Former Rajya Sabha member Dr Rama Chandra Khuntia was elected president of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Odisha State Branch unopposed for 11th term at the 26th INTUC State conference held here on Sunday
Khuntia was also delegated the power to select other functionaries of the State committee and form district and block committees.
Chief guest Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik reiterated that his party, if voted to power, would raise minimum wages of workers and provide social security to them and afford monthly pensions to unemployed youths till they get jobs. He alleged that the Narendra Modi Government at State and the State Government have failed in these respects. He said employment opportunities are not being created in the State as all minerals are being exported outside the State through open tenders.
Chief speaker Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said, “The future of the country depends on workers. If workers’ movement gets weakened, there would be no change in the society. Workers should always remain alert for peace, freedom, development and fight.”
Mishra called upon the INTUC to fight against those who had killed Mahatma Gandhi and used black flag in offices instead of the National Flag after Independence and who are now firing at Gandhi’s photos and teaching nationalism to people.
Khuntia said the INTUC has now emerged as the fifth largest trade union of the world and the largest union of the country having 30.33 crore members, including 22.10 lakh members in Odisha and a whopping 200 affiliated workers’ bodies. He also boasted of saying that crores of construction workers are getting Government supports only for the legislation enacted during the Prime Ministership of Narasingha Rao in 1995 and as many as 43 Labour Acts enacted during the Congress rule.
At the outset, INTUC State general secretary Kishore Jena delivered the welcome address and another general secretary Prashanti Behera read out the annual report. Treasurer Dharani Swain presented financial report and Madan Mohan Dhal presented a 30-point resolution proposal.
CITU secretary Bishnu Mohanty, AITUC secretary Souribandhu Kar, AICCU secretary Mahendra Parida, Soubhagya Pradhan Shyamsundar Mohapatra, Pranati Mishra, Satyabrat Nayak, Dharanidhar Swain, Akshaya Tripathy, Paresh Jena, Nirmal Samal, SN Sahu, Bidyadhar Mohanty, Krushna Chanra Sahoo, Barkat Ulla Khan, Ghana Sabar attended the meeting.