Trade unions to hold joint protest against labour laws reforms

Trade unions to hold joint protest against labour laws reforms

New Delhi: All central trade unions will hold a nationwide stir on December 5 to protest against the labour reforms initiated by the Narendra Modi government.

"Protest rallies will be taken out in all state capitals and in Delhi as the proposed reforms are against the interest of the working class," general secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) Gurudas Dasgupta said.

    

"The reforms are pro-corporate and anti-worker. The reforms will give rise to low wages and negligible security cover to the workers. A worker can be hired at will and thrown out," he said.

    

After the proposed amendments, 70 percent of small and medium enterprises will remain out of the purview of the labour laws, he added.

    

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on October 16 unveiled a string of labour reforms, including measures to end 'inspector raj', asserting that ease of doing business is "essential" to ensure 'Make-in-India' campaign is successful.

    

Union leaders said with the end of the inspection raj, companies who are not implementing the labour laws will stand to benefit the most.

    

Left parties such as CPI(M) have already slammed the reform measures, saying the Modi government would continue to serve the interests of the employers in the name of labour reforms and its 'Shramev Jayate' programme meant "nothing much" for the working class.

    

The party has given its support to the protest actions by the central trade unions and national federations of employees against the "anti-worker amendments in labour laws".

    

The unions are also opposing disinvestment of PSUs and allowing FDI in defence production, railways and insurance, said Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) president A K Padmanabhan.