New Delhi (ABHIMOOKNAYAK). Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (cadam) will assist the Confederation of Delhi State SC/ST/OBC Employee Association to organise a workshop on Reservation Laws, Legal Remedies and Organising SC/ST/OBC Employees, scheduled on 24th June 2001 in Delhi. The Secretary to the Delhi Government will inaugurate the first and inaugural session of the workshop formally on 24th June at 2.30 P. M. at the Conference Hall of Gandhi Peace Foundation.

Second Session of the workshop will cover Reservation Laws, Rules, Roster System and Orders/Memorandum issued by the Governments from time to time. Third session of the workshop will focus on the Legal Remedies, Legal Proceedings, Representations and fighting cases in Administrative Tribunals, High Courts and Supreme Courts. Mr. T. S. Ahuja, Chairperson of Human Rights Trust and Senior Advocate in Supreme Court has consented to be the resource person for the session.

Fourth Session will focus on organising SC/ST/OBCs employees. Mr. V.K. Jatav, Convener Confederation of Delhi State SC/ST/OBC Employees Associations along with other renowned trade union leaders of the Dalits will be the resource person for this session.

Spokesperson of CADAM informed that this workshop will impart necessary skills and training to the office bearers and leaders of SC/ST/OBC Employee Association for taking up reservation related issues effectively with their employers. To make this workshop useful, necessary resource material will be provided to all the participants. Documents/ Papers thus supplied will help the Dalit Union leaders to share them with other employees of their organisations. It is expected that about 50 SC/ST/OBC Union Leaders of various departments of Delhi Government will participate in this workshop.

Discussing the weaknesses of the Dalit Trade Unionists, a representative of CADAM informed that SC/ST/OBC Employee Association lacks the necessary skills for taking up their cases with their employers. They do not have up date information on changing reservation laws, court cases and their outcomes. CADAM’s in-depth discussion with various prominent Dalit Trade Unionists and leaders reveals that most of them lack conceptual clarity on reservation, do not know application of roster system and even do not know the legal procedures. Obviously, these shortcoming have costs us heavily, said CADAM’s representative. Keeping these things in mind, CADAM has initiated CAPACITY BUILDING program in collaboration with various organisations, the workshop on Reservation Laws, Legal Remedies and Organisation being the first in this series.

Ashok Bharti
Editor, ABHIMOOKNAYAK, Hindi Monthly Published from New Delhi Since 1991