No ordinance to amend labour laws: Gangwar

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 6

Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Wednesday scotched speculations about the amendment to labour laws through an ordinance, saying the Centre has no such plans.   

Centre has no plans to promulgate an ordinance to ring in amendments to the labour laws, including increasing the present statutory working hours of workers, the minister told the representatives of 12 central trade unions during a meeting held through an Internet link.  

Gangwar underlined that the proposed amendments to the laws would be actualised only through the legislative route.

The government has set in motion to merge and rationalise all the 44 laws into four ‘Labour Codes’ to be passed by the Parliament.

Out of the four related Bills introduced in the Parliament, only the related ‘Payment of Wages Code’ has been passed, and enacted into a law.

Speculation was rife that the government would take the ordinance route to amend the laws as reform measure to make them investor-friendly to kick-start investment and industrialisation which has taken a hit due recession and the lockdown. 

BMS president C Saji Narayanan, who took part in the discussion, said: “The minister also categorically said that the stranded migrant workers returning to their home states under duress of the lockdown, and rendered jobless, cannot be made to pay for their railway journey.”

“The onous of the travel cost is jointly on the Union Government and the state governments. I will look into the complaints,” Narayanan quoted Gangwar as saying to the union leaders.

During the discussion, Gangwar also informed that the government would welcome any suggestion from the unions regarding the welfare of workers.

The government is pro-active and progressively taking measures to ameliorate the lot of workers affected by the lockdown, said the minister.

This was the first meeting of Gangwar with the union leaders post the lockdown.

Representatives of INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS and TUCC also participated in the discussion.

Notably, INTUC, which is affiliated to the Congress, was invited to the event by the Labour Ministry after a long interregnum. This was one of the flashpoints for the Left-leaning and other unions opposed to the BJP against the Union Government.

During the discussion, AITUC and CITU representatives alleged that the government had betrayed the workers by leaving them in lurch – jobless and without money to starve. 

The BMS demanded, among others, framing of a National Register of Migrant Workers and formulation of a National Policy on them.

BMS representative also demanded arrangement of transportation for workers at factory units when they start resumption of their operations.