BJP govt finishing off labour movement with employer-specific laws: Bhalla

Jammu, May 16:- Indian National Trade Union Congress Jammu & Kashmir President Shiv Kumar Sharma today appointed Shashi Syal as Vice President J&K INTUC in presence of JKPCC Working President Raman Bhalla . Prominent among those present on the occasion include Block President Suriender Singh Dutt, Satpal Sapolia, Mohd Ashraf , Ghulam Hassan, Sunil Kumar, Yashpal, Bana Ram, Vishal Singh, Sunil Sehgal, Kamla Devi , Bebo , Anwar Chowdhary.

Congratulating Shashi Syal on being appointed as Vice President J&K INTUC, Bhalla said INTUC office bearers to help unorganised workers in achieving decent employment and fair pay for a perfect purchasing power for the rural, agricultural and gig workers. He also criticized the NDA government for its “anti-human” and “anti-labour” policies and demanded that the government immediately withdraw anti-labour rules. He said INTUC should labour relations that focus on employment guarantee by making the worker a shareholder, and improved social security net. BJP government has been enacting laws to benefit employers and ending the existence of the labour movement, Bhalla  said.

Bhalla further said that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru took several welfare steps after Independence and the Congress made the country powerful with the help of workers, whereas BJP led Union government was working to finish off these gains. “The Modi government has ended the labour movement and labour system by bringing in employer-specific laws. It even brought three black laws to alienate farmers but the agitation by Congress forced the Centre to scrap these legislations,” Bhalla  said.

Shiv Kumar Sharma claimed that laws that gave various rights and privileges to workers have been changed by bringing in legislations that serve the interest of employers and enslaves workers. Important projects of the country are being given to a few industrialists who are friendly to the Centre,” Sharma alleged. He said the Modi government’s promises to give two crore jobs per year, Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people as well as doubling of farm income, riding on which the BJP came to power in 2014 and 2019, remain unfulfilled.

Sharma said workers are facing widespread economic hardship as a result of job losses, plummeting incomes, skyrocketing food and fuel prices, and chronic unemployment, all of which only aggravated under BJP rule. There is intense discontent against the Modi government. With food, gas and fuel prices so high, it is hard for an ordinary family to live, but this government ignores the working class totally.  Sharma demanded universal social security coverage, a higher minimum wage, a halt to the sale of state assets, and no more privatisation of public sector banks.

(NOTE: PRESS RELEASE PUBLISHED AS RECEIVED)