State level May Day celebrated at Parwanoo
“The contract labour in HP industries was a worrying factor. The state government decision to make it compulsory for units to prepare identity cards of workers was mere an eye wash.†This was stated by Mr. Dipankar Mukherjee, the national secretary of CITU at Parwanoo while addressing the huge gathering of industrial workers during May Day celebration today.
Mr. Mukherjee said that the BJP government in state was making mockery of workers’ class. Despite deciding to enhance the minimum wages of workers the notification to this effect was still pending, he pointed out. The decision to enhance the wages was taken from the start of this year. Now we were in almost midway of year but yet there was no near hope of issuing the notification, maintained Mr. Mukherjee.
He said, as per Minimum Wage Board norms, an ITI holder was supposed to fall under skilled labour category but here in Himachal the degree holders were forced to work as semi skilled labours with wages even lower than the prescribed under minimum wages, he asserted.
The thousands of labourers were employed as daily wagers in various units with no record of employment. The labourers were being forced to work as per employers’ wishes with nobody care of labour norms, he said.
He said the new units set up in state after the announcement of industrial package were primary accused of making mockery of labour laws meant to check the exploitation of workers. This has, in fact annulled the positive impact of industrial growth in state, he remarked. The section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, prohibits the employment of labour through contact in manufacturing units. However in actual, law implementation was not being done practically. It was the employers – law makers’ nexus eroding workers welfare to large extent, alleged
Mr.Mukherjee.
Speaking during occasion, Mr. Ravinder Kumar the President of HP CITU said that the Labour Department was acting like a mute spectator and entrepreneurs were making maximum benefit of it. Moreover the wages of hired workers were quite low as compared to the applicable minimum wages. The workers were fired at employers’ will. Ironically the workers routed through contractors were unaware of their actual employers, said Mr. Kumar.
Meanwhile in its district level May Day function celebrated as Adhikaar Diwas at Baddi, the AITUC has lashed down heavily on Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal led sate government for its anti labour policies. Mr. Jagdish Bhardwaj addressing a huge gathering of workers has warned the government to pay serious thinking towards labour welfare.
