Labour file :
New Industrial Relations Code-2019
Workers Turned to Modern Slaves
The BJP government headed
by Narendra Modi introduced
Industrial Relations Code-2019 in
the Lok Sabha on November 28. A
new draft of the code is introduced
which was never made public. This
code replaces three existing labour
laws – Trade Un ion Act-1926,
Industrial employment (standing
order) Act-1946 and Industrial
Disputes Act-1947.
This new code deals with the
subjects of formation of trade unions
and relations between employers
and employees. This new code
intended to “ease of doing business”
(but not intended to better running
of industries) will have a devastating
effect on the working and living
conditions of the workers of our
country pushing them into worse
situation.
This code deals with more
restrictive provisions for forming
trade unions; and preventing them
get empowered through forming
collective body to fight for their rights.
While the 1926 Trade union Act
requires only seven members to
register a trade union, the present
code stipulates that at least 10 per
cent of the total strength or 100
workers as the minimum number of
workers to register a trade union.
Presently the employers are
disallowing even a small number of
7 workers to form and register a
trade union by treating them and
victimizing in various forms for
submitting an application for
registration of a trade union. The
workers’ movement is demanding
for a time-bound process for the
registration of a TU. Instead of
conceding to this demand, the new
code made it more difficult to
register a TU, since in practice the
employers make it more difficult by
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threatening the member-workers
that formed the union.
The code restricts outsiders to
an establishment from holding an
office bearer position in the TU. By
this the employers are given further
more leverage to threaten and
dissuade the office bearers of TU
who are their employees and even
threaten them into submission
without taking up any real activity
of the union against the
management’s anti-worker practices.
The new code provides to
recognize a TU as a ‘negotiating
body’ by the employer in times of
labour dispute, if that TU has a
formal support of 75 per cent or
more workers on the muster roll.
This will restrict the TUs to negotiate
on behalf of its members about the
disputes relating to its members.
Thus the very necessity of forming
and registering a TU is made futile.
These are the days where the
managements are forming and
registering their own unions. So the
TUs baked and backed by the
management will be made to get the
support of 75% of workers to be the
‘negotiating body’ of worker ’s
disputes, and the disputes will
‘settled’ in accordance with the
dictats of the managements. So
now the managements are given
with an opportunity even to refuse
to recognize a union, making it a
triggering point of many of the
industrial disputes as has recently
occurred in the labour disputes at
Muthoot’s in Kerala and Motherson
workers in Tamil Nadu.
This new code has removed
the ‘formality’ of even a consultation
with the TU representative in case
of industrial dispute and thus killing
the ‘tripartism’ in settling the
industrial disputes. Thus arbitrary
powers are endowed with the
employers to settle the disputes
with their own workers.
Now the new code made it
impossible any industrial action,
particularly the strike. An individual
worker cannot protect his rights or
interests by going to a court or a
tribunal since he has no capacity
financially to fight the big business.
So he is left with the only hope of
protecting his interests and rights
with the support of his co-workers
through a collective industrial
action like protest of mass casual
leaves or strike. The new code
forbids the protest form of mass
casual leave by employees without
prior notice of 14 days and a
compulsory participation of50% of
employees in such protest agitation.
Otherwise it allowed the employer
to deduct wages of 8 days for each
day of such ‘illegal’ mass leave. The
concept of ‘No work – No pay’ is now
changed to “a day of no work to be
deducted with pay of 8 days”. Such
has been the new code that benefits
the employers to force their employees
to stay away from any industrial
action.
Now the new code made
contractualising jobs in the form of
“fixed term employment” legal. This
has empowered the state
governments with executive powers
to ease the retrenchment norms.
The employer can engage workers
for a fixed period of time. This ‘fixed
term employee’ will automatically
cease to be an employee when term
finishes. Thus the employee is placed
at the mercy of the employer. If the
‘fixed term’ worker is denied of any
benefit or harassed or humiliated,
the worker will not dare to utter a
word. Otherwise his job will not be
contd. on page 11
Class Struggle