The Government is expected to take a final decision on the National Manufacturing Policy today, 25th October. Serious debate has been going in the related departments of the government on the direction it should take. While the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has been advocating a free hand to the employers in the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ), to be created for the development of Industry, the Departments of Environment as also Labour want that there should government control to ensure that the labour rules are intimated. The former wants to entrust the Labour issues to a body formed inside the NIMZ, while the department of Labour wants a government officer to look after the implementation of the labour rules.
Already, with out any statute, the private employers are compelling the workers to work more than 10 to 12 hours, reducing the lunch/tea breaks etc. and also imposing heavy penalty for taking leave. The private employers want similar things in the statute book. The reason for the Manesar Plant (Maruti) strike is well known to all.
The government should think twice before imposing anti-labour conditions and decisions on the workers. The workers with all their unity and might will react and fight to defeat the government’s wrong policies.