BMS asks PM to advise Rajasthan govt not to act in haste on labour reforms

Warns of strain in industrial relations if trade unions not consulted

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), a trade union affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise Rajasthan’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government not to act in haste on its proposed amendments to some labour laws.

In a letter to the PM dated June 18, BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay asked Modi’s to advise Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to not to move ahead with the proposed amendments without taking labour unions into confidence. He said failure to take labour unions along might lead to “otherwise avoidable strain in industrial relations” that might “not serve the interests of either side”.

The BMS leader also implored Modi to advise the Rajasthan CM “not to make any such statement, which might cause anxiety and frustration among the nation building workers and trade unions of this country”.

Upadhyay hoped Modi would pay heed to BMS’ request to not move “hastily and unilaterally” to reform labour laws.

Upadhyay stated the “clamour” for change in labour laws, including easier hire and fire of workers, was unfounded and caused “avoidable road blocks to the goal of achieving development with a human face”. He said the real constraint to industrial growth in India weren’t labour laws but lack of a competitive business environment and enforcement of sundry laws that lead to “corruption, confusion and slowness”. He congratulated Modi for raising the hopes of millions of Indian workers for their better future.

The Rajasthan government has proposed to dilute the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, the Factories Act of 1948 and the Contract Labour Act of 1970.

The Industrial Disputes Act warrants that an establishment cannot retrench more than 100 employees without the state government’s permission. The Rajasthan cabinet’s amendment has sought to increase this to 300 employees.