New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's budget proposal to introduce system of 'fixed-term employment' in all sectors of the industry has already got trade unions up in arms.
Several trade unions, including RSS affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), are planning mass demonstrations starting on Friday as they feel this is a policy to easily fire workers and is against laid out procedures and international labour norms.
"Government has introduced this policy without consulting workers' unions, without any talks or consultations at all. Such a policy can only be passed through a tri-partite agreement between factory owners, unions and government. So we have decided to go on mass, nationwide protests from Friday," said BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay.
He added that just by introducing this policy, the government has started a vicious cycle of workers being fired en-masse.
"Such a policy will ensure that there is no job security, no loyalty, it will ensure that there is uncertainty in the minds of workers, and all this will ultimately affect their work and lead them towards a layoff," he said.
Vivek Monteiro, Secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said that by having introduced such a policy, the government has played a gamble; that it should now “prepare for heavy resistance” which will pave way for “disruption of economy."
Attacking the very idea of introducing such a policy in Parliament without consultations, Monteiro said, "This is illegal. Rights of workers under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 cannot be set aside by a statement made by a Finance Minister in a budget speech. Unions will not allow industrial dispute act to be amended without their consent. Government should prepare for heavy resistance by all trade unions which will lead to disruption of economy."
Fixed term employment policy has been fiercely opposed by trade unions across the country because it allows industries to employ workers for short assignments and terminate their services once the projects are completed.
The government has been pushing the policy claiming that it is a "win-win" policy for both the worker and the industrial unit because the policy gives the workers hired on fixed term employment the same benefits, same working hours, wages, and allowances as people employment on permanent basis get.
A previous NDA government had, in 2003, tried to amend the existing labour laws to allow such a policy to be introduced. However, subsequent UPA governments scrapped all such amendments.
VS Giri, national secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) said that having tasted failure on this front earlier, the present government wanted to re-introduce the amendments through a "back-door".
Giri said that nobody from the present government has spoken to the trade unions about amending the existing labour laws.
"They cannot amend the labour laws without discussing it. Jaitley, by mentioning it in the Parliament without consulting it with trade unions has gone against the Parliamentary system. He has also gone against international labour laws codified under UN's ILO. We will fight this tooth and nail. We will come out on road and agitate throughout the country," he concluded.
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