Smoking issue: AITUC's plea (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Smoking issue: AITUC's plea
by Our Special Correspondent
Source: Hindu Online, Thursday, 9/30/99

CHENNAI, SEPT. 29. The State unit of the CPI-affiliated AITUC has urged
the State Government to go slow on the issue of banning smoking in public
places, though it was a laudable move.

A meeting of the state and district level office- bearers of the AITUC
held in Chennai said the Government would do well to ponder the pros and
cons of a ban on smoking in public places as any such action would
particularly hit the beedi industry and the 20 lakh workers dependent on
it for their livelihood.

The meeting, in which the AITUC's State President, Mr.S.C.Krishnan and its
General Secretary, Mr.S.S.Thyagarajan were among those who participated,
in a resolution said any such ban on smoking should be implemented only
after providing alternate employment to the existing beedi industry
workers.

Already, efforts were being made by the tobacco MNCs' to take a lion's
share of the domestic cigarettes market, which would only impact the beedi
industry, the AITUC pointed out.

Condemning the alleged termination of ``loadmen'' who have been working
for the past 15 years with the Tamilnadu State Marketing Corporation
(TASMAC) at Madurai and awaiting regularisation, after having shifted the
TASMAC godown to a nearby place, the AITUC in another resolution said this
practice of replacing existing ``loadmen'' with new hands ``said to have
proximity to ruling party members'', should be given up immediately.

Referring to the Government's announcement in May this year of providing a
monthly relief of Rs.250 to workers of select closed industrial units, the
AITUC regretted that the scheme was yet to take off.

The Government should simplify the procedure for making payments as no
sick industry has come forward so far to open a common bank account as
stipulated in the scheme, it said and urged that the monthly relief be
enhanced to Rs.1000.

The Government setting apart Rs.100 crore to activate the welfare board
for work-force in the unorganised sector and raising the minimum bonus
payable to workers from 8.33 per cent to 12.50 per cent were among the
other resolutions adopted at the meeting.

To press for these demands, the AITUC would organise state-wide
processions on October 15, it added.