At a time when about five lakh coal workers are on a countrywide strike, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Tuesday that he had called a tripartite meeting on January 13, which, among other things, will discuss the 10-point demand charter submitted by central trade unions.
“Our government has a pro-labour attitude and we believe that industrial relations should be harmonious,” he said, adding that the Centre “wanted to involve all stakeholders in nation-building.”
The minister’s remarks come at a time when the Narendra Modi government has been facing flak from the BJP’s trade union wing, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), for its recent “anti-labour” reforms.
Incidentally, the BMS has also joined the coal strike, and is among 11 Central trade unions, including those affiliated to the Congress and Left parties, that have been opposing the new labour law amendments. Their demands include a check on price rise and abolition of contract labour.
The trade unions said they had submitted their demands to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during last year’s Budget consultations.
“Since 2009, we have been protesting against growing price rise, PSU disinvestment, violation of labour laws etc. But no government seems to care about workers,” CITU President AK Padmanabhan had told BusinessLine earlier.