DMK Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi Siva on Monday urged the Centre to repeal the four labour codes or prepare for nationwide protests along the lines of the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation that forced the government to withdraw three contentious agricultural laws.

Siva’s warning coincided with a media conference by 10 central trade unions that said the call for a nationwide general strike on February 12 against the labour laws passed in 2019 and 2020 was on course, and not less than 30 crore workers were expected to join the protest.

The government has consolidated 29 central labour laws into four codes — Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations (IR) Code, the Social Security (SS) Code and the Occupational Safety, Health
and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code.

The codes were brought into effect in November last year, but the Centre is yet to notify the rules. Labour being on the concurrent list, states are also required to frame rules and notify them.

Siva said the labour codes were passed during the Covid-19 pandemic without a detailed discussion.

“Any law without taking into consideration the concerns of states cannot be implemented. Central trade unions are protesting against these codes. Except
BJP-ruled states, others have not agreed to frame rules because these are against the safety and welfare of labourers,” he said.

Siva said there was virtually no law to protect the labourers at present as these codes could not be implemented without the framing of
the rules.

The absence of the Industrial Disputes Act and the Factories Act has plunged various businesses into severe distress, he claimed.

“I urge the government to repeal the four codes, convene the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) and re-draft the rules. Otherwise, there will be protests in the same way the farm laws were opposed,” Siva said.

Members from other Opposition parties agreed with the concerns flagged by Siva.

At the media conference addressed by trade union leaders, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Amarjeet Kaur said the general strike was the beginning of a series of agitations against the “anti-worker” laws.

The trade unions are also upset over the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the
proposed seeds bill that will enable multi-national companies to sell seeds to Indian farmers.

“The labour codes have been brought in the name of ease of business. They will push the working class into slavery. Workers across the country are agitated. There will be a massive strike on February 12,” Kaur said.

The unions find the provision permitting firms employing up to 300 people to fire workers without the need for state government approval problematic. At present, this provision applies to small firms with 100 or fewer workers.

The new wage code provides a “floor-level wage” that is already below the legally enforceable minimum wage in most states.

The OSHWC code exempts labour contractors engaging up to 50 workers from its ambit. The SS code provides for social security measures, but does not clearly mention the financial obligation of the central government.

RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which has expressed reservations about some provisions in the IR and OSHWC codes, is not supporting the strike.