Bring workers back, RSS labour wing urges government

Gurgaon: Fed up with the ‘apathy’ of state and the Centre governments, labour rights organisation Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has now decided to form five-member teams at district levels to address labourers’ grievances.
The Sangh, the labour wing of RSS, said they will ask the governments to decide on bringing back the migrant workers.
The decisions were taken at a meeting in Gurgaon on Sunday, which saw participation from BMS members from Gurgaon, Rewari, Jhajjar, Palwal, Faridabad and Nuh. “Despite several representations sent to the government on May 20 across 513 districts, it has not taken any substantial measures for the benefit of workers,” said Virender Sharma, Haryana state chief, BMS.
Sharma said the BMS will hold a series of protests across the state between June 1 and June 15 to highlight the issues being faced by workers like layoffs and salary cuts.
A number of workers especially contractual workers have been laid off by their employers in the Gurgaon- Manesar industrial belt due to the lockdown.
The issue of migrant workers returning to work was also discussed at the meeting. People working with labour rights organisations as well as the industry owners have claimed that while many migrant workers are ready to come back, they weren’t able to do so because of the lack of public transport and the increasing number of Covid-19 cases here.
“The governments have to make arrangements to bring the workers back the same way they were sent home so that they can resume their jobs,” said Sawant Singh Yadav, district president, Rewari, BMS.
Industries and developers in the city have also urged the governments to bring back workers. Some industries have arranged for cabs and flight tickets to get workers back to the state.