At the heart of this debate is Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, a safeguard designed to prevent drugmakers from extending monopoly protection through trivial modifications to existing medicines.
Trade unions have decided to launch a phased, consistent struggle to press for the withdrawal of the labour codes and go on a countrywide general strike in February next year, a statement said on Tuesday. The date of the strike will be announced on 22nd December 2025 in the next meeting of the joint forum of central trade unions, a statement said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-affiliated trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh has sought scrapping of the divestment ministry and freezing of all future divestment programmes.\n\n\n\n
'Raising the retrenchment, layoff and closure threshold to 300 workers for prior government permission enables hire-and-fire in more than 90 per cent of the Indian workplaces. More than 12,00,000 disputes are now pending for adjudication with an average disposal period ranging from 3 to five years for more than 75 per cent of the disputes.'
The ten central trade unions have demanded a cash transfer of Rs 7,500 a month to all families that do not pay income tax, free ration of 10 kg per head in a month to all the needy, expansion of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment scheme to cover more days of job, withdrawal of labour codes and farm bills, halt on privatisation, universal pension coverage and withdrawal of "draconian" circular on forced premature retirement of government officials.
BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said, "There are many anomalies in the draft rules on Code on Wages which need to be amended. The new rules are silent about many provisions clearly provided in the four Acts subsumed in the code."
RSS-aligned Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on Monday expressed disappointment over the government's budget proposals with regard to divestment and foreign direct investment, especially in the insurance sector. The BMS, however, lauded the government for its current efforts on the massive vaccination programme, a special scheme for tea workers in West Bengal and Assam, labour oriented push on infrastructure projects in construction sector and development of five major fishing harbours viz. Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Petuaghat as hubs for economic activities etc. On other Budget proposals, it said in a statement that "mixing the beautiful concept of Aatmanirbhar Bharat with FDI and disinvestment in the Union Budget is disappointing for the employees".
An increase in the farmer income support scheme PM Kisan Nidhi, the introduction of a 'robot tax' to fund reskilling of people who lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI), and a reduced income-tax (I-T) to bring relief to the middle classes - these are some of the items in the Budget wish list submitted by Sangh Parivar affiliates to Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman. Representatives of the affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), such as the farmer organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS); trade union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); Laghu Udyog Bharati, which works for micro and small industries; and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which works on economic and policy issues, met the FM and other officials over the last couple of weeks as part of the pre-Budget consultations.
rediffGURUS who are career counsellors and JEE experts are currently helping counsel engineering aspirants to prepare for upcoming entrance examinations to secure a good college.
'The government could not even ensure the payment of wages by the private sector during the lockdown.' 'We have experienced all kinds of exploitation during the pandemic.'
The government was going in the "wrong direction" and it was "highly condemnable" that it did not discuss the proposed changes with trade unions and other stakeholders, says BMS, trade union arm of the RSS.
BMS allies with breakaway faction of Congress-affiliated INTUC. This marks a new chapter in India's trade union movement
Calling the Budget 2018 'anti-labour', the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh will observe February 20 as a 'black day'.
The EPFO pays rate of return to its subscribers on the basis of returns it generates from its investments.
'We are worried for the workers because in the private sector, jobs are not secure, there is no decent work condition and there is no social security.' 'That's why we are opposing the economic policies of this government.'
At the 47th ILC, scheduled for February 26 and 27 in Delhi, trade unions and employers were to discuss key issues related to employment and social security coverage to workers
The unions term the introduction of fixed-term employment as a 'modern labour slavery system' introduced through the 'back door'.
Trade unions said Jaitley's minimum wage announcement is completely inadequate
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on BJP-ruled states to freeze labour laws.
The Indian Army, placing traditional weapons above high-technology, says that equipping the army's 800-plus combat units with a Battlefield Management System would cost an unaffordable Rs 500 billion to Rs 600 billion, reveals Ajai Shukla.
Ten trade unions to go on strike to protest against changes in labour laws
'... it must network its battlefield units quickly, securely, robustly,' notes Ajai Shukla.
Trade unions reiterate the call for countrywide general strike on September 2 against the "anti-worker and anti-people policies" of the government.
Says govt offer a positive move and Wednesday's one-day stir should be deferred; others not impressed enough, especially Left
Facing flak over its decision to impose tax at the time of withdrawal on 60 per cent of the contributions to Employees' Provident Fund, the government on Tuesday clarified that only interest accrued on 60 per cent contribution to EPF after April 1, 2016 will be taxed.
'These Harvard University-educated people, with knowledge limited to the small states there, apply it in a huge country like India, which is not practical at all.'
Under fixed-term employment, workers are entitled to all statutory benefits available to a permanent worker in the same factory. However, employers may not give notice to a fixed-term worker on non-renewal or expiry of his or her contract.
The Coal India offering would follow a 5 percent stake sale in state-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corp, worth $2.8 billion and slated for December.
Trade union leaders claimed that the strike would be even bigger than the one last year as the number of striking workers is expected to swell to 18 crore
The Centre has, however, retained its proposal to curb flash strikes as workers in all factories will be required to give employers a strike notice of at least two weeks after the Bill becomes a law.
Many non-NDA parties have extended support to the nationwide 10-hour strike on Monday called by farmers protesting against the three agri laws under the aegis of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).
Operations in refineries, pipelines, production units and commercial offices of public sector oil companies were on Tuesday affected due to a day-long strike by about 300,000 workers protesting Centre's move to divest.
Ten central trade unions except Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh are observing one-day general strike on Thursday to protest against various government policies.
'With this amendment, permanent employees will cease to exist.' 'The government should give a human touch and human face to labour reforms.' 'Ideas like survival of the fittest, might is right, etc, are rules of the jungle.' 'They cannot give new terms like hire and fire to jungle law.'
There were instances of 'rasta roko' at various places in rural Maharashtra
The implementation of four labour codes in one go from April 1 next year will usher in a new wave of reforms in industrial relations and also help in attracting more investments but employment generation will remain a key challenge in 2021. This year has also been a challenging year for the work force as well as for employers due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government imposed a nationwide lockdown from March 25, which had an adverse impact on economic activities and resulted in exodus of migrant workers from large cities to their homes in the hinterland. Many migrant labourers lost their jobs and it took months for them to return back to their work places from their native places.
On the first anniversary of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, Sangh Parivar affiliates say they are annoyed with the ruling dispensation but can't live without it either
The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
'You cannot treat workers like beggars.'
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