The Hindu : Make labour panel report public: AITUC

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Wednesday, Jul 03, 2002

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Make labour panel report public: AITUC

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 2. The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) today demanded that the report of the Second National Labour Commission, submitted to the Prime Minister on Saturday, be made public immediately and the trade union organisations be consulted before taking any decision.

In a statement, Gurudas Dasgupta, general secretary of the AITUC, accused the Government of carrying on the process of deliberation on amendment of labour laws secretly and behind the backs of the trade unions.

He called upon the working class to rise to the occasion and build up resistance against changes that would do immense harm to their interests.

He said a joint meeting of the Central trade unions would be held here on July 15 to chalk out a strategy to pressure the Government to give up its `anti-labour' and `anti-people' policies. This would be the first time that all trade unions collectively take stock of the situation and decide on the future course of action.

It was curious that the report had not been made public. Even the Central trade unions, which had no representation on the Commission, had been kept in the dark. No copy had been made available to these organisations, he said.

Noting that the Commission had recommended dilution of the Industrial Dispute Act by suggesting that establishments employing up to 300 workers need not go to the Government for permission to resort to closure, layoff or retrenchment, he said, "we apprehend that the overwhelming majority of the workers in the organised sector in the country, not to speak of the unorganised, would be left out of any legislative protection and be at the mercy of the corporate managements, who have been deliberately following a policy of hire and fire to pass on the entire burden of recession on the working class.''

He said the Commission had sought to legitimise contractualisation.

It had also recommended the extension of normal daily duty by one hour without any corresponding rise in the payment of wages paving the way for intensification of the exploitation of the labour.

Similarly, the number of paid holidays for the workers was also sought to be reduced and strikes virtually banned.

This was yet another move at the behest of employers to mount further attacks on workers and employers, Mr. Dasgupta alleged.

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