Calling Workers ‘Vishwakarma’ While Enslaving Them Is a Conspiracy: Shyam Sundar Yadav

New Delhi | Arun Sharma

Launching a sharp attack on the Centre, senior labour leader and President of the Samajwadi Karmachari Union Shyam Sundar Yadav has alleged that the four Labour Codes introduced by the Modi government are a “well-planned conspiracy” against India’s working class, undermining more than five decades of trade union struggles and dismantling the spirit of 29 existing labour laws.


Drawing from his 51 years of association with the trade union movement, Yadav said he has witnessed several governments that acknowledged workers’ movements and addressed their concerns. He recalled that during the British era, landmark laws such as the Workmen’s Compensation Act, the Trade Unions Act and the Payment of Wages Act were enacted. After Independence, Congress-led governments introduced legislations like the Minimum Wages Act, Employees’ Provident Fund Act and Employees’ State Insurance Act to protect workers from exploitation and ensure health and social security.


Yadav alleged that the present government is the first to completely ignore organised labour, pushing through four Labour Codes without any consultation with trade unions and scrapping 29 hard-won labour laws. He said a similar approach was adopted in the case of farm laws, which were eventually repealed following sustained farmers’ protests.


Fixed-Term Employment ‘Most Dangerous Provision’
Terming Fixed-Term Employment as the most dangerous clause in the new codes, Yadav said it deprives workers of their right to challenge termination and effectively does away with the principle of natural justice. He pointed out that the provision of only 15 days’ gratuity after one year of service causes severe financial loss to workers, whereas earlier laws mandated one month’s notice or wages along with compensation, ensuring job security.


Closure of Units With Up to 300 Workers
The union leader said another major blow is the provision allowing industrial units employing up to 300 workers to shut down without prior government approval, virtually ending employment security. He added that the codes also indirectly restrict workers’ right to form trade unions of their choice.


Designed Under Pressure From Multinationals
Yadav accused the government of framing these laws under pressure from multinational corporations and to conceal its failure to generate employment. He warned that fixed-term employment would lead to frequent disputes between employers and workers, disrupt production, increase litigation for industries and ultimately harm the national economy.


Raising serious implementation concerns, he questioned how the codes could be enforced when rules are yet to be framed, enforcement machinery is absent and government recruitments remain largely stalled.


‘29 Flower Beds Squeezed Into Four Pots’
In a scathing remark, Yadav said,
“Compressing 29 labour laws into four codes is like squeezing flowers from 29 flower beds into four pots—so that they neither bloom nor spread their fragrance to workers.”
He called upon the country’s working class to unite and intensify democratic resistance against what he described as anti-worker legislation.