Unions assail 'anti-labour exercises'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 3. Major trade unions have labelled the recommendations of the various committees on labour related matters as ``disastrous for the working class and the country's economy.''

An all-India trade union convention has been announced to discuss the recommendations of the Geethakrishnan Committee on expenditure reforms, Rakesh Mohan Committee relating to Railways and the Montek Singh Ahluwalia Committee for Task Force on Employment Opportunity.

The convention would be held here on October 17 to chart out a nationwide joint campaign against retrenchment, downsizing and abrogation of labour rights, besides educating the people and exhorting the working class to take on the fight.

The AITUC, CITU, UTUC, UTUC-LS, TUCC, AICCTU and the HMS have joined hands to voice their opposition to what they describe as ``anti-people exercises.'' ``Conditions of slavery is being sought to be imposed on the working class,'' the union members said in a joint statement issued today.

Explaining the reasons for opposing the committee recommendations, the trade union members said the Geethakrishnan Committee contained prescription for dismantling public services through closure of numerous Government departments besides curtailing various rights and facilities and downsizing the workforce through retrenchment.

The Rakesh Mohan committee recommended virtual privatisation of the Railways, calling for running the sector purely on a commercial basis alongwith drastic pruning of the workforce. The Ahluwalia Committee while dealing on the issue of employment generation has recommended dismantling of all regulatory mechanism in the economy besides prescribing drastic pro-employer changes in all labour laws so as to make retrenchment hurdle-free and allow contractualisation of work.

The members pointed out that the Union Finance Minister in his budget speech had stated the Government's intention to amend the Industrial Disputes Act and Contract Labour Act to make ``hire and fire'' easy by removing the so- called restrictive provisions in the Act. This was followed by the Prime Minister's address to the Indian Labour Conference declaring that amendments to labour laws would be introduced within two months with or without the Labour Minister's concurrence.

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Section  : National
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