New Delhi, July 19: Two opposing views emerged on the Narendra Modi government's stand on labour laws after 21 representatives of trade unions met the Prime Minister and some of his colleagues today.
The interaction took place against the backdrop of a national strike called by the trade unions on September 2 to protest the government's economic policies.
The unions have articulated their stand in a 10-point charter of demands that opposes labour law amendments, foreign direct investments and divestment. The unions are seeking for contract labour the same wages and service conditions that apply to regular employees but the government is reluctant to concede the demand. The unions are also demanding a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 a month across the country, up from Rs 5,000 to Rs 9,000 in various states.
After the hour-long meet with Modi over tea and snacks at his residence, former Bengal MP and Aituc leader Gurudas Dasgupta declared: "Since the government has shown no indication of accepting our demands and there are no tangible results from the meeting, our strike stands."
Virjesh Upadhayay, the general secretary of the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), sounded distinctly pleased and indicated the BMS might have second thoughts on the strike.
"It was a positive, proactive initiative. May be Gurudasji didn't hear what the Prime Minister said but we have been given to understand that there will be more meetings before September 2. So, let us wait," said Upadhayay.
The BMS has emerged as the country's largest union and has been at the vanguard of the significant work stoppages. The stand it adopts will be critical to the success or failure of the September strike.
The Congress-aligned Intuc seemed ambiguous about its eventual decision. Its head G. Sanjeeva Reddy said: "We placed our demands before the PM and (finance minister Arun) Jaitley. The PM will speak tomorrow at the India Labour Conference. May be his speech will answer some of our major concerns. In any case, we are meeting Jaitley again on July 27. So, let us wait and see."
Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said: "There is consensus on the issues of recognition of trade unions, the bonus act and matters related to social security of workers. There is a gap on issues related to contract labour and minimum wages. Discussions are in progress on these issues."
Dasgupta said he had asked Modi why he met the union delegates so "belatedly" in his tenure. "He asked how many times did his predecessors meet me. I persisted and said 'why are you meeting us after a year?' He was silent," Dasgupta said.
An official statement said later: "The Prime Minister heard the views of the trade union leaders on various issues of interest to workers, including in areas related to economic policy, and related laws."
Before the session with Modi, the union representatives met Jaitley and other members of an inter-ministerial group that the Prime Minister had set up in May.
Intuc's Reddy said he got an impression that Jaitley was "willing" to consider some of their demands.
BMS's Upadhayay claimed that when the finance minister briefed Modi about the meeting, he informed the Prime Minister that their demands were "doable and workable".
