Trade unions seek labour minister’s intervention to stop retrenchment of workers, salary cuts

Union labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar.

Ten central trade unions have jointly written to labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar seeking his intervention at the ground level to stop retrenchment of workers and rampant salary cuts.

“Advisory by the government, both the labour ministry and home ministry, is not at all working at ground level to prevent loss of employment and earnings and also eviction from local residence in the process of lock down,” the unions said in a joint statement.

According to the statement, workers across the country are complaining of forced unpaid leave, including from the National Capital Region. despite repeated advisories from the government.

The 10 central trade unions include the INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.

The trade union, had in their letter to PM on March 26, demanded strong statutory enforceable measures to arrest and put a ban on the ongoing spree of retrenchments, wage cut, forced unpaid leave being perpetrated by the employers on the workers, particularly contract, casual, temporary and fixed term workers in various establishments.

Raising the distress of migrant workers, Unions have urged the government to act urgently to rescue them with necessary transport facilities and ensure they are provided with food, shelter, water and required health services, in line with the directions issued by the government.

In view of the ever-growing scale and spread of the problems of these workers particularly migrant workers, we request you to ask the counterparts in ministry of labour in respective states to communicate and coordinate with all the trade unions in their states including formation of trade union committees and issuing valid passes to office bearers of trade unions for addressing the above mentioned issues including their participation in relief work, it said in a statement.

Source: indiatimes.com