'Economic slavery': Congress attacks Centre over draft labour rules,seeks forthwith review

On Monday, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala lashed out at the Centre over the proposed 'The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code(Central) Rules, 2020'. The Union government has published draft rules in exercise of the powers conferred by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and invited suggestions and objections till January 3, 2021. These rules contain the safety, health and working conditions of the workers. According to Surjewala, the Centre had re-introduced a system of "economic slavery" to purportedly benefit "crony capitalists".

He contended that the rules gave an "open license" to oppress the working and manufacturing class. To buttress his point, Surjewala cited Rule 28 which talks about 12-hour shifts for factory workers. Maintaining that this will leave them little time owing to long hours of commuting, he added that this would have a "severe impact" on the physical and mental well-being of the country's working class. Moreover, the Congress communications in-charge expressed concern that 1/3rd of the current workforce- approximately 40,65,000 workers shall be rendered jobless because of the possibility of most industries opting for two shifts instead of the 'three shifts' pattern. 

Read: DMK Leader Writes To Union Labour Minister, Discusses Repercussions Of Banning Crackers

Read: Construction Workers To Avail Welfare Schemes With Door-step Registration: Dy CM Sisodia

Surjewala demands review of rules

In his statement, Surjewala also lamented that the Centre had proposed a long list of exceptions where the worker can be asked to work beyond 12 hours a day. As per Rule 56, the circumstances envisaged include urgent repairs, technical reasons, manufacturing of necessary items, boiler works, unloading of wagons etc. Surjewala contended that this would facilitate the exploitation at the hands of factory owners.

Furthermore, the Congress leader accused the government of forgoing the provision to create a database for migrant workers, which he opined was crucial to protect the interests of crores of migrants. He alleged that this would enable the NDA government to "use and abuse" vulnerable sections without affording them any rights. Stressing on the necessity of creating this database, he recalled that the Centre could not do an assessment of the job losses among migrant workers in the COVID-19 crisis period. Calling for these rules to be kept in animated suspension, Surjewala demanded that they be reviewed in consultation with all stakeholders including the All India Trade Union Congress. 

Read: India To Chair International Labour Organisation Governing Body After 35 Years

Read: Not Possible To Abolish Child Labour Without Ending Poverty: Gehlot