Trade unions urge Centre to scrap four labour codes, convene conference

Write to labour minister Bhupender Yadav stating that the codes curtail the rights and protective provisions contained in existing statutes, impose more derogatory working conditions on workers

Ten central trade unions, barring the RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), have urged the Union government to scrap the four labour codes, as they curtail the rights and protective provisions contained in the existing statutes among other things, in a joint letter to the Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday.

“The Labour Codes impose more derogatory working conditions on the workers and almost open-endedly empower the Govts and employers to further curtail labour rights and benefits arbitrarily at their whims and fancies. Suspension of labour laws by certain State Governments has not shown any economic gains either”, the letter says.

Besides, the central unions also urged the government to convene the tripartite Indian Labour Conference (ILC) consisting of the representatives of the government, employers and employees at the earliest, as the last ILC - i.e., the 46th session of the forum was last held in July 2015.

“ILC has not been held during the last seven years, although it is binding on the Government to hold it at least once every year. We urge you (minister) to ensure that it is convened at the earliest”, the letter reads.

Besides, the unions have also sought the government's intervention on the issue of raising the minimum pension under the Employee's Pension Scheme, 1995 and put in place a universal pension scheme for the unorganised sector as the contributory New Pension Scheme has failed to ensure the pension rights of the unorganised sector.

The decision to draw the government's attention towards stopping the move to privatise the public sector undertakings, scrapping of the national monetisation pipeline scheme among other things was taken at the meeting of the joint platform of trade unions and independent federations and associations held last month in the capital.

Tapan Sen, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) told Business Standard, “Earlier, all the central trade unions in one to one meeting have reiterated these demands to the government and we urge the minister to take action on the issues drawn in the joint letter.”