Will labour codes help?

Apropos of ‘New labour codes’; facilities like minimum and timely wages, formal appointment letter, etc. look good on paper but implementation, especially in small units, remains a distant dream. Earlier, if more than 100 employees were working in a factory, government approval was necessary. Now this number has been increased to 300. If there are less than 300 workers, the government’s approval will not be necessary to close it. The employer will have the right to fire employees at any time. Now companies can convert permanent jobs to fixed term contracts. It is a provision that caters to companies and is not in the employees’ interest. The working hours in factories have been increased from nine to 12 hours and in shops and establishments from nine to 10 hours. Trade unions will lose their relevance, as their membership base will be depleted due to workers being employed on contract. These laws will transform the country’s economy into a gig economy and will completely eliminate permanence in jobs.

VK Gupta, Chandigarh

Real test in delivering on ground

Apropos of ‘New labour codes’; the Centre’s attempt to consolidate 29 archaic labour laws into four streamlined codes is a welcome move in principle. The real test lies not in drafting, but in delivery. These reforms risk becoming paper promises. Many small enterprises still operate in informal settings, and unless compliance mechanisms are simplified and sensitively enforced, the gap between law and lived reality will persist. Reform does not necessarily mean rewriting rules — it’s about rebuilding relationships between labour, industry and the state.

Avinashiappan Myilsami, Coimbatore

Need to rebuild public trust

Apropos of ‘Chandigarh row’; the Central government’s move to bring Chandigarh within the ambit of Article 240 of the Constitution is fundamentally flawed. The proposed Constitutional Amendment (131st), would bring Chandigarh under the President who would directly issue notifications, like in other UTs like Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep, which do not have their own legislatures. How and why did such a misconceived idea emerge is the question. The Centre should abandon this unilateralism at the earliest in order to rebuild public trust in the border state of Punjab.

Raj Kumar Goyal, Patiala

Centre’s misadventures

With reference to ‘Chandigarh row’; the sudden decision and the equally swift deference by the Central government to impose Article 240 is baffling. The BJP has not learnt from its mistakes when the new farm laws were implemented without due discussions with the stakeholders. Eventually, the laws had to be repealed only after a prolonged agitation resulting in deaths of about 750 farmers. Recently, the Centre tried to restructure the Panjab University which again led to widespread criticism and that decision too had to be taken back. Now, trying to take control of Chandigarh is another misadventure. The move has further eroded the trust between the Centre and Punjab.

Yash Khetarpal , Panchkula

BLOs at receiving end

The ongoing work of special intensive revision of electoral roles is going on at full throttle. The well-intentioned move sans adequate ground work is sadly taking a toll on block level officers, some are dying by suicide while some have developed stress-related issues. The dismal picture must be reversed by training and sensitising the staff, besides being empathetic. Giving unachievable targets to government employees who are not trained for these jobs is asking for too much and can affect them adversely.

Bakhshi Gurprit Singh, Jalandhar

Dharam played common man roles

Legendary film star Dharmendra has left behind a legacy that defined the golden age of Indian cinema. He made his debut in 1960 with Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere and started his career by playing common man roles in the 1960s in films like Anpadh, Bandini, Anupama and Aaya Sawan Jhoom Ke. He would have turned 90 on Dec ember 8. He was an actor par excellence who was proudly and deeply rooted in Punjab.

Ramesh Gupta, Narwana