04/29/2022
May Day Communique from the AIPRPA CHQ!
Dear Comrades! Every year, May Day used to infuse fresh enthusiasm in us to fight the injustices of the existing system and to change the system into one free of any exploitation of man by man. We know that changing the system may not be a practical solution within the life time of contemporary comrades like us. But we know that the struggle to change the system is a continuous process and tomorrow or day after it will be achieved by the future generation. The struggles that we launch today and all the sacrifices of yesterday by our predecessors will act as the fertilizer for the change tomorrow. The dawn of a new society that will have no exploitation is imminent whether we could see it or not.
Our task is to struggle against all injustices. The advent of liberalization and the disintegration of the camp of Socialism is a temporary victory reaped by the Corporates of the world. But they could not bring any remedy to the maladies of the society. They could not bring total peace to the humanity and wars are indeed breaking out between different nations and we can see that these corporates are reaping huge profits from them. The usual maladies like the un-employment, price rise, poverty, flesh trade, lack of medical attention etc are much prevalent in the system and the corporates have no solution to any of these deep rooted problems.
The pandemic of Corona that ravaged the world for more than two years had proved one thing crystal clear. Only the countries where the public health system is strong could face the pandemic squarely and save the population without much loss of life. The path of privatization which encouraged even the health sector in most of the world countries has resulted only in making super profits by using the fear of life by the people. The privatization has proved to be futile but many governments are blind to the development because of their ideological marriage with the Corporates that encourages LPG polices in each country.
The Pensioners, who are generally the Senior Citizens, for whom many Governments are shedding crocodile tears, are in practice put into great sufferings. Economically they are further exploited by denying their dearness relief arrears for 18 months. The reply of the Government that it is not in a position to pay the arrears of 18 months DA/DR is laughable because every second it is working for the super profit of handful of corporates in the country. The Government is unmindful of the tragedy that the new entrants of Government and Public Sector employees numbering lakhs and lakhs in the name of NPS. There is no guaranteed pension to the NPS section of the employees who work for many years, while the Parliament and State Legislature members are happily taking the pension ensured to them even if they serve as the MP or MLA for a single day! These representatives of people have no compunction to vote to deny the pension for the Government employees! The stand taken by the State Governments of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to revert back to Old Pension System by scrapping the NPS and the stand of the West Bengal Left Front Government earlier and continued even today by the present Mamta Banerjee Government to not to introduce NPS in
the State of West Bengal are giving us hope that our fight will ultimately win provided we are able to stand up unitedly.
The Pensioners and the Family Pensioners and all senior citizens shall be able to live in peace. They should be able to live in a convenient house; live without any worry for medical requirements including hospitalization; move freely from one place to another in free transportation; have unlimited access to potable drinking water; in short, they should have financial freedom by sufficient payment of monthly pension to take care of all needs.
The life of pensioners and family pensioners cannot advance if the working employees’ movement of the concerned industry is not ready to voice the demand of pension and social security. Perfect unity of employee’s trade unions and pensioners associations is the need of the hour. We pledge that we shall establish a strong unity of pensioners and working employees and while supporting every struggle of the workers for their advancement try to ensure the support of the workers for our emancipation. We pledge that we shall struggle to see that all the recommendations of the 110th Report of the Parliament Standing Committee are translated into reality earlier.
The Trade Union International (Pensioners & Retirees), one of the TUIs of the class conscious WFTU, is fighting to unify all the pensioners and retirees of the world under one umbrella and launching struggles for a peaceful tomorrow to all the pensioners and retirees of all the countries. TUI (P&R) is also insisting for the alignment of working class and the retired. Let us pledge on this May Day of 2022 that we shall build a stronger platform of unity of all pensioners in our country and link up with the international body to continue our justified struggle for a peaceful life in our old age. AIPRPA CHQ calls upon all our rank-and-file Associations to befittingly celebrate the present May Day by taking all the initiative to unite with NCCPA affiliates, other Pensioners Associations and with the Working-Class Trade Unions. This year May Day slogans should reverberate loudly that we, the senior citizens, are awakening like a sleeping giant and shall be ready to sacrifice for a better tomorrow. – KR GS AIPRPA -
