while fighting against contractualisation, for minimum wages, and social security. Considering the significance of sanitation workers, AICCTU has floated an all India federation of sanitation and municipal workers, he said. He also elaborated on the initiatives of AICCTU in organising sanitation workers of Coimbatore, Tuticorin Corporations, various municipalities and panchayats across the state. 

Modi government is trying to do away with minimum wages and hence is introducing the concept of ‘floor wages’ which is nothing but a pittance of Rs.5000 in order to facilitate corporates to reap super profits. The governments and the employers are relieved of the responsibility of providing social security to its own workforce while workers are forced to pay from their own pocket for their own social security. “More the payment by workers, more the benefit” is the mantra of the government now. The demand for 6 hour workday and 5 days work-week raised here are the demands of the working class of the country and the AICCTU and the same should be raised in the floors of the Parliament. If the four labour codes are implemented, all grievance redressal mechanism, including the labour departments and labour courts, can become redundant. Following the footsteps of Modi led BJP government, the DMK led state government too has removed the clause on imprisonment and reduced the penalty amount for employers in a recent amendment to the Shops and Establishments Act. 

Comrade Shankar also pointed out that the new criminal laws are meant to repress the trade union movement and the protests of workers. He called upon the working class to prepare for the greater battles ahead and to give a befitting reply to anti-worker measures  of the governments.

Comrade S Kumaraswamy, the Advisor to LTUC, in his concluding speech, stressed that we are witnessing the rise of right wing forces all over the world while India is ruled by the fascist forces. While condemning the terror attack in Pahalgam, he also exposed the vicious anti-muslim, Islamophobic campaign unleashed by the BJP all over the country. He said that the Union government led by Modi is not only against Muslims, but also against majority Hindus who are the toilers and the downtrodden in the country. 

We cannot afford to be complacent that Tamilnadu is a land of Periyar. What happened in Tirupparankunram should be a wake up call for all secular and democratic forces. The fact that the Sangh Parivar was able to mobilise people in thousands, in a short notice, is alarming. Tamil Nadu Ministers like Sekar Babu are facilitating BJP to make a headway in Tamil Nadu. Religion should be separated from politics and the state in a modern country with secular values, but Sekar Babu claims that the land of Tamil Nadu is spiritual’. 

While welcoming certain initiatives of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for state’s rights, where he even enlists the support of other states, we cannot overlook the fact that the state of Tamil Nadu is now transformed into an ‘Outsourcing Raj’ under the DMK rule. Thousands of factory workers of Sriperumbudur belt are waiting to secure their services to become permanent. In the government sector, thousands of temporary, honorarium based employees with a service of more than ten years are demanding their services to be regularised but in vain.

Majority of working people of Tamil Nadu cannot lead a meaningful, happy life with their meagre income. It is not possible for them to lead a decent life with a pittance. But a false image is being created that people of Tamil Nadu earn more and live happily’.

While fascism is strangulating Indian people, left is not advancing in a matching pace. Communist leaders call for us to dream; communists need to be imaginative, creative, broad-minded and be ready for a sacrifice. The population of the state is eight crores but we work only among few thousands; we have to reach out to people in large numbers; let us resolve on this May Day to rise to the occasion to advance the cause of the people’s movement and the anti-fascist resistance. 

A booklet on “Defeat Sanatan; Uphold Democracy”, excerpts from a speech delivered by Comrade S Kumaraswamy at a public meeting in Vandalur, Chennai, on the occasion of Dr Ambedkar’s birth centenary on 14 April 2025, was released by Comrade Asaithambi, the State Secretary, CPIML, Tamil Nadu and received by Comrade Govindaraj, the State President of the Communist Party. 

Communist Party veterans comrades Vidyasagar and Uma Maheswaran were also present on the occasion.

An Account of LTUC’s journey so far…..

Helping Hand Amidst the Pandemic
LTUC was floated on 11.10.2019. Within few months of formation of LTUC, the Corona pandemic struck the world and LTUC made an impressive intervention in helping people and pressuring authorities for immediate and appropriate measures in tackling the pandemic. LTUC launched a helpline, collected funds from workers in lakhs and carried out rehabilitation measures. LTUC also helped migrant workers who did not return to their places and chose to stay back in Chennai.

The Gymkhana and Madras Club Workers’ Struggles
During 2020 and 2021, when 95 workers of Gymkhana Club and Madras Club were terminated in the name of pandemic, LTUC took up a series of struggles for their reinstatement. An indefinite fast, which lasted for 14 days, galvanised the club workers for next round of protests and others stood in solidarity with them; the labour minister’s house, labour commissioner’s office and the assembly were gheraoed seeking intervention of the government into the issue. Finally, the government issued orders, which paved the way for reinstatement of all the terminated workers.

Struggles of Workers of MNCs
A successful 138-days strike, during which workers were arrested several times, was carried out by Motherson workers of Sriperumbudur, hub of MNCs and a significant centre of global capital in Chennai. Recently a wage revision with a benefit to the tune of Rs.20 crores was won through legal means. Out of this, Rs.2.50 cr was paid as an interim payment for workers.

Workers of Sanmina, an American company earlier, later acquired by Reliance, were paid Rs.13.27 crores (Rs.15,000 per worker) in wage revision as a result of legal intervention. Sanmina is located in Oragadam, which is again, another hub of MNCs in Chennai.

Magna is a MNC in Oragadam where 54 workers of the company went on a strike for 106 days. Over 700 workers were organised in solidarity during their strike.

Solidarity Forum
Under the banner of Solidarity Forum, two conferences were held in Sripeumbudur. Each of these conferences drew more than 1200 workers from over 30 MNCs ranging from industry majors like Hyundai to their subsidiaries.

Sanitation Workers of Greater Chennai
Over 8000 sanitary workers of NULM in Chennai Corporation were paid Rs. 88 crores in 2023 under minimum wages act, as a result of legal intervention. In the course of legal intervention, sanitary workers of Ambattur were organised in hundreds in several protests demanding revision of wages.

A state-level campaign on regularisation and payment of minimum wages for sanitation workers of Tamil Nadu was organised from Coimbatore to Ambattur highlighting their demands.

A writ petition is filed in Madras High Court for payment of minimum wages for over 2.5 lakh sanitary workers of Tamilnadu, which may be taken up for hearing in June. Cases are also filed for regularisation of 3417 sanitary workers in three of the zones under the Chennai Corporation. A stay has already been obtained against privatisation in one of these zones.

Sanmina, Motherson and Sanitary workers of Tamilnadu have so far have received monetary benefits to the tune of Rs.150 crores in these years as a result of consistent efforts of LTUC both on the streets and in the courts.

Struggles of Workers of Liquor Outlets
Efforts are being taken for regularisation of Tasmac (state owned liquor outlets) employees. When the Tasmac employees declared a plan to gherao the assembly scores of them all over the state were taken to preventive custody recently. The union has also undertaken legal measures for regularisation of 1366 Tasmac workers.

Hotel and Hospital Workers 
Unions in hotels and hospitals are regularly functioning in improving the working conditions and upholding the rights of the workers.

Tubes India Workers
The services of around 100 workers were regularised as a result of consistent efforts of the union in OLG (Onload Gears), TIDC (TI Diamond Chain), MGC (Madras Gymkhana Club) and KKCTH (Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hopsital).

Workers of Civil Supplies
The Workers’ Voice, an organisation of workers, operating among loading and unloading workers of the government owned Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) has been successful in preventing privatisation of loading/unloading work.

Demanding Release of Pricol Workers
A signature campaign was organised, in 500 places on a single day, demanding the release of two Pricol workers, who are languishing in prisons for around ten years now. 72 terminated workers of Pricol, including those imprisoned, were given a settlement of Rs.10 lakh each as a result of efforts taken up by the LTUC.
The LTUC established its own office at Ambattur in 2023. The union also owns a plot of land for constructing another office at Sriperumbur which was bought recently, in 2025.