New Delhi: Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has called on the Modi government to immediately implement the Wage Code and Social Security Code—two of the four labour codes yet to be notified more than four years after they were passed by both Houses of Parliament.
The Kendriya Karya Samiti (central executive council) of BMS also demanded that the central government convene the Indian Labour Conference (ILC), highest consultative body of the labour ministry, at the earliest date.
Passed by Parliament between 2019 and 2020, the four labour codes, which codified 44 labour laws, were intended to reform the labour market, facilitate employment generation, give impetus to economic reforms and ensure welfare of unorganised sector workers.
Labour is part of the Concurrent list, which means states and the Centre have to notify the codes separately to make them operational. The Centre has blamed state governments for the delay, though most states have amended their laws to align with the codes.
BMS, the RSS affiliate, has been critical of some provisions of the Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, terming them ‘anti-worker’. It has also argued that these codes would benefit employers rather than safeguarding the interests of the workers. For instance, BMS is apprehensive about the code dealing with industrial disputes, trade unions, and safeguarding against lay-offs, since it allows companies with up to 300 workers to fire employees and close units without prior government approval. Previously, the threshold was 100 workers. Also, the organisation fears that the Industrial Relations Code could curtail the rights of trade unions.
A total of three resolutions were adopted at meetings of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh’s Kendriya Karya Samiti held between August 22 and 24 in Bhopal and chaired by its president Hiranmay Panda.
“The Wage Code and Social Security Code are the historical ones that are more beneficial to ordinary workers. Therefore, BMS continuously insists on immediate implementation. The BMS is opposing many clauses that are against workers’ interests in the Industrial Relations Code and also the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code. Hence, it is opposing these two codes,” BMS said in a statement Monday.
The organisation has requested the government to implement the labour codes in a phased manner, taking the state governments, employers and employees into confidence.
“There should not be any haste in implementing all four labour codes,” it added.
Referring to the Indian Labour Conference (ILC), last held in 2015, it said, “After that, it was not held. The ILC is the highest tripartite body under the labour ministry, which is one of the best contributions of Indian democracy. After 2015, the world of work has undergone significant changes in multiple dimensions. Technology, digital infrastructure, and digital transition have brought about many changes in social life and the economic scenario. There is an urgency to discuss labour issues in this highest decision-making body. The labour ministry should take the initiative and convene the ILC as early as possible.”
BMS has also expressed apprehensions about the Face Recognition system (FRS) introduced by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) under its Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, demanding that the government withdraw its ‘lopsided’ policy. “It has become another tool for harassing Aanganwadi workers by district-level officials,” the organisation has contended. ICDS was launched to prevent fraud and ensure that take-home ration (THR) benefits reach only the intended beneficiaries.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)