2025 is earmarked for an all comprehensive attack on the working class by the Modi government. Implementation of Labour Codes, indiscriminate privatisation of public and government sectors and to employ three new criminal acts to suppress the labour revolt arising out of the implementation of Labour Codes. This is Modi’s strategy.
2025 will also be marked by united movement of the workers and farmers against the Labour Codes and backdoor method of bringing back three anti-farmers, pro-corporate farm laws. The latest instance is the retrograde step of Agriculture Marketing Policy announced by the government. Farmers are gearing up to march with tractors and other vehicles on 26 January against the government. Central Trade Unions, including AICCTU, are also gearing up for an all India strike in case of Modi defying the will of the working class. If Mansukh will complete notifying state rules for implementing Labour Codes by 31 March, the working class, joining hands with the farmers, will prepare by 31 March to halt the wheels of the country subsequently.
Despite the fact that Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister invited central trade unions, including AICCTU, for a pre-budget consultation, the indications are that none of the pro-worker demands made by the CTUs will be met. In such a case, CTUs have also given a call for an all India protest, including burning of copies of the budget 2025-2026 on 5 Feb. 2025.
Modi 3.0 BJP government has renewed its onslaught on the workers’ rights. Even before all state governments formulating mandatory rules the Modi government is setting the agenda for implementation of Labour Codes. Backdoor methods are also being explored to implement the same. One such attempt in Beedi sector is already initiated. The labour minister is hopeful that publication of accompanied rules will be completed by all state by 31 March 2025. The corporates in the country right from Infosys Narayana Murthy to L&T Subrahmanyan are lobbying for a 70 hour to 90 hour work week. The chair persons and top management officials may not have anything else to do at home. But, workers are suffering without sufficient sleep after hours-long transport and attending family responsibilities to discharge their next day’s manual work for the corporates. Workers are forced to work for 12 hours illegally. The corporates, in their greed for profit, conceal the fact that working longer hours not ensure increased productivity, but in fact reduces productivity. Data confirms that shorter working days and better pay improves productivity and even profits, and several countries are in fact moving towards a 6 hour work day.
The year-end review by the Ministry of Labour and Employment boasts much about enrolment of more than 30 crore workers in e-shram portal without any appropriate welfare schemes associated with it. Rather it is only trying to integrate same old schemes into e-sharam portal without any new schemes. ESI coverage is still not extended to informal sector workers but for opening some dispensaries and hospitals. Even if extended to unorganised workers, it is conceived as an insurance scheme of contributory in nature, for which workers have to pay from their packets. The identification of employer / principal employer is completely diluted or denied, job and wage security is snatched away but the government is only talking about social security for Gig and platform workers. Even the acts passed by non-BJP ruled states too did not go beyond extending some meagre social security related matters.
The convention of holding Indian Labour Conference (ILC) every year has become a thing of the past, for the last ten years since Modi assumed power at the centre. None of the decisions of ILC that was held in the pre-Modi BJP – NDA period, involving all stake holders like the industrialists, trade unions and the union government, is also not given a heed.
More than a crore of workers are carrying the schemes of the union government to the doorsteps of the people in health, education and various other sectors. They are called as MDM workers, ASHA, Anganwadi workers and in hundreds of various other names. But none of them are not even recognised as workers, leave alone awarding them the right of workers and minimum wages. This is a brutal and ruthless exploitation of the government itself. Modi is not even uttering single word on improving their working conditions and wages but for shedding crocodile tears. As a part of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan Modi did nothing to improve the conditions of sanitation workers but for a gimmick of washing some selected workers feet.
Modi claims that 3.89 crores of vacancies are mobilised through National Career Service Portal. Already more than 20 lakhs of jobs are snatched away in railway sector alone. None of the government vacancies are filled while agniveer type fixed term model is being promoted in every sector denying dignified employment opportunities for the country’s youth. BPSC scam and subsequent protests are still on. When non-filling of vacancies is the policy of the government, mobilising vacancies thro NCS portal is of no use. In fact, the country need at least 2 crore jobs every year. But, the Modi government is only condoning a loss of a crore of jobs every year. The Modi government is neither providing employment to all nor is providing any unemployment relief to the youth, rather, is only offering Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) to the corporates who are unwilling to share the fruits of huge tax cut, etc., with their own workforce. On the contrary, wage cut, wage freeze, drastic reduction in wages, de-feminisation of workforce, cut in NREGA allocation in order to drive rural people to cities in search of employment, etc., are the order of the day.
The movement for restoration OPS, minimum Rs 10,000 + VDA under EPS 95, declaring a minimum wage of Rs 35000, eliminating the concepts of floor wages and fixed term employment, scrapping the proposal of employees’ strength threshold of 300 for permission from the government for lay-off, closure which can make labour laws inapplicable for more than 85 percent of industries, ESI – PF coverage for unorganised workers, etc., are emerging as the foremost demands of the working class today.
The working class is determined and is gearing up to confront the Modi and the BJP government on the issue of implementation of anti-Labour Codes.
The workers movement is on the upswing now. The erupting protests against the ruthless anti-labour, pro-corporate measures of the Modi government and other pro-corporate governments are already becoming visible. The latest example is the Samsung workers struggle at Chennai where majority workers union is denied the right of registration and also recognition. With the growing platform and gig economy, digital strikes are also emerging as new forms of struggle. Workers are up in arms.
The BJP leaders are rushing to the media shedding tears fearing the flight of capital and for the welfare of the corporates and multinationals. They do not care for the plight of workers. They only preach workers to sacrifice their lives and livelihood for the sake of Modi and his corporate friends. Maruti workers, particularly the unorganised, non-permanent workers are reorganising themselves to confront the Maruti management. The young women workers struggle against Foxconn for better wages and better working conditions is till brewing. Workers and farmers of UP and Chandigarh are valiantly fighting against the smart meters and blood sucking electricity tariff. The farmers leader Dalewal is on a hunger strike demanding justice. Various camps of farmers organisations are joing hands to wage a determined battle against the Modi led BJP government against commercialisation and corporatisation of agriculture. It is definite that 2025 will be the year of united struggles of farmers and workers against the corporates and its stooge Modi led BJP government.
