Trade union says govt causing ‘extreme labour exploitation’

NEW DELHI: The Rss-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will launch a nationwide agitation on Sept 6 against the Modi government’s reforms that it says have led to “extreme exploitation and harassment” of the labour sector and led to increasing unemployment in the country.

CK Saji Narayanan, chief of one of the largest trade unions in the country, said that they would stage protests in all the districts demanding among other things, scrapping of “fixedterm employment”, which he said was “destroying” the labour sector.

“Because of these so-called reforms, contract labour has now become the default model of employment in India. Today 67 per cent of the organised sector workers belong to this category. The trend of contract labour system has increased with the elimination of permanent posts in private and public entities as well as government departments,” Narayanan said.

He said contract labour system had expanded rapidly creating shortage of permanent employees and making it a means of enhancing profit in the public sector.

“We tried reasoning with the Labour Ministry several times but to no avail. The fixed-term employment is not just leading to rapid expansion of contract labour but also resulting in increasing the number of new unemployed youth.

“Therefore, we have to stand up to face the Himalayan challenge to make contract labour exploitation free,” said Narayanan, adding that the Sept 6 nationwide agitation was only the beginning of a long haul fight to address the issue of rampant labour exploitation in the country.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government had first allowed hiring fixed-term workers in 2003. This was scrapped in 2007 by the Congressled UPA in 2007 following intense protests by trade unions.

After coming to power, the Modi government in April 2015 again mooted the concept by issuing draft rules for amending the Industrial Establishment (Standing Order). But the move was deferred following opposition from trade unions.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech this year announced extending the facility of fixed term employment applicable only in the apparel manufacturing sector to all sectors.

The BMS has been vociferous in deriding the government’s labour and economic policies.

The fixed-term employment is not just leading to rapid expansion of contract labour but also resulting in increasing the number of new unemployed youth C K SAJI NARAYANAN BMS leader