Labour unions reject Centre's sops, to go ahead with September 2 strike

Sops include social security benefits to 95 lakh anganwadi workers, revising the minimum wage for workers and a hike in the minimum monthly pension to Rs. 2,000 from Rs. 1,000

A section of labour unions on Tuesday rejected a slew of sops proposed by the union government even before they were formally announced, and making the specter of a nationwide, multi-union strike a very real possibility.

The Centre was expected to announce pro-labour measures later Tuesday in order to pacify the trade unions ahead of the planned mega strike on Friday, September 2.
 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley along with labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya , Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan are expected to announce the sops later today.
 

Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and briefed him about the steps the government is planning to avert the strike.
 

Among various proposals, the government is planning to provide social security benefits to 95 lakh anganwadi workers, revising the minimum wage for the organised and unorganised workers and considering a hike in the minimum monthly pension to Rs. 2,000 from Rs. 1,000.
 

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s trade union Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh has almost made it clear that they are willing to opt out of the strike as the government has accepted many of the points from the charter of demands.
 

The other central trade unions led by CITU and INTUC said that they will meet depending on the government’s decision and take a final decision tomorrow. “ We will hold a collective meeting and decide by tomorrow, let’s first see what the government announces,” said DL Sachdeva, secretary , All-India Trade Union Congress 
 

The unions’ charter of demands, includes hiking of minimum wages, providing social security to scheme workers, and speedy registration of trade unions. They have also opposed the government’s proposed labour law reforms.
 

According to reports, The government’s effort to dissuade 10 central trade unions (CTUs) from going ahead with the September 2 strike did not succeed on Monday as the minimum wage advisory board (MWAB) meeting remained inconclusive.