Fight superstition, labour told

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MAY 1. While the labour force should be armed with combative spirit, it should not resort to protests for the sake of staging protests, the Chief Minister, Mr.M.Karunanidhi, said today.

Addressing a May Day meeting organised by the DMK's labour wing, Labour Progressive Front (LPF) at the May Day park, the Chief Minister said the working class should not crave for agitations, but all the same, it should not to shy away from agitations either.

Dravidian leaders Periyar and Anna had exhorted the labour community to free itself from the shackles of superstition, Mr.Karunanidhi said and called upon Tamil Nadu's working class to lead the other States in extricating itself from the oppressive forces and the superstitious beliefs of the society.

In an effort to improve the lot of the labour force in Tamil Nadu, the DMK Government had included about 50 different sections of labour in the welfare scheme for the unorganised sector. Also, exclusive welfare boards had been set up for various sections of the working class. In the first-ever such effort in the Indian subcontinent, the Government had provided a protective cover for the unorganised labour force, the Chief Minister said.

TMC's May Day fete

Marking the May Day with a difference, the TMC launched an online `employment exchange' on its website (www.tmcmoopanar.org).

Inaugurating the facility, the TMC president, Mr. G. K. Moopanar, said that the Government had the responsibility to create employment opportunities matching the educational opportunities. Any job-seeker from a servant maid to a software professional and the prospective employers can register themselves on the website which would act as a bridge between the two, Mr. V. Narayanan, chairman of the TMC's Science and Technology cell said.

The TMC had already started an online blood bank and now an employment exchange which even the cyber-government in Andhra Pradesh had not implemented, TMC MP, Ms. Jayanthi Natarajan, said, emphasising that real development lay in creation of job opportunities.

Parties' rallies

Rallies and public meetings by political parties and trade unions expressing solidarity to working class marked the May Day celebrations in the city.

While the CPI state secretary, Mr. R. Nallakannu, hoisted the flag at the party office, the CPI(M) state executive committee member, Mr.A.Soundararajan participated in the May Day celebrations organised at the party office. The CITU and the AITUC, labour wings of the CPI(M) and the CPI respectively organised a joint rally followed by a public meeting at Anaikavuni in which leaders from both the parties addressed the gathering.

The MDMK general secretary, Mr.Vaiko, assured his party's commitment to workers' welfare at a public meeting organised by the party at Tondiarpet.

The AIADMK marked May Day by organising public meetings in North Chennai, Central Chennai and South Chennai. The party deputy general secretary, Mr. K. Kalimuthu, and the organising secretary, Mr. K.P. Munuswamy, were among the prominent speakers at the meetings.

Addressing a May Day meeting of the State INTUC, the TMC president, Mr. G. K. Moopanar, appealed to the trade union to sink its differences and unitedly fight its organisational elections slated for May 13.

The State INTUC president Mr. P. L. Subbiah, the TNCC(I) president, Mr. Tindivanam K. Ramamurthy, former TNCC(I) president, Mr. K. V. Thangabalu, and the TMC general secretary, Mr. Peter Alphonse, participated.

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