THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has opposed the proposed amendment to the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946, which aims at introducing “fixed term employment” with the unfettered right of the employer to retrench without notice and compensation, and appealed to the government to withdraw the proposal.
In a letter to Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on June 9, CITU General Secretary Tapan Sen said, “It is really shocking because, the Ministry could silently issue the notification without consulting the Central Trade Unions and asking their opinion on such proposal having a serious bearing on the working conditions and job security of the industrial workers, before bringing it in public domain. This is gross violation of the basic norm of tripartism and CITU hereby lodges its protest against such violation.”
The Labour Ministry issued the notification on April 29 publishing draft rules to amend the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules 1946, inviting suggestions/objections within 45 days.
“You may please recall that before and after April 29 there had been number of meetings between the Labour Ministry and the Central Trade Unions on various issues including on labour law amendments, wherein all officials including the Labour Secretary, Joint Secretary (Labour) and also sometimes yourself as Labour Minister were present. But at no point of time, the representatives of Central Trade Unions were ever conveyed about such retrograde proposal of the government for reintroducing ‘fixed term employment’ through amending the central rules under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act,” Sen wrote.
The CITU leader reminded the minister that the same provision for fixed term employment had been introduced in 2003 but the government had to withdraw it following widespread protests by the trade unions across the country.
“Again the same rescinded notification on imposing conditions of bonded labour on industrial workers is being sought to be brought back through the present proposal,” Sen said, “CITU records its emphatic protest against the very modality adopted by the Ministry for bypassing trade unions while pushing through retrograde changes in employment conditions through executive order.”