Sunday Interview: Gurudas Dasgupta - ‘Modi’s reforms will lead to more violations of labour laws’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the end of inspector raj. What do you think will be the impact?
I do not think that such a move will have much of an impact because there has been no inspector raj. Inspector raj came to an end a long time ago. There was no supervision or very little supervision by the labour department; cases of provident default have been mounting; large industrial enterprises were not adequately covered; and people did not get their dues on time.
There are other areas where there was need for supervision but it was not done. Now it has been legitimised. Absence of supervision has been legalised under the slogan — the end of inspector raj. It is merely a ruse to hoodwink the labour class. The Prime Minister’s announcement is nothing but a surrender to the corporate world. His announcement is aimed at making their illegal business dealings and anti-labour practices legal. Let me put it this way. There will be an impact: the corporate will become more aggressive.
What does it mean for employees in the informal sector?
The informal sector workers generally do not enjoy benefits. They are usually deprived of provident fund.
The minimum wages they are entitled to — even very low pay — is not given to them. There is no question of gratuity. In my opinion, the new government measures are going to make life of unorganised labourers even more miserable.
Do you think the labour reforms, as suggested by Prime Minister Modi, will help make India a leading manufacturing hub?
Only if New Delhi sends out the message to corporate houses that the new government is ready to lay the red carpet for them. If India succeeds in convincing them that our labour laws are too soft, wages of the workers too low, the government will turn a blind eye to their anti-labour practices. Only then we can expect an inflow of funds for the manufacturing industry.
Do you think these reforms will have a positive impact on the labourers?
On the contrary, there will be a negative impact. More violation of the labour laws will take place. There will be a rise in the hire and fire practices and the bargaining powers of the workers will be eroded. They will be at the employers’ mercy.
The Prime Minister has dedicated a number of schemes under Shramev Jayate (work alone triumphs) programme, which inclu-des portability thro-ugh universal account number for employees provident fund, single window portal to enable business with labour ministry and labour inspection scheme in central sphere. What do you have to say?
The scheme for universal account number for employees’ provident fund and the single window portal are likely to benefit the workers. However, I would like to keep my fingers crossed. This advantage cannot be availed of by the unorganised labour who constitute nearly 93 per cent of the total work force in the country because their access to computers is extremely limited.
Do you think it will impact labour safety?
It will have an adverse impact on labour safety. By reducing the cost of the labour welfare to the minimum, the safety measures may be compromised.
Do you think self-certification will work?
No, it will not. Corporates are never known for their honesty. Normal practice of the corporates is to cover up violations of all kinds. They violate income tax law or suppress actual data on production in order to reap maximum profit. No, self-certi-fication is no solution. You do not seem to find anything which is labour-friendly in the slew of reforms introduced by the Prime Minister.
How can I expect labour-friendly policy decisions from a government which is anti-labour? These so-called labour reform measures have been announced for the benefit of the capitalists and corporates. This is a quid pro quo by the government in exchange for the support the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate received in the run up to the Lok Sabha election from them. There have been attempts to even amend the labour laws to give the employers a free hand to do whatever they like to undermine the interests of the workers.
If you are so hostile to the labour policy of the government then are you planning protests against it?
Central trade unions have already decided a vigorous agitation against the dilution of the labour laws. They have given a call for an all-India protest on December 5. While there will be protests across the country on that day, there will be a sit-in dharna in Delhi. You must keep it in mind that all trade unions including BMS, AITUC, INTUC, CITU, HMS and others are jointly sponsoring the protests. The proposed protest is in fact a united call from all the Central trade unions.
