- Congress demands repeal of Labour Codes at Bharat Bandh rally
- Khalid Saifullah flags retrenchment threshold and strike rules
Hyderabad: The Congress party on Thursday demanded repeal or major changes to the four central Labour Codes during a public meeting at Dharna Chowk. Hyderabad District Congress Committee president Syed Khalid Saifullah raised the demand after a Bharat Bandh rally held in the city.
The bandh followed a call by a joint platform of ten central trade unions and farmers’ organisations. The rally began at the VST Union Office, opposite RTC Kalyana Mandapam in Baghlingampally. It then moved through Musheerabad and concluded at Indira Park. Later, leaders addressed a public meeting at the venue.
TPCC President B Mahesh Kumar Goud, Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Yadav, Khairtabad DCC Motha Rohit Mudiraj and other senior leaders joined the rally. They also spoke at the meeting and expressed support for the protest.
Addressing the gathering, Khalid Saifullah said the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020) and Occupational Safety Code (2020) replaced 29 labour laws. However, he claimed this was done without adequate consultation with trade unions. He said the changes restructured the relationship between workers, employers and the state.
He pointed out that earlier, firms employing 100 or more workers required government approval for retrenchment. Now, the threshold has been raised to 300 workers. Therefore, he said, lakhs of workers in mid-sized firms are left without retrenchment protection. He also stated that the requirement for standing orders increased from 100 to 300 workers, which reduced formal workplace governance in smaller establishments.
Referring to the right to strike, he said strike notices were earlier mandatory only in public utility services. Under the new provisions, however, a 60-day notice is required in all sectors. Strikes are also prohibited during conciliation proceedings. He said this curtailed organised labour’s negotiating power.
Khalid Saifullah further criticised the normalisation of fixed-term employment across industries. He said permanent jobs are being replaced with short-term contracts, which increases employment insecurity.
He noted that nearly 90 per cent of India’s workforce is informal. Therefore, he argued that weakening safeguards in the formal sector would further informalise employment. He also said claims linking labour flexibility with higher job creation have not been supported by outcomes. According to him, formal job growth has not accelerated and real wages for lower-income groups remain stagnant.
He reiterated the demand for tripartite consultation before implementing any labour reforms. He also called for universal social security coverage for informal and gig workers and legislative backing for minimum support price and assured market access for farmers. He urged Congress workers to continue peaceful mobilisation in defence of labour and farmers’ rights.
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