Hyderabad, Jul 25 (FN Representative) National Law School of India University, Bengaluru Professor Babu Mathew termed the Union Labour Ministry consolidating 29 central labour laws into four labour codes as ‘anti-worker’. The Labour Ministry have reduced the labour laws to four labour codes—the Code on Wages, the Code on Social Security, the Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational, Safety, Health and Working Condition Code. How could in a country with over 100 years of labour jurisprudence and without tripartite meeting, the labour laws have been reduced to 4 labour codes.
Indian government has gone ahead with the labour codes without calling Indian Labour Conference and is a violation of the Convention 144 of the ILO Standards, he said while delivering his lecture on “What is the inner meaning of the new Labour Laws,” on the 24th day of the month-long AIBEA National Webinars to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of Bank Nationalisation on theme ‘Vibrant Banking for Vibrant India’ and focus ‘people’s money for people’s Welfare’, on Saturday evening. He said there is a lot of information in the public domain about the new labour laws. These are from different stakeholders. The leading stakeholders are the employers and their organisations. Workers and the Governments, both State and Central, are other stakeholders. Many State Governments are going on the wrong track and feudalism is continuously rampant and dominant in India. The electronic and print media is supporting the Government and not the workers or the public, Prof Mathew alleged. We have 150 years of labour jurisprudence in India and that does not mean that all the labour laws have been worker-friendly.
Outright anti-labour ideas have been enacted in all these years that were fought against, he said, adding that it has been an uphill task to get labour laws that secured some rights for the working class due to the fight in all these years. We must remember existing labour laws and its jurisprudence is the collective contribution of workers, trade unions, managements, governments etc. The major contribution to the trade unions through International Labour Organisation is the collective bargaining agreement. AIBEA has secured Bipartite Settlements through collective bargaining. There is a public debate among the historians and academicians that has improved upon the labour jurisprudence. Prof Mathew said India’s labour jurisprudence is extraordinary that started with the Nehruvian era since independence of the country. But, the haste with which the present government is trying to undo the labour law which is tragic, he added. If there is a simplification of labour laws through 4 labour codes, it is wrong. There are over 100 definitions and it is not simplification but only “Complification” if there is such a word that exists in the dictionary.
The Indian Government has given up the national values which belong to the Constitution of India. Constitution of India is an epochal contribution and is a process of India’s independent struggle led by a huge platform of different political background united in one objective to throw the British out. It is the Constitutional Morality that was violated and thrown out with the introduction of these labour codes. These codes replace 29 pieces of labour legislations, he said. The Professor of National Law School of India University said in the banking industry, Article 43 of the Directive Principles of State Policy. “The State shall endeavor to secure to all workers a living wage.” That has been brought out by AIBEA through the XI Bipartite Settlement. But, when banks were started by private industrialists, profit making without adherence to social objective was opposed by AIBEA and demanded Nationalisation of banks. Through the efforts of AIBEA, sectoral trade unionism was achieved, which could not be found anywhere in the country in other sectors. It is not only the nationalisation we demanded and succeeded but it was a long-term demand since 1946 and throughout the 23 years that followed before achieving that demand. It has continued even after that, AIBEA has been highlighting the ills of the banking industry, exposing the bad loans availed by the Corporates and refused to pay. What would happen if those money is recovered especially at this pandemic times? It would have helped the social cause, used the money to help the impoverished, give food to the hungry citizens of the country by giving them rice and cereals, vaccination for the informal workers, subsidized housing for those unfortunate citizens of the country, sanitation, masks in the place of their work and many more. He said the Minimum Wages Act, to notify the minimum wage, we should follow a provision under the said Minimum Wages Act by giving a notice by bringing the sector to a schedule and added that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gives more and more concessions to the industries and it is the supply side incentive but the demand side is not addressed.
Even the Economic Advisors to the Government and Prime Minister have opined that the demand side problem should be addressed. When in this pandemic situation, the common man is not in a position to purchase even the essential commodities, it has not been addressed by the Government, he added. Prof Mathew said fortunately, due to the intervention of International Labour Organisation, the attempts of the Government to remove the cap on working hours of 8 hours, has been stopped. But, there are other ways in the code that can camouflage to increase the 8 hours work but still it is partially stopped by the intervention of ILO. Neo-liberal values of “hire and fire”, bringing back child labour, closing down of an industry etc., have been encouraged by these new labour codes, he said. But, we have to delve deeper into these labour codes and start taking these message to the general public about its ill-advised intention of the Government to support to neo-liberal values of the labour codes and start fighting against these labour legislations in addition to our fight against privatisation of public sector banks and in public sector units, the University Professor asserted.