RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh to hold nation-wide protest on Oct 28 over labour codes

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, the RSS-affiliate trade union, will observe a nationwide protest on October 28 and has threatened to go on a national strike if the government does not roll-back some of the “anti-worker” provisions of the labour codes that it said are neither in the interest of the workers nor in the interest of employers. Earlier, the other 10 central trade unions and their affiliate bodies had called for a nationwide strike on November 26 following the passage of three labour codes in the Parliament recently. The biggest central trade union has raised objections to some of the provisions of the Industrial Relations Code and the Code in Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions. These provisions relate to withdrawal of the right of workers to strike while raising the threshold for workers retrenchment and closure of units from 100 to 300. Decisions to this effect were taken at the 19th national conference of BMS which concluded on October 4 and saw new office bearers of BMS being elected for 2020-22. “BMS has decided to hold all India agitation against the anti-worker provisions in the new labour codes,” Binay Kumar Sinha, the new secretary general of BMS said. In the first phase the trade union will hold an educational campaign for workers from October 10-16 which will be followed by a nationwide protest on October 28. “If the government does not address our concern, we may go for a national strike to protect the right to strike and other labour rights,” he added.The BMS has adopted multiple resolutions demanding the government to immediately withdraw the anti-worker provisions in the new Labour Codes besides asking the government to call a consultative meeting with BMS and other trade unions to make the Labour Codes beneficial to both workers and industry.