RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has said that it will launch a nationwide protest on September 6 against the current NDA government’s reforms, which have led to ‘extreme exploitation and harassment of the labour sector and led to increasing unemployment in the country’, IANS reported.
C.K. Saji Narayanan who is the chief of one of the largest trade unions in the country, said that they would stage protests in all the districts demanding among other things, scrapping of “fixed-term employment”, which he said was “destroying” the labour sector.
“Because of these so-called reforms, contract labour has now become the default model of employment in India. Today 67 per cent of the organised sector workers belong to this category. The trend of contract labour system has increased with the elimination of permanent posts in private and public entities as well as government departments,” Narayanan said.
He said contract labour system had expanded rapidly creating shortage of permanent employees and making it a means of enhancing profit in the public sector.
“We tried reasoning with the Labour Ministry several times but to no avail. The fixed-term employment is not just leading to rapid expansion of contract labour but also resulting in increasing the number of new unemployed youth. Therefore, we have to stand up to face the Himalayan challenge to make contract labour exploitation free,” said Narayanan.
“Incidents in Maruti Udyog at Manesar, Hyundai and Honda industries are vivid examples of the intense labour unrest. There is huge resentment among the entire labour sector. Unless steps are taken to resolve the issues, the situation will only worsen,” said Narayanan.
The BMS said these workers were denied any social security, pension, medical benefits, gratuity and leave. They were being paid one-fourth of a permanent worker’s wage, and were even denied minimum wages especially in the non-scheduled employment.
Regularization of contract labour, amendment of relevant laws to secure “equal pay for similar work” and ensuring that contract workers were paid perks that permanent employees get are on the list of what the BMS wants.
