The UN labour agency urged states across the country thinking of relaxing workers’ rights to help industry survive the novel coronavirus pandemic to consult workers first as a union linked to India’s ruling party said it would protest the planned moves.
Six states, including most populous Uttar Pradesh and the commercial hub of Gujarat, have said they plan to suspend some laws on wages and working hours to help industry recover from a seven-week lockdown.
“Certain states in India are moving towards relaxing labour laws with a view to revitalise the economy from the impact of Covid-19,” the UN’s International Labour Organisation said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
“Such amendments should emanate from tripartite consultation involving the government, the workers’ and the employers’ organisations and be compliant with the international labour standards,” it said.
The states, many of which are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the changes are needed to kickstart the economy reeling under the impact of the shutdown.
“Economic growth and industrial activity have been hit hard by the lockdown because of the Covid-19 outbreak,” a senior Gujarat government official told Reuters.
Leave a Reply