Labour laws amendments: CITU slams govt's 'unilateralism'

A day after the Union Cabinet cleared amendments to three labour laws, CITU today protested against the government's "unilateralism", saying it "seriously undermines the basic principle of bipartism as well as tripartism".
The Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has urged Union Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to intervene in the matter.
"Unfortunately despite your concrete assurance for prior consultation with trade unions, unilateral moves are being taken by the government in the matter of amendments of labour laws...
"We convey our emphatic protest against such unilateralism, which also seriously undermine the basic principle of bipartism as well as tripartism," CITU general secretary Tapan Sen said in a letter to Tomar today.

The Union Cabinet has cleared amendments to the Factories Act, the Apprentices Act and the Labour Laws (exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining registers by certain establishments) to make them more compatible and beneficial for labourers and employers.
"I request you to please appreciate the gravity of the issue and the inconsistency and impropriety being indulged in by the government by such unilateralism in bringing about anti-worker changes in labour laws," Sen said in the letter.

"I urge upon you to intervene so that the government refrains from such unilateral action in the matter of anti-worker amendments of labour laws, rather initiative is expedited to implement the consensus decisions arrived at bipartite and tripartite level," he said.

Reminding the minister about his meeting with central trade unions on June 24 this year, he said that all the unions had demanded detailed and prior consultation with the them on the matter before finalisation of any proposal of amendments to labour laws.
He said that despite the minister's assurance to CITU during the meeting, no such consultation has yet taken place reflecting an "undemocratic unilateralism" on the part of the government in the matter.