Jobs will stop, Arun Jaitley warns unions
Says lack of reforms will stop job creation; Modi speaks of consensus
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-07-21 03:24 GMT
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to trade unions on Monday saying that a consensus was the only way to resolve “old complex issues” even as finance minister Arun Jaitley warned of a threat to job creation if investments were blocked.
Speaking at a meeting of labour unions as well as industry representatives and officials, Mr Modi sought to explain the rationale for labour law reforms even while some trade unions close to RSS have vehemently opposed the government’s moves.
The Prime Minister stressed that the need to “modify laws by adding some and scrapping some” to improve productivity was the need of the hour to enable “ease of doing business”.
“Efforts will be made to modify labour laws through a consensus. The consultation process with trade unions will continue to evolve consensus,” the PM said, while adding that “obsolete and unnecessary” laws were being weeded out as part of the government’s aim to achieve “minimum government and maximum governance”.
Mr Jaitley, who heads a ministerial panel discussing labour reforms with the trade unions, warned of a threat to job creation if investments were blocked. He appealed to the unions not to persist with ideas that harmed the nation’s economy.
However, the president of the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, B.N. Rai, criticised the Centre over a “few wrong policies” and asserted that they would not allow any reforms at the cost of labour. The BMS has demanded that the industry-friendly Factories Act enacted by the BJP state governments be withdrawn.