Roll back labour codes: Trade unions

Hundreds of workers associated with the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), along with members of Himachal Kisan Sabha, today held a protest rally here against the Centre and demanded the rollback of the four labour codes that have been introduced by the government.

Similar protests were held across the state.

Vijender Mehra, state president, CITU, said the protest was a strong response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government’s policies, especially its neo-liberal policies. He said with the implementation of the new labour codes, around 70% of industries and 74% of workers would be excluded from labour laws. Mehra said with these protests, workers demanded a minimum monthly wage of Rs 26,000, permanent employment for scheme workers, outsourced, contract, multitask, temporary, and casual workers, an increase in the MGNREGA budget and access to benefits from the Labour Welfare Board.

“Also, farmers are demanding relief from debt, legal guarantee of Minimum Support Prices (MSP), implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, protection against eviction from land and homes, fair compensation for land acquired under four-lane projects, and 80% local employment in development work,” he said.

Protest in Hamirpur too

Hamirpur, July 9

Workers from across the district today staged a protest, under the banner of CITU, against new labour laws being introduced by the Union Government, at Gandhi Chowk here.

Addressing the protesters, Kashmir Singh Thakur, national secretary of CITU, said the Modi government was going to implement four new labour codes by abolishing the labour laws. He said the existing laws were enacted after long struggles and sacrifices and new laws would only benefit corporate houses. He said that provisions are made to enslave the workers across the country. He said there was a provision to increase the working hours from eight to 12 hours a day that would amount to exploitation of labour class.

Thakur said 70 per cent of the workers of the country would be deprived of legal protections due to new labour codes. He said that even the right of workers to constitute unions and raise their voice against exploitation would be abolished. Thakur said the restrictions on strike and provision for punishment and imprisonment would add to the plight of labour class. He said that Modi government was doing all this to allow corporate houses loot natural resources. — OC

Himachal Tribune