The May Day rally taken out in the city on Monday to mark International Labour Day drew hundreds of participants from various organisations and industrial units.
Conducted under the aegis of various trade unions including the CITU and AITUC, the response is being attributed to the growing impact of the dilution of the labour laws, job insecurity and threats of corporatisation and privatisation of even the public sector units on the workers.
The rally commenced from Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple. Participants marched through the main thoroughfares of the city. The organisers raised general issues related to ‘exploitation of workers’ by capitalists. The workers related to local issues such as the government’s move to privatise public sector units like BEML which has a unit in Mysuru. Incidentally, BEML employees staged a relay strike last week to protest the move.
AITUC and CITU leaders said labour laws have been systematically diluted by successive governments over the years and workers are losing their job security and related emoluments including post-retirement benefits.
Trade union leaders flayed the concept of contract labour and decried the condition of workers in the unorganised sector. Though the apex court has directed workers in the unorganised sector and those hired on a contract basis to be extended all benefits, the government was dithering on the issue and persisting with anti-workers policies, according to the union leaders.
