Budget 2025: 10 central trade unions suggest repeal of labour codes; universal social security

Union Budget 2025: Ten central trade unions, barring the RSS-affiliate Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), suggested the government look for avenues for resource mobilisation like inheritance tax while easing the goods and services tax burden on the common masses.

In 18-point demand memorandum, submitted to the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a pre-budget consultation on Monday, the joint platform of central trade unions proposed government raise the income tax rebate for salaried class, repeal the labour codes, enhance allocation to the employment guarantee scheme while increasing the work days from 100 to 200 and scrap the new pension scheme, among others.

The 10 central trade unions included AITUC, HMS, CITU, INTUC, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.


“Not only our suggestions and demands are ignored, the government has been implementing policies diametrically opposite to those suggested by the unions, bypassing all tripartite, bipartite democratic mechanisms and institutions,” the trade unions said.

In a separate submission, BMS also suggested broadening the scope of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme while guaranteeing 200 days of work for each family and ensuring minimum wages to Mgnrega workers.

The unions collectively raised the issue of the government sidelining the institution of Indian Labour Conference, considered as the highest tripartite forum.

“It is going to be one decade since the highest tripartite forum, the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) has been called under the NDA governments,” it said.

Unions also called for setting up of a social security fund to provide universal social security schemes to include all unorganized workers including minimum pension of Rs 9000 per month linked with DA and other medical, educational benefits.

BMS, however, suggested a minimum pension of Rs 5000 per month as against Rs 1000 now under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, saying this could be followed by a 50% of minimum wages notified and link it with variable dearness allowance (VDA).