Taking advantage of protests and boycotts by opposition parties, the NDA government rammed through three labour code Bills that favour the corporate sector in Parliament. Opposition parties boycotted Parliament over suspension of 8 Rajya Sabha members for disrupting the House during discussion on farm Bills.
Concerns are being expressed that the labour code Bills will harm the interests of workers just as farm Bills do in case of farmers. The new Bills give greater freedom to companies in hiring and firing of workers. Workers lose not only the job security, but also the right to go on flash strikes.
Opposition parties would have forced some amendments aimed at protecting jobs had they not boycotted both Houses of Parliament over agriculture Bills. Though some opposition members proposed amendments to these legislations, they could not be insisted upon in the melee of protests and boycotts. No debate has taken place on hiring of workers for a specific period as mentioned in the Industrial Relations Code. Likewise, the rule that makes Aadhaar mandatory to avail social security benefits under Social Security Code has not been discussed.
The opposition boycott provided an opportunity to the Modi government to push through the contentious labour reforms. TDP Lok Sabha member Galla Jayadev had already pointed out that the Aadhaar norm was against the Supreme Court verdict. BJD voiced concerns that besides these two codes, labour safety and health codes would reduce the powers of states. The opposition could do nothing on these issues due to lack of strength and boycott.
On its part, the NDA government believes that the new labour codes will facilitate more domestic and foreign investment into the manufacturing sector. The government is expecting that many companies will shift their production to India from China in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China and the Corona crisis. Those companies want flexible labour laws and hassle-free allocation of land. The US and other developed countries have been pressing India to remove farm subsidies and give freedom to market forces. Disputes are also going on in the World Trade Organisation in this regard. With their boycott, the opposition seems to have helped the NDA government in fulfilling the wishes of developed nations
