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.
India News