Kottayam (Kerala): The Pinarayi Vijayan government’s failure to address the concerns of workers, who form a majority of Kerala’s population, was a major reason for the Left’s electoral defeat, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has said.

To advertise here,

The criticism is part of a report to be presented by CITU general secretary Elamaram Kareem at the organisation’s state conference in Kottayam on Saturday.

The report alleges that the government was unwilling to even provide workers with their legitimate benefits and failed to ensure minimum wages in several sectors. Around 60 per cent of the state's population is directly or indirectly connected to the workforce, yet the Left government failed to address their concerns.

The consequences of this neglect were reflected in the election results, the report says. CITU had repeatedly raised workers' issues and organised protests, but the government failed to take them seriously. The dissatisfaction among workers eventually cost the Left its chance of retaining power, it argues.

The CITU's assessment is a more direct criticism of the Pinarayi government than the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] offered in its own review of the electoral defeat.
Also read | Microfinance case setback for Vellappally Natesan: HC orders chargesheet within two weeks

In its assessment, the CPM had said that efforts to overcome the crisis in traditional employment sectors, which had long served as its strong support base, were inadequate despite the state's financial difficulties. This weakness, it concluded, had eroded the party's strong class-based support.

The CITU report, however, identifies specific reasons behind this erosion. Workers, including committed Left supporters, increasingly felt that the government was neglecting them. While the government focused on welfare pensions, it failed to ensure benefits under workers' welfare funds, among other concerns.

The report says it is natural for workers to feel disappointed when a government led by a party representing the working class fails to address their problems.
Also read | SMA treatment fund: Fake voice message disrupts fundraising for triplets in Kerala

SFI gets more attention than CITU leaders, alleges report

There has also been growing discontent within the CITU over what it sees as inadequate representation in the CPM. Complaints have surfaced that CITU leaders do not receive the same consideration for key party positions as leaders of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).

Although the state conference report does not appear to make this allegation explicitly, it points to the CPM's diminishing identity as a working-class party.

Following the electoral defeat, the CPM had assessed that 60 per cent of its members in the party's state and district extended committees had become inactive. It recommended reorganising the unit-level structures of class and mass organisations to address the problem.

The CPM has around 5.75 lakh members, while the CITU has a membership of 32.86 lakh.

CITU points out that the party's growing inactivity reflects the extent to which the working class has moved away from it.