Thursday, March 2, 2017
SAY NO TO PRIVATISATION
SAVE THE COUNTRY AND OUR PEOPLE
FROM DESTRUCTION AND SLAVERY
The
BJP led government is determined to dismantle the entire public sector
network in the country. All these PSUs are the repositories of huge
national asset including land and minerals, vital infrastructure,
important mineral resources and huge productive forces. In fact, the
aggressive exercise by the BJP Govt to privatise PSUs tantamount to put
forth the entire national economy on sale.
Soon
after assuming power at the centre, the government under Prime Minister
Modi wound up the Planning Commission and replaced it with the National
Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Ayog. NITI AAyog was entrusted
with the task of identifying central public sector undertakings (CPSUs)
that are to be disinvested and sold off. It has already identified 74
(CPSUs) – including 26 for downright closure and 10 for strategic
disinvestment. While disinvestment means that the government would
retain management, strategic sale means that majority shares will be
sold and management would be handed over to the private party. It is
nothing but outright privatisation. In a reply to a question, Arjun Ram
Meghwal, the minister of state for finance informed the Parliament in
December last year, that the government has given ‘in principle’
approval to the recommendations of NITI Ayog. Many more CPSUs are in the
pipeline of being identified by NITI AAYOG for privatisation.
In
his budget speech for 2017-18, Arun Jaitley, the union finance minister,
announced that the government intends to raise Rs 72500 crore through
disinvestment of public sector undertakings in this financial year. Out
of this, Rs 46500 crore is sought to be raised through disinvestment, Rs
15000 crores through strategic sale and Rs 11000 crores through
disinvestment of the general insurance companies. Significantly, the
Modi led BJP government has appointed Reliance Mutual Fund Managers to
provide consultancy and execute its project of quick selling 10 CPSUs
strategic to our national economy, including ONGC, GAIL, Oil India
Limited, Indian Oil Corporation, Coal India Limited, BHEL, Bharat
Electronics Limited etc through the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).
Units
in defence production like the Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) one
of the nine defence public sector units engaged in defence production
and steel - the Salem, Durgapur and Bhadravati plants of Steel Authority
of India Limited (SAIL) are among those identified for strategic sale.
25% shares in all the five public sector general insurance companies
will be sold to private companies, both Indian and foreign. The Defence
Ministry has also ordered to immediately list other Defence PSUs viz.,
BDL and MIDHANI in the stock market to facilitate disinvestment of at
least 25% shares. Bridge & Roof Company Ltd, a premier Miniratna PSU
in strategic heavy engineering cum construction sector are being
processed for outright privatisation. Pawn Hans Helicopter Ltd, which is
joint venture company under the Civil Aviation ministry with 49% share
holding shareholding by ONGC has been decided for strategic sale
despite objection by the Civil Aviation Ministry. The
Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) and Rajasthan Drugs and
Pharmaceuticals Limited (RDPL) would be closed. Hindustan Antibiotics
Limited (HAL) and Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceuticals Limited (BCPL)
will be privatised, if buyers are available; otherwise they will also be
closed down.
Almost
all the profit-making public sector companies, mostly in strategic and
core sector of the economy are targeted for privatisation through
strategic sale route and a majority of them has already named by NITI
AAYOG, with tacit approval by the PMO and Cabinet. On the other hand
number of sick and loss-making PSUs with huge asset base is being
decided for sale at distressed price or complete closure in the face of
non-availability of buyers. And to facilitate and speed up such killing
process, the Govt has recently decided to dissolve the Bureau of
Industrial and Financial Rehabilitation (BIFR) and its appellate body
AAIFR. It must be noted that many of those sick and loss making units
are potentially viable units and most of them have been made to turn
sick owing to policy hostility of the successive Govts leading to
neglect of timely modernisation and updating of production facilities.
They can definitely be brought back to efficiency and profitability with
appropriate dose of capital investment for modernisation and the huge
asset-base most of those sick PSUs are having are more than enough to
fund for such cost of capital investment. Even then, the Govt of the day
is hell bent to close them down or privatise mocking at their own
slogan of “Make in India”.
On
the other hand, in order to weaken the well functioning public sector
units and thereby find a plea for or pave the way for their
privatisation, the BJP Govt has chosen satanic route to strip them of
their surpluses meant for continuous updating and modernising of
production facilities. Many PSUs are compelled to pay huge dividends to
Govt much above the statutory level by the concerned ministries some
times to the tune of 50% or above in some cases; many PSUs are compelled
to buy back their own shares at Govt disposal transferring a huge
amount to Govt exchequer. These surpluses were generated internally by
the PSUs through higher efficiency and productivity, while competing
with private sector not only in the domestic market but also
internationally. These surpluses were of crucial weapons in the hands of
the PSUs to continuously update themselves technologically besides
tackling the ups and downs in a volatile market, both domestically and
globally. Stripping the profitable PSUs of their reserve and surpluses
is a well articulated design to weaken the PSUs under target financially
or otherwise to create ground for their sale cheaper to their favoured
buyers in private sector, both domestic and foreign. Can there be a more
heinous conspiracy against the national economy than this, articulated
by a Govt always swearing in the name of “nationalism” on every damn
thing under the sky? Such moves are totally anti-national and
perpetrators of such conspiracy are enemies to nation.
The
public sector workers are up in arms against these measures to eliminate
the central public sector altogether. Representatives of CPSU unions
from all over the country participated in a massive joint national
convention in Bengaluru on 29th January 2017. Major central
trade unions and the Joint Action Forum of Bengaluru and the CPSU Trade
Union Coordination Committee of Hyderabad attended the national
convention which unanimously adopted a ‘Declaration’. This ‘Declaration’
called for a series of united actions, campaign, propaganda and
agitation, to be launched all over the country against any kind of
disinvestment and demanding effective measures to revive sick PSUs under
the ownership of the public sector. It also called upon the CPSU
workers to get ready for a nationwide strike, the date of which would be
declared later.
This
struggle to save the public sector cannot be the struggle of the PSU
workers alone. It is the responsibility of the entire working class, of
all patriotic citizens of the country to join this struggle to protect
the public sector from the vicious attempts of the government to hand it
over to the big corporates, domestic and foreign. Why? Because, the
public sector, despite all the shortcomings and limitations, has played
and is playing a glorious role in the economy of our country and the
development of our nation. Decimation of the public sector will not only
impact the PSU workers, but harm the entire nation and its people.
Public
sector in our country has been an instrument for attaining self reliant
economy and played an important role in developing balanced regional
growth. It was instrumental in creating the industrial base of the
country after independence. It was the public sector enterprises which
built the major infrastructure of the country like power, transport
including railways, roads etc when the private sector did not have the
capacity or was not ready to take the risk of investing huge amounts of
capital in these sectors, which do not provide immediate profits.
Thermal, hydro and nuclear power projects, transport and communication,
production of steel, defence equipment, ship building, oil, coal etc
were set up in the public sector. The Research and Development taken up
by the PSUs had a huge contribution in our technological and industrial
advance.
Public
sector has also played an important role in the development of our
agriculture by producing agricultural inputs like fertilisers,
agricultural implements, pesticides, etc. The public sector research
institutes immensely helped the farmers by providing new techniques to
improve agricultural productivity in our country.
The
general and life insurance companies and the banks which were
nationalised to protect the interests as well as savings of the people
from the loot of private establishments and harness them for national
developmental goal and serve the common people and the poor including in
the remote rural areas, which do not interest the private sector. The
LIC has been contributing for infrastructure development, drinking water
projects etc. The role of our public sector financial institutions in
protecting our economy during the 2008 global financial meltdown is now
well acknowledged.
The
coal mines, Oil Companies and Insurance companies were nationalised in
view of their crucial importance in national economic development and
some industries in textile sector, engineering etc were also taken-over
to protect the interest of the workers.
Public
sector workers were comparatively better placed than the workers in the
private sector in asserting their rights to organise and collective
bargaining. Through their organised strength and struggles they were
able to attain better working and living conditions. The public sector
had a path breaking and basic contribution in establishing the right to
organise and collective bargaining of the workers, which is sought to be
denied in the private sector. Hence the assertion of public sector
workers’ movement is always having wider implications and bearing on the
workers in the other sectors in their struggle for trade union rights
and other benefits.
Moreover,
post liberalisation, the employment profile in the country as a whole
has undergone a sea change with the mass scale contractorisation and
temporarisation of regular work both in public and private sector. In
public sector industries today the share of contract workers in total
employment is not less than 50 per cent on the average, whereas in
private sector share of contract workers is more than 70 per cent
creating an obscene phenomenon of inequality and dichotomy in the
workplaces. In such a situation organising the contract workers in the
struggle for justice has become crucial task before the working class
movement to effectively fight back dubious disruptive and divisive ploy
of the exploiter class. And fact remains that it is in the public sector
workplaces first, the pioneering initiative of organising the contract
workers has been taken which has made visible advance in many PSUs
creating an enabling situation in other workplaces as well.
The
townships constructed in the areas where the PSUs were located, many in
remote undeveloped rural areas, not only provided housing and other
facilities for the workers like schools, hospitals, dispensaries,
community centres, shopping complexes etc but also led to overall development
of the entire area. Thousands of the people in the surrounding villages
benefited indirectly by getting employment and income opportunities
through providing different services to the people in these townships.
By implementing the reservations for SC/ ST sections, PSUs provided
employment and opportunities for their development.
In
essence, existence and expansion of public sector has not only helped in
a big way in the industrialisation of the national economy, it has also
contributed to economic growth in other areas including growth of
private sector and also despite various limitations contributed to
social justice and definitely helped to bring the issue of social
justice to the fore. At the same time public sector also economy also
contributed to spread in trade union rights not only among public sector
workers but also among other sectors as well. And that is why desperate
effort of the present BJP Govt to demolish public sector is also
faultlessly accompanied with equally desperate and philistine move to
demolish all rights of the workers by drastic change in labour laws
designed to impose slavery on working people as a whole, public and
private sector alike.
It
has become fashionable for the advocates of neoliberal reforms to
portray public sector as ‘white elephants’ eating away the scarce
government resources. And such fashion reflects same dubious bent of
mind of those in governance to impose slavery on the entire society
itself.
But
the reality is otherwise. It is big private corporate, both domestic and
foreign who are looting the people, the economy and also the national
exchequer and the Govt has been shamelessly conniving with such loots.
There are innumerable instances of tax evasion, manipulation of
accounts etc by the private sector establishments including the big
corporates, national and multinational, robbing the national exchequer at not less than Rupees 5 lakh crore every year (Rs 6.59 lakh crore in direct tax in 2015-16). Public sector not only scrupulously pays its taxes but also makes huge contribution to
the public exchequer through dividends etc besides keeping the national
economy afloat with regular capital investments to the tune of not less
than Rs 1.5 lakh crore every year. Since at least last one and half
decade, every year, the central public sector units altogether, despite
number of them being loss making units have been consistently making
contribution to national exchequer in the form of tax (both direct and
indirect) and dividends, special dividends etc at not not less than one
lakh crore rupees on the average. In 2014-15 the PSUs contributed more than Rs 2 lakh crore to the public exchequer.
It is
also fashionable for the NITI AAYOG brand of economists to preach that
policy of privatisation will release resources for promoting augmenting
employment generating investment by private sector including FDI.
Nothing can be further from truth and this also known by the NITI AAYOG
bandwagon and their mentors in union cabinet. Official data
substantiates the fact. During last one decade at least, despite all
concessions to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore every year on the average to
private corporate both in the form of revenue foregone and patronised
tax default, besides patronised loan-default from banks, the private
sector contribution to domestic employment generating investment has
been consistently declining whereas Foreign capital inflow remained
mainly limited acquisition and merger, no way contributing to employment
generation; on the other hand investments by PSUs is keeping the
national economy afloat, who are also faithful tax-payers.
Privatisation exercise is aimed at benefitting those pilferers’
community in the private corporate sector, both domestic and foreign.
It is
also necessary to recall that the BJP government, which evokes
‘nationalism’ on every occasion, has decided to allow 100 % Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) in such strategic sectors like defence,
railways, telecom, civil aviation, satellites power, petroleum, mining,
coal etc. This will not only adversely impact the functioning of the
PSUs in the concerned sectors but also compromise our national interests
including security.
The
public sector was conceived to achieve ‘commanding heights’ of our
economy. However, various factors including lack of autonomous and
efficient management, political interference etc, created difficulties
for the public sector. The official advent of neoliberal policies under
the Congress government in 1991, attempts to dismantle public sector
became part of the government agenda. The concepts of self reliant
economy, economic sovereignty, balanced regional development, social
justice etc were sought to be given a go by. The former BJP government
led by Atal Behari Vajpayee introduced the concept of strategic sale of
public sector and privatised premier public sector units like Modern
Food, Hindustan Zinc, BALCO, Indian Petrochemicals Corporations (IPCL),
VSNL, Paradip Phosphates, CMC, HTL, Jessop, Centaur Hotel etc at a throw
away price, at much below their real value, virtually on a single
bidder situation on which CAG made seriously critical observations. It
created a disinvestment department which was later converted into a
disinvestment ministry. The UPA-I government’s attempts to disinvest
could be thwarted to some extent by the left parties, on whose support
the existence of that government depended. After the Modi government
assumed power at the centre with BJP having majority of its own, the
‘neoliberal reforms’ have been fast tracked. The concept of planned
development has been abandoned. Planning Commission disbanded. One of
the major tasks assigned to NITI Ayog that replaced it is dismantling of
the public sector.
And
dismantling of the public sector is inseparably integrated with the
strategy of country’s ruling polity to subjugate national economic
interest, its economic independence and sovereignty to the interest of
the international finance capital with the imperialist power in its
driving seat. It is also aimed at extracting people more ferociously in
favour of big corporates, foreign and domestic ; it is also aimed at
imposing slavery on workers to start with the ultimate aim of crushing
the democratic structures and social institutions as a whole and finally
privatising the governance as whole at the behest of international
exploiting class with Indian exploiters as junior partner.
The
PSUs are our national wealth-generating assets; they are not only
country’s bulwark for self-reliant advancement symbolising national
sovereignty, they are also the bulwark for defence of democracy, social
justice and its advancement. Any attack on public sector network is
synonymous to heinous conspiracy and grievous onslaught of country’s self
reliance, progress and democracy. It is the responsibility of the
entire working class and the people of the country to protect public
sector, resist all onslaughts on PSUs by all means and ensure that the
basic objectives of self reliance, balanced development and social
justice are achieved. Saving our public sector is the patriotic duty of
the working class.
Expose the enemies to the nation!
No to Privatisation!
Design of Slavery will not pass!
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