Four anti-labour codes should be abolished: CITU

On the call of CITU State Committee Himachal Pradesh, huge demonstrations were held in district and block headquarters against the anti-labor, farmer, employee and public policies of the Modi government at the Center and for the demands of laborers and project workers. Thousands of laborers and project workers participated in the demonstrations held across the state. Hundreds of people participated in the demonstration held at the DC office in Shimla. Those who took part in the demonstration were Vijendra Mehra, Jagat Ram, Balak Ram, Himi Devi, Khimi Bhandari, Seth Chand, Chaman Thakur, Dalip, Pankaj, Purna Chand, Vikram, Satpal Birsanta, Prakash, Virendra, Nokh Ram, Nisha, Bablu, Bhoomi, Praveen, Jaswant, Omprakash, Hemraj, Jagat Rana, Atar, Rakesh, Prem, Sandeep, Anuj, Sunil Nenta, Ranjeev Kuthiala, Vivek Kashyap, Ramprakash, Lata, Mohini, Amara, Ishra, Reena, Mamta, Usha, Gangeshwari, Kala, Satya, Sulochana, Sunita and Janaki.

CITU State President Vijendra Mehra and General Secretary Prem Gautam said that the four anti-labour codes should be abolished, salary hike for Anganwadi, Mini Anganwadi, Mid Day Meal and Asha workers and timely payment of salary every month, minimum salary of workers should be declared as Rs 26,000, cancellation of National Monetisation Pipeline, Agniveer, Ayudhveer, Koyalaveer and other fixed term employment, reduction in punishment conditions for disobeying EPF, EPS, EDLI facility, universal comprehensive social security for unorganised workers, ensuring employment security of contract workers, giving them salary equal to regular workers, restoring OPS of board and corporation employees of central and state government, implementing minimum pension of Rs 9,000, regularising Anganwadi, Asha, Mid Day Meal workers, giving them minimum salary and giving them social security, restoring financial benefits and registration facility from Labour Welfare Board of MNREGA and construction workers, implementing labour laws within the scope of sales promotion employees, implementing statutory rules for their work, ensuring unhindered entry of medical representatives in hospitals, SPE CITU State Committee organised state-wide demonstrations demanding cancellation of notification of repeal of the Act, declaration of scheduled employment for STP workers, formulation of policy for outsourced and hospital workers, 40% higher wages for industrial workers, against destruction of fixed market, against increasing working hours from 8 to 12 hours, against exemption of IT, ITES industries from labour laws, minimum support price for farmers, implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations tomorrow, expansion in urban areas as well as providing 200 working days at a wage of Rs. 600 per day in MNREGA, registration of MNREGA, construction and BRO workers in Labour Welfare Board and restoration of economic benefits, formulation of policy for outsourced workers, restoration of Covid workers who were fired from their jobs, curbing high inflation, stopping privatisation of public sector undertakings, debt relief for farmers etc.

He has said that unemployment, poverty, inequality and livelihood crisis are increasing due to the neo-liberal and capitalist policies of the Modi government at the Centre. Poverty and hunger are increasing due to unemployment and inflation. Due to weakening of the public distribution system, rising inflation has broken the back of the people. There is a huge increase in the prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and food items. He has demanded to ensure minimum wage of Rs 26,000 per month and pension to all workers; repeal the four anti-labour labour codes and the Electricity Amendment Bill; regularise all these workers by banning contract, part time, multi-purpose, multi-task, temporary, casual, fixed term, contracting system and outsourcing system; provide 200 working days at a wage of Rs 600 per day in MNREGA with expansion in urban areas; fulfill the demands of MNREGA, construction and BRO workers. He said that the issues of privatisation and disinvestment of PSUs, National Monetisation Pipeline and Agneepath Yojana, inflation and ration system in depots, Anganwadi, Mid Day Meal, Asha workers, OPS of employees of Electricity Board, Municipal Corporations, other boards and corporations, privatisation and regularisation of BRO, Street Vendors Act, anti-labour and anti-owner changes in Motor Vehicle Act etc. have exposed the anti-labour policies of the Modi government.