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Labour laws not just for pvt firms: Oscar to PSUs(Indian Express Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Taking on the other ministries of the UPA Government, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes on Thursday said Government organisations and public sector units will have to comply with labour laws just like the private sector. Referring to a conversation he had with three women workers at the Aurangabad airport recently, Fernandes said, "I asked them what they did and how much they were paid. Though all of them were doing the same job of keeping the airport clean, two were getting paid Rs 50 per day as casual labour while the third was getting a monthly salary of Rs 10,500 as a regular employee of the Airports Authority of India." Even the minimum wage of Rs 65 was not being paid to them, Fernandes asserted. "I have seen workers coming forward to offer a thousand job cuts, when a unit is facing a crisis, to ensure it's survival. But when a worker is treated as contract labour for 10-15 years, it cannot be justified," Fernandes said. Fernandes has also contacted Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde over incident at the NTPC's power plant in Dadri. "A contract worker was electrocuted and agitated workers went on a lightning strike, some even came to my office late in the night to raise the issue. I spoke to the minister in charge: Why can't NTPC engage these workers on a permanent basis if they are doing a permanent job?" Fernandes asked. "I don't differentiate between Government and private sector establishments, labour laws are to be complied by everyone. I have told the minister (Shinde) that maybe I would have to visit the NTPC plant myself," he added. Part of the reason for Fernandes' comments could be that he was sharing the dais with trade union leaders at a conference on labour reforms in the capital. While most trade union leaders categorically opposed labour reforms, INTUC president and Congress MP G Sanjeeva Reddy said workers had to be consulted before initiating reforms. Fernandes tried to strike a conciliatory note with them, admitting that "a worker feels threatened by the word reforms". "The worker should feel that it is for me and that's what we have to show. This understanding is possible. India and China controlled 51 per cent of world trade 200 years ago and in another decade, we can bring the world order to the same position. The key is to create an environment whereby more industries come to India. If companies and industry progress, labour will also benefit," he argued. Copyright 2007 The Indian Express Online Media Ltd, Source: The Financial Times Limited |