Chennai: Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled steps for labour reforms aimed at ending inspector raj in the sector. A few weeks ago, the Central cabinet cleared proposals to amend the country’s labour laws. Government cleared 54 amendments to the 1948 Factories’ Act, 1961 Apprenticeship Act and 1988 Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act. While these changes and reforms were being worked out, 110 trainee workers of Nissan factory in Oragadam on the outskirts of Chennai, were protesting against the management for firing them. Another set of workers was collecting final dues as the Nokia factory in the state closed shop.
In both cases the workers lost out to management rules, something that the new reforms claim will not happen. Not everyone is convinced.
Twenty eight-year-old M. Hari, is one of them. From Cuttack in Orissa, Hari spent five years at the Nissan factory before he was asked to leave. “They pay me '7,500 a month,” he said during a recent one-day hunger strike in Chennai. “It has been the same for years despite requests.” Like him, many other “trainees” were sacked last September when they approached the management for better pay and wanted to know the reason for periodical removal of their fellow workers on ‘unclear’ grounds.
Senior advocates in the Madras high court and trade union leaders express the same concerns over government’s move. According to them, the amendments were introduced to appease industries, corporates and multinational corporations as against the interests of workers and to bring in more FDI.
A. Soundararajan, state president, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said that for the past four decades, various governments have tried to amend these laws in favour of managements. They had failed but since the BJP has a majority in Parliament, it has decided to go ahead with reforms in the guise of assisting workers.
Senior advocate R.Y. George Williams said that the country cannot achieve economic development by reducing workers to virtual serfdom. It is not correct to say that easing social protection and rights of workers would attract investments and create jobs. That would mean that the countries with the lowest wages and without any protective labour legislation would attract the most investments. In fact, it is the opposite, he said.
Talking about the impending closure of Nokia, Soundararajan said that the Central Government was more worried about receiving tax and not interested in the plight of workers. Over 8,000 workers opted for VRS and over 1000 more living in the fear of dismissal soon. The lives of over 30,000 workers, including those in its ancillary units, would be jeopardized due to the closure of the cell phone major.
There are concerns about women being included in night shifts, increase in overtime and the perceived hire and fire policy. As per the new provisions, the employer will pay only the retrenchment compensation and throw workers out.
Over the years, the public and private sectors prefer hiring contract or temporary workers to avoid dealing with permanent workers and trade unions. Even though this violates the provisions of labour laws, there has not been even minimum supervision from government. Soundararajan said that the Navaratna public sector, the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, for example, has over 11,000 permanent workers and 13,000 contract workers. Despite a Supreme Court direction, NLC has refused to enlist senior contract workers as permanent workers.
General secretary, Labour Law Practioners’ Association, Madras high court, K. M. Ramesh, who has been practicing labour laws for 34 years, said the proposed amendments would not benefit workers. In turn, it will fulfill the needs of the managements to extract more work from the labourers without payment of any extra remuneration and will enhance their profit
Ramesh said that any change in labor laws would have to widen the contours of industrial democracy in the country and improve the working and living conditions of workers.
