New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) The Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress on Thursday opposed the new labour codes brought by the Modi government, alleging they are anti-labour and demanded their immediate withdrawal.
Addressing a press conference, chairman of the Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress, Udit Raj, said a movement against the labour codes would be launched across the country.
He said on November 22, the unorganised workers had protested at the Shram Shakti Bhawan and demanded that the government immediately withdraw the new Labour Codes.
Claiming that the new labour codes usher in a dangerous trend, the Congress leader alleged that the old labour laws that protected the interests of workers, especially the unorganised workers, have been murdered.
He said 44 crore unorganised workers have been left at the mercy of big corporates and crony capitalists, even as their rights have been curtailed and they cannot go on a strike anymore.
“These four labour codes — Industrial Relations Code-2020, Occupational Safety, Health Code-2020, Social Security Code-2020, Code on Wages, 2019 — are extremely harmful to workers. These codes strip workers of their rights, eliminate job security, and only serve the interests of corporations,” he told reporters.
“We demand that the government immediately withdraw these anti-worker new codes,” he added.
Raj said there used to be strict laws on occupational safety and health in the country, but now the inspection system has been dismantled, and an extremely lax framework has been introduced.
Due to the weakening of the inspection system in the new labour codes, the exploitation of workers will increase, and employers will get exemptions from many legal restrictions, he alleged.
According to the new codes, gig workers have been limited to just registration, and there are no provisions for them under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) or the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Raj said.
“The hire and fire policy has been strengthened, which will cause significant difficulties for unorganised workers and eliminate their job security. In all four labour codes, workers’ rights have been terminated. Now, workers cannot go on strike. This will give impetus to the evil practice of bonded labour,” he said. PTI SKC RHL
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