ON November 20, the central trade unions – INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC – have written to Santosh Gangwar, minister of labour and employment regarding the tripartite meeting on Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions 2018.    

The central trade unions said, “Just about 16.02 hours on November 20, 2018, we have received an e-mail from the labour ministry about sending a letter signed by J K Singh, under secretary, dated November 9, 2018 conveying on the tripartite consultation meeting on the above subject on November 22, 2018 at your office.

“Please note, the letter dated November 9, 2018 has reached us on November 20, 2018 proposing the tripartite meeting to be held on November 22, 2018, that too on a subject which proposed to amend 13 different laws covering wide range of industries and services.

“We are constrained to convey to you that the tripartite consultation exercise with the stakeholders has been practically reduced to a ritualism, which the central trade unions cannot put up with. Secondly, we express our strong opposition to the very concept of amendment of 13 different laws together covering divergent areas and occupations, both in industries and services, on a serious issue of occupational health and safety, which is different in different industries within the industrial sector itself and also in the service sector.

The central trade unions have made it clear that it will not be possible for them to respond to the ministry’s call for tripartite consultation on a seventy page voluminous draft with such a short notice of less than one and half day.

They also said that despite repeated communications and protest, it appears the biggest trade union centre of the country, INTUC has not been invited to this proposed meeting also, and the central trade unions cannot accept such discriminatory and vindictive approach of the government.

For the reasons cited above, the CTUs reiterated that they will not be attending the proposed meeting on November 22, 2018.