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*"Liberalisation causes havoc to human lives" * Staff Reporter *Seminar on `globalisation and denial of labour rights' at Lady Doak College * *EMPHATIC: V. Vasanthi Devi, Chairman, Institute of Human Rights Education and former Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University addressing a meeting in the city on Friday. — PHOTO: S.JAMES. * MADURAI: Liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation had resulted in jobless growth, which was in no way beneficial to the people of the country, said V. Vasanthi Devi, former Vice-Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, at Lady Doak College here on Friday. Addressing a seminar on `Globalisation and denial of labour rights' organised by, People's Watch, a human rights organisation, Dr. Vasanthi Devi said that the `crowd of unemployed' was multiplying at a rapid speed. She also condemned the Government's attitude of spreading a red carpet to the IT sector, which involved just 0.2 per cent of the entire workforce, while the agricultural sector was slowly plunging into oblivion. Terming the Government's claim of 9 per cent growth as a "humbug," Dr. Vasanthi Devi said that the development-oriented policies of the Government took the lives of the poor with many suicidal deaths of farmers and tea-labourers reported across the country. She said that a liberal economic policy had resulted in "feminisation of poverty" where women, particularly mothers, were worn out by toiling as labourers in the unorganised sector. Referring to liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation as "tri-tsunamis" that had been causing havoc to human lives in the country, especially to middle class and lower sections of the society, she urged the students to understand the concept that "labour rights are human rights." The former Vice-Chancellor warned them not to believe in the "illusory world of prosperity" that was shown in the media. Charging the Government of being anti-labour, anti-women and anti-people, Ms. Vasanthi Devi said that the labourers in the organised sector were facing threats due to outsourcing of labourers and retrenchments while the Government had started eying on the benefits such as cut in Provident Fund interest rate and pension. The number of labourers in the organised sector was on the decrease while that of the unorganised sector was on the increase trumpeting the sad truth that contract labourers were on the increase, said R. Geetha, coordinator, Southern Region, National Movement of Unorganised Labourers. She said that the unorganised sector workers constituted 90 per cent of the workforce in 1991 that had increased to 93 per cent in 2001 and 95 per cent in 2006. Though the number of the labourers in the unorganised sector was on the increase they had been facing invisible retrenchment because of mechanisation. She urged Tripartite Board to constitute a committee to check sexual harassment of scavengers. A. Soundararajan, general secretary, CITU, said that there were 50 lakh women who were involved in home-based industries like tailoring for a paltry sum. Human rights violations were rampant in the State and we should join hands to fight against them, he added. Delegates from 11 States - Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa, Tripura, Rajasthan Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh - participated. Henri Tiphagne, executive director, People's Watch, welcomed the gathering. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality." - Dr BR Ambedkar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA) To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
