IN a letter to union minister of labour and employment Narendra Singh Tomar, CITU general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Tapan Sen has condemned the government’s unilateral move to amend various labour laws including The Factories Act, The Apprenticeship Act, and The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns & Maintenance of Registers by Certain Establishments) Amendment Bill. Tapan Sen said the government’s unilateralism, in bringing a number of bills for amendment of various labour laws, “seriously undermine the basic principle of bipartism as well as tripartism”, and sought the union minister’s intervention so that the government refrains from such unilateral action. The CITU leader reminded the minister of his assurance to central trade unions, at a meeting on June 24, that said prior consultations would be held before finalisation of any proposal for amendment of labour laws that directly affects or has effects on the workers. “But no such consultation has yet taken place reflecting an undemocratic unilateralism on the part of the government in the matter,” he said. “Same unilateralism has also been reflected in the matter of dissolving the industrial tripartite committees in the area of plantation, road transport, sales promotion employees etc without taking any action in reconstituting the same.” “I like to draw your kind attention to similar unilateral action on the part of the government of Rajasthan in bringing about bills to amend the Industrial Disputes Act, Factories Act, Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act etc incorporating atrocious provisions of throwing out large sections of industrial establishments and their workers out of the purview of any labour laws, besides empowering the employers to retrench and lay-off workers at their will. In this matter also we did draw your attention to such possibility at Rajasthan in the meeting on June 24, 2014 requesting your urgent preventive intervention,” Sen said. “Unfortunately despite your concrete assurance for prior consultation with trade unions, unilateral moves are being taken by the government in the matter of amendment of labour laws and we convey our emphatic protest against such unilateralism… You may also please note, similar protests by workers are taking part in various places in the country,” he wrote. It is also distressing to note that the government is moving ahead unilaterally to amend labour laws, certain areas of which have been opposed by trade unions both in content and methods, without striving for consensus, he said. “On the other hand, no action is being taken to implement recommendations on labour law amendments and policy decisions on which there have been consensus at the bipartite and tripartite level including in successive Indian Labour Conferences. Those consensus areas for obligatory action by the government are: Amendment of Contract Labour Act to ensure same wage and benefits as regular workers for the contract workers in any establishment; Formulation of minimum wage as per recommendation of 15th ILC together with relevant Supreme Court directive; And recognition of those deployed for execution of various central government schemes viz., anganwadi, mid-day-meal, ASHA, sarv-shiksha abhiyan, National Child Labour Projects etc as workers with attendant rights to statutory minimum wage and social security benefits.” “Are those areas of consensus being ignored since they are benefiting the workers?” Tapan Sen asked, and requested the minister to appreciate the gravity of the issue and intervene so that the government refrains from such unilateral action in the matter of anti-worker moves to amend labour laws.