BMS will not participate in general strike on July 9, says All India Organising Secretary
He was in the city as a part of a tour of North Andhra on Monday.
While other trade unions are totally against the Labour Codes, brought out by the Centre, BMS welcomes certain clauses like the wage code and social security code, which are beneficial to workers, Mr. Surendran said in a chat with The Hindu. At the same time, BMS is opposed to the Industrial Relations Code and the Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code, which are detrimental to the interests of workers, he said.
'Contract system'
He felt that the legalisation of the 'contract system' under different names such as 'outsourcing workers' and contract workers was not suitable for India, which has the highest population. The government should realise that human capital is as important as money capital to run an industry or factory. Workers require permanent jobs and forming a trade union to safeguard their interests is a fundamental right of workers. BMS has sent its objections to the Union Minister of Labour, he said.
'Overstaffing in VSP'
Replying to query, Mr. Surendran said that the Centre was taking fiscal measures to tide over the losses in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP). The officials had recruited much more than the required number of contract workers. The production at the plant was not affected even after a few thousands of workers were terminated, indicating that there was huge overstaffing, he said.
He, however, said that the manner in which the workers were asked to leave, had caused discontent among them. The non-involvement of trade unions in the process, and failure to give certain benefits to VRS employees was another cause for concern among the staff, he said and expressed optimism that VSP would not be privatised.
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