THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday accused the Left government in Kerala of abandoning its own ideology and failing to safeguard workers’ rights.
Inaugurating the Headload Workers’ Leaders’ Meet organised by the INTUC-led Headload and Loading Workers, Chennithala said the Pinarayi Vijayan government has adopted positions that “deny workers even the right to organise and bargain systematically.”
He alleged that the state’s labour welfare boards have never been in such a poor state, accusing the government of slashing welfare pensions, blocking DA hikes, and delaying salaries and benefits. “This government treats workers as weak and dispensable,” he said.
The meeting, held ahead of regional conferences of porters at 14 centres in the district, raised demands for enhanced welfare board benefits, timely fund disbursal, and implementation of ESI and other welfare schemes. INTUC district president V R Prathapan and other trade union leaders also spoke.