RSS-affiliate BMS, Left trade unions oppose govt move on fixed-term employment

Ravi S. Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 21

RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and Left-leaning trade unions on Wednesday slammed the government for extending fixed-term employment to all industrial sectors, dubbing the move as anti-labour, which would legalise hire and fire at workplaces. Also, this will extinguish avenues of permanent jobs, they claimed.

The fixed-term facility was earlier applicable to made-up, apparel and food processing sectors.

BMS president Saji Narayanan said: “Government should immediately withdraw the controversial new notification on ‘fixed-term employment’ which extends it to all employments in the country. The change in the rule is on account of pressure of powerful industrial lobby.”

CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP and CITU head Tapan Sein said move to bring all sectors in the ambit of fixed employment facility was part of government’s “ill-conceived design” to wipe out permanent and secure jobs.

“It is a move to weaken the trade union movement in the country, but the government will fail in its design, and have to pay a price for it,” Sein said.

AITUC chief Amarjeet Kaur echoed similar views and asked the government to rescind the notification forthwith. 

Narayanan said on account of the notification that amends the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946, permanent employment will empower employers to ignore present norms guiding retrenchment, even of contractual workers.

Finance Minister violated the ILO convention 144 on Trade Union Consultation, which was ratified by the Indian Parliament, when he unilaterally declared that the fixed term employment will be implemented, he said.

The BMS alleged that government has unilaterally decided to ring in the amendment to Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946, vide an executive order, without the matter being referred to Parliament or being subjected to the scrutiny of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour.

It added that the idea of ushering “ease of doing business” behind the move will degenerate to “ease of closing business”. Dwelling on the issue, it said the UPA government had rolled back the controversial amendment brought in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2003.