Intro :<\/p>\n
In 2020, at the peak of the COVID pandemic, two oppressive laws were passed by the BJP government, the three Farm laws, and the Labour Codes. These laws were passed by a parliament fully dominated by the BJP enjoying a supermajority. They were passed without any consultation, without any opposition, and at a time when much of the country was under lockdown. The surreptitious manner in which the bills were tabled and passed shows that the BJP was aware of just how well they might be taken.<\/p>\n
Right after the new laws were passed, farmers and workers united to protest in a general strike, undertaken in the midst of the pandemic. The farmer\u2019s protests picked pace, several farmer bodies united in opposition to the new farm laws. After a mammoth protest which rocked the country and the capital, the farm laws were eventually withdrawn. This was a humiliation of the Modi government, what followed was an unravelling of its aura. The BJP lost the supermajority in the 2024 elections, and lost much ground that it had gained in 2014 and 2019. Crucially, this also resulted in certain laws passed, being left unimplemented like the four new Labour Codes.<\/p>\n
The protest movement around the farm laws was a high point of class struggle, but a decisive victory for farmers did not translate into a victory for workers. Despite sustained propaganda against the Labour Codes, and a general strike in July of this year, we are now witnessing the Labour Codes be fully implemented, with its rules being drafted and adopted.<\/p>\n
The response to this development has been protests breaking out by trade unions across the country. However, these lack the impact we have seen in the farmer\u2019s protests, and other regional protests such as that of the junior doctors. One could be forgiven for thinking there was no protest at all, because of how quiet these protests have been.<\/p>\n
The lukewarm response does not match the severity of this change, as the Labour Codes open the path for the most vicious exploitation of Indian workers, and the destruction of organized labour.<\/p>\n
The Labour codes:<\/p>\n
Since the neo-liberal onslaught of the 1990s, there has been a steady empowerment of the Indian capitalist class at the expense of Indian workers. Trade unions have declined in power, while hire-and-fire laws have made it easier for bosses to control workers. The most significant change however, is the increasing precariousness of work.<\/p>\n
With successive governments privatizing state assets, employment in the public sector has either declined or moved further towards contract labour. The increasing push of capitalism into India\u2019s hinterlands has resulted in the crippling of Indian agriculture, the more vulnerable sectors of rural India have been forced to find work in the cities, either as seasonal workers, or as migrant workers. Millions have been thrown into the meat grinder of India\u2019s job market, where few positions are given for low wages to millions of applicants.<\/p>\n
Migrant workers fill the ranks of gig workers, casual labour and contract labour. Much of India\u2019s construction sector is powered by workers from the countryside seeking seasonal work in India\u2019s cities. There is little to no protection for migrant workers, and with global warming, they face greater heat stress making condition of work all the more dangerous. Migrant workers were the worst affected during the pandemic lockdowns, thousands died trying to walk back home when busses and trains were shut down.<\/p>\n
This is the context in which India overhauled its labour laws. The result is that 27 laws relating to workmen have been consolidated into 4 Labour Codes. The new labour codes are designed to replace the existing legal framework for labour relations in India where there are 44 different labour laws dealing with several different aspects of labour laws, most notable among the existing acts as the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, the Wages Act, and the Factories Act. The four new codes will override these laws in favour of four new laws which purports to \u2018streamline\u2019 labour laws in India, favouring \u2018flexibility\u2019 over security. Such changes in labour laws have been a long-standing demand of the Indian bourgeoisie, who wish to turn back the gains of labour struggles of the last 100 years.<\/p>\n
In the same manner as the farm laws, the four new labour codes were passed through parliament without any discussion or consultation with trade unions. The arbitrary voice vote and the speaker\u2019s decision to pass the bill despite clear opposition and uncertainty of a majority show the undemocratic manner in which this and the farm laws were passed. <\/p>\n
No sooner than the laws were passed all trade unions across the country as well as opposition parties joined forces in denouncing the law. Even the BJP affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh came out in opposition against the bill. Its general secretary stated that the new laws would \u201cadversely affect industrial peace\u201d, an unsurprising take from the right-wing trade union. By his own admission, none of the pro-worker recommendations by the union or the parliamentary standing committee were accepted by the government, who wished to push an entirely pro-corporate law.<\/p>\n
Among the sweeping changes brought about by the new laws, the companies with up to 300 workers are exempted from standing orders, an increase from 100 workers in the current law. This would allow companies with up to 300 workers flexibility to hire and fire. This would make millions of workers who are employed in the small to medium scale sector in India (the mainstay of employment), vulnerable to mass layoffs and retrenchments. In the words of CITU general secretary Tapan Sen: <\/p>\n
\u201cThese codes, now passed, will throw more than 74% of the industrial workers and 70% of industrial establishments in \u2018hire and fire regime\u2019 at the will of the employers; even formation of a trade union will be extremely difficult; will impose a virtual ban on workers\u2019 right to strike and even collectively agitate on their grievances and demands to mention a few,<\/em>\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Under the new wages code, allowances are capped at 50 per cent. This means half of the gross pay of an employee would be basic wages. Provident fund contribution is calculated as a percentage of the basic wage, which includes basic pay and dearness allowance. Most employers have been splitting wages into numerous allowances to keep basic wages low to reduce provident funds and income tax outgo. The new wages code provides for provident fund contribution as a prescribed proportion of 50 per cent. The effect of this would be to reduce the amount of pay the worker can get in salaries and wages, his \u2018take home\u2019 money. <\/p>\n The Modi government hardly pretends where its loyalties lay, it does not care about the wellbeing of the worker, it does not care about the wellbeing of the farmer, it only cares about the wellbeing of the BJP party and the billionaire capitalists who fund them.<\/p>\n The protests:<\/p>\n Trade union led protests broke out the day after the law came in force, but these protests were scattered across the length and breadth of India. Protest marches were taken out by militant trade unions in Delhi, such as the DSAWHU (Delhi State Anganwadi and Healthcare workers Union), and the leftist trade unions such as CITU conducted protests in a few capital cities.<\/p>\n However, the response was feeble. The scattered protests were barely visible and hardly disrupted the normal flow of work. For most people, the protests barely registered in their minds, and they went about their daily routine.<\/p>\n Despite this feeble showing, the issue does not diminish. The failure to spark a larger national level protest around the Labour Codes in the way the farmers mobilized against the farm bills, speaks to the failure of trade union leadership, and the abject failure of all opposition parties, especially the Stalinist parties with membership of over a million cadres.<\/p>\n The Labour codes will make organizing workers and fighting in the workplace harder, but it will not wish away working class militancy. It will not end the adverse conditions which gives rise to discontent, on the contrary it will only add to it. The cost of living is rising throughout the country, as take home salary weakens, and safety nets are removed, workers across all sectors will feel new burdens.<\/p>\n FULL SUPPORT TO THE WORKERS !<\/strong><\/p>\n DOWN WITH THE BJP ! DOWN WITH MODI !<\/strong><\/p>\n ABOLISH THE LABOUR CODES ! UPHOLD WORKER\u2019S RIGHTS !<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Intro : In 2020, at the peak of the COVID pandemic, two oppressive laws were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-statement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newwavesouthasia.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}