COVID-19: Labour laws diluted as states seek to revive economy

A clutch of states in the country is in an aggressive rush to ease labour laws to help COVID-19 lockdown-battered industry, including increasing working hours from eight hours to 12 hours, even as the Opposition and trade unions vowed to stop "such naked savagery" using the "pretext" of a pandemic.

BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have taken steps to exempt a business from the purview of labour laws barring a few while Congress-led Rajasthan has increased the threshold for establishments for lay-offs from 100 to 300 employees, attracting criticism even from RSS-affiliated trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).

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The decisions of various states could result in an increase in working hours as well as have an impact on contractual labourers, right to organise and form trade unions, settling industrial disputes and occupational safety, health and working conditions of workers for a specific period.

On Friday, leaders of seven political parties, including CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, his CPI counterpart D Raja and senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha, shot off a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention to nullify the moves by states at a time the country is witnessing the "most inhuman tragic dimensions of the plight" of the migrant workers since the lockdown was announced.

Gujarat was the latest to join the bandwagon exempting all new units from labour laws with a condition that such units should operate for 1,200 days. But this will not impact laws related to minimum wages, safety and compensation related to accidents.

Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh said it has approved an ordinance 'UP Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance 2020' that exempts all establishments, factories and businesses from the purview of all but four labour laws for a period of three years. The Building and Other Construction Workers Act 1996, Workmen Compensation Act 1923, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 and Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act 1936 as well as provisions related to women and children will continue.

A UP government statement said, "businesses and economic activities came to a halt more or less due to the lockdown. To bring economic activity back on track, new investment opportunities would need to be created along with fastening the businesses processes and productivity."

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In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said all labour laws barring some sections of the Factories Act 1948 would be suspended for 1,000 days. A decision to this effect was taken on Tuesday.

Officials said all existing factories hiring up to 40 workers will not have to follow any occupational, health and safety norms while labour laws will be diluted for new units to be set up in next 1,000 days.

These states will be bringing in ordinances for diluting labour laws but will need President's assent as labour is in the concurrent list of Constitution.

Rajasthan has also increased the threshold of membership of trade union from 15% t 30% to recognise a union in an establishment.

Opposing the proposals by several states, the CPI(M)-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) accused the Centre of using "complaint states" to go ahead with a "cruel exercise".

It said the Gujarat government actually "pioneered to unilaterally expand daily-working hours from eight to 12 hours without lawful compensation" while Haryana and MP followed suit.

The CITU said states like Maharashtra, Tripura, Punjab and Rajasthan are reportedly following suit.