Labour panel opposes hire-and-fire policy

NEW DELHI: The government should only consider hiking the employee ceiling limit for purposes of retrenchment and sacking without permission from the State under the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) from the cuurrent 100 to 200 or 300— the Second National Commission on Labour has held.
The Commission has also registered its opposition to amendments in the contract labour law in order to tailor it specially to SEZs etc, suggesting a holistic approach instead. Mooting this proposal on the lines of the Maharashtra model, the Commission has opposed hiking the ceiling for units from the existing 100 employees to 1000 employees as proposed by the finance ministry, for purposes of closing down or sacking workers without prior notice to the State.
Despite this, there is already strong indication that even the softened position of the Commission on labour law reforms may not be swallowed without a fight by trade unions. The Sangh parivar affiliated Bharitiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) today gave a note of dissent on various key subjects including retrenchment, layoff and closure of industrial units without prior notice, as well proposals to relax contract labour laws in order to suit special economic zones. .
The Commission, echoing trade unions, has pointed out that would bring almost 90 per cent of industrial sector under the ambit of the IDA and lead to widespread misuse of the Act, to the acute disadvantage of employees. The report of the Commission has categorically registered its objections to the “in principle� okay for amendments to the IDA given by the Union Cabinet. It holds that in the absence of an adequate judicial redressal avenues and a sound social security net, arbitrarty hire and fire of employees should not be considered by the government. It may be recalled that the Cabinet’s decision came in for sharp criticism not just from the Opposition and their affiliate trade unions, but also the BMS.