Sangh Parivar-backed trade union boycotts SCO meet on labour issues, faces flak
Sangh Parivar-backed trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has boycotted the first meeting of the trade union leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries held in Beijing on Thursday and Friday (May 15 and May 16, 2025). Though the BMS had earlier decided to send a three-member delegation for the event, in the background of Pahalgam attacks it decided to boycott the proceedings.
BMS national secretary Pawan Kumar told The Hindu that the decision to boycott was taken as China supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. The meeting was organised by the All China Federation of Trade Unions. Leaders of other CTUs, such as All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) have attended the meeting.
AITUC leader Vidya Sagar Giri, who attended the meeting, said he raised the issue of terrorism in his speech. 'My stand was welcomed by other trade unions too. The declaration adopted by the meeting condemned all types of terrorism. SCO is a forum that represents 45% of the world population. As trade union representatives, our concern was trade union activities in this region. The meeting discussed issues such as workers' rights, possible impact of Artificial Intelligence on workers and the problems of gig and platform workers. But by boycotting such a meeting, BMS proved that it does not stand for workers' issues, but is playing the politics of Sangh Parivar,' Mr. Giri said.
The SCO said in a social media post that the meeting was held for the first time at the initiative of the Chinese side and it featured thematic discussions on 'Deepening Humanitarian Exchanges to Enhance Mutual Understanding Among the Peoples of SCO Countries,' 'Uniting Trade Union Efforts to Fulfil the SCO Mission,' and 'Addressing Contemporary Challenges and Jointly Developing Measures to Protect Workers' Rights.'
Mr. Kumar said the decision to boycott was taken at the last minute. 'It is in protest against China's open support to Pakistan,' he said. CITU leader R. Karumalaiyan said SCO meeting was not about India or Pakistan, but about workers. 'We attended the meeting based on our understanding of proletarian internationalism. Our representative Swadesh Debroy has raised issues of Indian workers in the meeting,' he said.
Earlier, on May 10, the BMS said in a statement that the SCO is an inter-governmental political, economic, and security organisation established in 2001 and it primarily focusses on strengthening relations between member states, promoting cooperation in various fields, and maintaining regional peace and stability. 'For the first time, labour-related prospects will also be discussed in this meeting, which points to the acknowledgement of the fact that labour is an important component for regional security,' the BMS said adding that a three-member delegation of the BMS comprising of Hiranmay Pandya, Rajesh CV and Trupti Alti would join the meetings and present India's concerns. 'We are looking forward to fruitful meetings.' the BMS had said.
At the opening ceremony, Deputy Secretary-General of the SCO Batyr Tursunov said convening this meeting as part of China's chairmanship agenda is a practical step toward implementing the decisions made by the heads of state to improve the well-being of workers. 'It was emphasised that the meeting agenda reflects the concept of joint development within the SCO framework and underscores the significant role of trade unions in ensuring the protection of workers' rights and promoting social justice,' the SCO statement said.
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