Labour laws amendments: CITU slams government's 'unilateralism'

NEW DELHI: A day after the Union Cabinet cleared amendments to three labour laws, CITU today protested against the government's "unilateralism", saying it "seriously undermines the basic principle of bipartism as well as tripartism".

The Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has urged Union Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to intervene in the matter.

"Unfortunately despite your concrete assurance for prior consultation with trade unions, unilateral moves are being taken by the government in the matter of amendments of labour laws...

"We convey our emphatic protest against such unilateralism, which also seriously undermine the basic principle of bipartism as well as tripartism," CITU general secretary Tapan Sen said in a letter to Tomar today.

The Union Cabinet has cleared amendments to the Factories Act, the Apprentices Act and the Labour Laws (exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining registers by certain establishments) to make them more compatible and beneficial for labourers and employers.

"I request you to please appreciate the gravity of the issue and the inconsistency and impropriety being indulged in by the government by such unilateralism in bringing about anti-worker changes in labour laws," Sen said in the letter.

"I urge upon you to intervene so that the government refrains from such unilateral action in the matter of anti-worker amendments of labour laws, rather initiative is expedited to implement the consensus decisions arrived at bipartite and tripartite level," he said.

Reminding the minister about his meeting with central trade unions on June 24 this year, he said that all the unions had demanded detailed and prior consultation with the them on the matter before finalisation of any proposal of amendments to labour laws.

He said that despite the minister's assurance to CITU during the meeting, no such consultation has yet taken place reflecting an "undemocratic unilateralism" on the part of the government in the matter.

CITU said that it was "distressing" that the government was moving ahead unilaterally to amend labour laws.

In the letter to Tomar, CITU said that no action is being taken to implement recommendations on labour law amendments and policy decisions on which there have been consensus at the bipartite and tripartite levels including in successive Indian Labour Conferences (ILC).

Sen said that the consensus areas were amendment of the Contract Labour Act to ensure same wage and benefits as regular workers for the contract workers, formulation of minimum wage as per recommendation of 15th ILC and Supreme Court directive and recognition of those deployed for anganwadi, mid-day-meal, ASHA and others as workers with attendant rights to statutory minimum wage and social security benefits.

With the Rajasthan government recently initiating changes in labour laws, CITU said that "similar unilateral" action was taken by the state in bringing about bills to amend the Industrial Disputes Act, Factories Act, Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act.

It was done by incorporating atrocious provisions of throwing out large section of industrial establishments and their workers out of the purview of any labour laws besides empowering the employers to retrench and lay-off workers at their will, the CITU said.

He reminded Tomar that in this matter, CITU had drawn his attention to such possibility at Rajasthan during the meeting on June 24 requesting urgent preventive intervention.

CITU said the same unilateralism has also been reflected in the matter of dissolving the industrial tripartite committees in the area of Plantation, Road Transport, Sales Promotion Employees and others without taking any action in reconstituting the same.

"The Cabinet has given its approval (for the amendments). The amendments would be beneficial for the labourers. We expect that it will be tabled in the present session of Parliament," Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said yesterday.