Several welfare measures were ignored in the new labour code, which was conceived by clubbing 15 laws out of 144 laws existing in the country, according to the National Labour Law Association (NLLA) president Praveen Sinha here on Saturday.
Speaking to media persons, Mr. Sinha, who was here to participate in a seminar, said that the new labour code was not properly discussed with the unions and other stakeholders. “The proposed code is kept in the website and opinions were sought. The code is not in the regional languages,” he pointed out.
Mr. Sinha said those units having less than 10 employees were not covered by the code and even agricultural labourers, who formed a big chunk of the unorganised workforce, did not come under the purview of the code. He said that the code was not applicable where there was no clarity on the employers.
National Centre for Labour general secretary N.P. Samy said that though two Acts were enacted for the welfare of construction workers in 1996, they were not properly implemented. “For any construction project more than ₹10 lakh one per cent should be paid to the Construction Welfare Board. But several private and public sector units are not paying the one per cent.”
Swaraj Abhiyaan’s Ajay Kumar said that though Minister for Panchayat Raj Nara Lokesh brought National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) workers into the Construction Welfare Board, he was not clear on the one per cent cess which should be paid to the board. “We welcome NREGS workers coming into the fold of the welfare board but the state government should ensure payment of one per cent of cess. Otherwise the state government should allot from the state budget.”
