Ten Central trade unions on Friday said they would hold protests against the government’s “anti-worker” policies on July 3. In a statement, the unions said they held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the “continuous aggressive attack on workers’ rights ignoring all the representations to the government on the matter.” The unions had protested against the planned dilution of labour laws by several States and the treatment of workers during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“The government not only failed in getting its own orders and advisories implemented in regard to payment of wages to workers and no retrenchments to be carried out during the lockdown period, it also withdrew its own decision in the face of the case in the Supreme Court by the employers of some companies,” the unions said.
They said the Centre had used the pandemic and lockdown as an excuse to “push through its agenda of disinvestment and wholesale privatisation of public sector enterprises”.
The statement was signed by representatives of the Indian National Trade Union Congress, the All India Trade Union Congress, the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the All India United Trade Union Centre, the Trade Union Coordination Committee, the Self Employed Women’s Association, the All India Central Council of Trade Unions, the Labour Progressive Federation and the United Trade Union Congress.