4 labour codes should be put on hold: Unions
    Date :21-Jan-2021

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Business Bureau :
 
A JOINT platform of 10 central trade unions on Wednesday demanded putting on hold implementation of four labour codes and start fresh discussions in the true spirit of bipartite and tripartite consultations. The statement was issued by the joint forum comprising ten central trade unions -- Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC), Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) and United Trade Union Congress (UTUC).
 
The platform also consists of independent federations and associations. “The Central Trade Unions demanded that all the four codes should be put on hold and then discussions should start with the Central Trade Unions on each of the Labour Code afresh in the true spirit of bipartite and tripartite consultations,” the statement said. “We do not accept this meeting as consultation but a farce to camouflage consultations,” the forum said. In a letter written to Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, the unions also protested against the non-holding of the Indian Labour Conference for the past five years.
 
The Labour Ministry is in the process of finalising rules under the labour codes for implementation of these new laws. The ministry had called a meeting with trade unions and other stakeholders for discussion on codes on social security and occupations safety, health and working conditions (OSH) on Wednesday. The ministry intends to finalise the rules under labour codes by this month end for implementation of these laws. The three labour codes on industrial relations, social security and OSH were passed by Parliament in last Monsoon session. The Codes on Wage was passed in 2019 but its implementation was held back because the ministry wanted to enforce all codes in one go. “The joint platform of Central Trade unions have outright rejected the move of the government to frame Rules on the Labour Codes which were passed in Parliament without any discussion with the Central Trade Unions or in Parliament when all the opposition Members of Parliament were absent as they were on boycott demanding withdrawal of expulsion of some MPs,” the statement said.
 
“Some MPs had even given in writing to the government that the labour codes should not be placed in a hurry and that there is need for serious discussions on such an important matter with trade unions and also inside Parliament which concerns the life of more than 50 crore (500 million) workforce of the country. But the Government went ahead flouting the parliamentary norms and bypassing the tripartite consultation in violation and disregard to the international commitments on international labour standards and the ILO Conventions of which India is signatory,” it said.