The job protection diktat

Govt must pay for a part of the wage cost

The government’s decision to reduce the salaries of parliamentarians is a welcome recognition of the magnitude of the Covid-19 crisis. However, the action is in contrast to what it expects the private sector to do. Labour commissioners, acting on the government’s behalf, are coming in the way of private companies shedding labour or cutting costs by sending staff on unpaid leave. For instance, the central labour commissioner has asked SpiceJet, which announced a pay cut recently, to submit an action-taken report on government advisories. Similar action is being planned in quite a few other cases as well. While protecting jobs