Gangwar asks trade unions to call off proposed 3-day protest

Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar today met trade unions to persuade them to call off the proposed three-day protest, from Thursday, against the government over giving no heed to their 12-point charter of demands.
The minister told the central trade unions to rather engage in constructive discussions on their issues with the government ahead of the protest, which is scheduled to begin on November 9, 2017 in the national capital.
"The government has highest regard for consultative process (tripartite mechanism) and committed to uphold it," Gangwar said in a statement issued by the labour ministry after the meeting.
The statement said, while referring to calls for demonstrations by trade unions, the minister appealed the trade unions to rather engage in constructive discussions on the issues raised by them.

It said that trade union representatives primarily demanded the government to address the issue of enhancing minimum monthly pension to Rs 3,000 as well as minimum wages.
Besides, it said that the unionists also talked at length about the issue related to enforcement of labour laws and social security for unorganised workers, including growing contractualisation.

Ten central trade unions have jointly called a press conference tomorrow to talk on ill effects of demonetisation on the employment situation and on the entire working class.
The unions would also talk about mass relay dharna of workers by the ten central trade unions and various federations at Parliament Street from November 9-11, 2017 on their 12-point charter of demands.

Representatives of BMS, INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, among others, attended the meeting which lasted for over three hours.
The minister also told the unions that the government has "consistently and continuously taken pro-labour decisions and initiatives".
All major central trade unions had decided to boycott talks over various reform initiatives with the labour ministry after the ministry did not invite a union affiliated to the Congress Party.
A group of ten central unions had written to the labour minister saying that the Centre is deliberately trying to break the trade union movement and create fissures in its unity by not inviting the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).

The talks scheduled for Friday evening were supposed to discuss all labour-related reforms and pending demands of unions related to enhancing minimum wage, pension and overall the workers welfare measures.
"We strongly protest the deliberate measure to exclude INTUC, part of the joint trade union movement that has been raising the demands," the unions had said in a joint letter to Gangwar.
"This is nothing but an ill-intentioned move to divide the unity of the trade unions and the workers. We advise the government to desist from such divisive tactics," the letter said.