WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT AND EMPOWERMENT

EDITORIAL -- 'POSTAL LIFE' -- MARCH 2017

08th March 2017 – observe international women’s day in a befitting manner. The topic for international women’s day this year has been decided as “WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT AND EMPOWERMENT. National Secretariat of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers calls upon all affiliated organizations and State COC’s and women’s Sub Committee to take proper organizational measures to ensure effective observance of the international women day jointly with other fraternal organizations.

Don’t forget the importance to remember that it was the socialist revolutionary women who began observing international women day demanding the ‘right to vote and eight hours working day’. Those working class women and revolutionary socialist struggled for women’s freedom, not only women but the world’s people from oppressive shackles . It is also important to remember that March 08 has been made as the permanent day for International Women’s Day to commemorate the Russian Revolution began by Women Workers on March 08, 1917.

This is a history that the market and most of our ruling politicians would like us to forget as they seek to appropriate International Women Day and empty it of its true historical and contemporary significance. It is a time to us to recall history like the radical women’s movements of the early 1940 in India, which rallied against fascism we need to connect the women’s struggle for equal opportunity with the overall struggle for true democracy and secularism. It is relevant to mention what is International women’s day nowadays in India? It is not what has become of it in contemporary India – a time to conduct cooking competition for women or a time for discount sale of jewelerry, Saries, thus materials cosmetics, beauty tips and other commodities nor it is not a time to thank women for their presence. Let us remember the words of Marx said in 1891 and the women herself reduced to the very lowest verge of misery of despair and of dependency, earning a wage that even in the more skilled kinds of labuors – generally means starvation having in addition to the long hours of labours for the employer to do work of “domestic sort for her more immediate task – master or where she is a widow or unmarried mother with children dependent upon her or even when she is alone in the world having to toil on long after men for the most part have ceased work does not the same situation, in essence exist even today. Class domination and male chauvinism combined to produce the situation faced by women then and now. since coming into power the NDA Government has hastened the new liberal agenda to please its Corporate masters, both domestic and foreign. It continues to use the rhetoric of “WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT ETC’ while its action are directed to achieve the exact opposite meant for corporate profit maximi sation by attacking the hard one rights of the workers including women workers. The special package announced by the cabinet for the textile sector in which lakhas of women workers allows “fixed term employment” on the false pretext that the Government Sector is seasonal. Similarly the model shops and the establishment bill finalized by the Cabinet allows the Malls, Shops and eatery etc. to be open all through day and night. Women have to work at night shift. Equal remuneration act and maternity benefit Act are among the 14 labour laws sought to be exempted under the proposed small factories Act, if the small factory bill is passed, large proportion of women workers will be thrown out of the benefit of paid maternity leave to 26 weeks. Lakhs of women employed in Mid-Day Meal Workers, Asha, Para Teachers etc. working as Scheme Workers and lakhs of women employed in the special economic zone too are denied maternity benefits. According to data provided by the labour bureau in 2013 the gap between wages of men and women in several activities has widened in the last decade- attempts to dismantle the few social security benefits like EPF and ESI continue. The hollowness of the Government’s claims at extending Social Security benefits and helping women empowerment’ was exposed by Lakhs and lakhs of women Government workers in the many parts of the country (like AP, Kerala and Ktk) who went Flash strike and huge mobilization, forcing the Govt. to withdraw the notifications restricting PF with drawal. . A drastical cut down in the budgetary allocation to many of the Central Schemes meant to provide basic services like education, health, nutrition to poor, particularly women and children. . How to get rid of all these things? Only the way of struggle. This period has also seen huge mobilization and militant struggle of women workers it is necessary to raise voice of women worker. The demand for decent work and decent wages are at the centre of our demand.

The empowerment of women in all aspects is related to the “employment of women and its quality. By Organizing working women. In larger numbers developing their consciousness, making them aware of the link between their issues and demands and the policies pursed by the Government. It is in the back ground we have to analyze our experiences and ways to discharge our responsibility with much more effectiveness in this celebration of this year “ international women day 08th March 2017” 

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