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Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: The joint opposition Wednesday protested at the Parliament entrance against new labour codes and demanded their scrapping, with Congress president and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge targeting the Modi govt as “anti-labour, anti-worker, pro-cronies”.Kharge said the codes pose a “threat to job security” as the layoff threshold without govt approval has been raised from 100 to 300 workers. He said the new provisions will end permanent jobs as companies will hire workers on short-term contracts to avoid long-term benefits for workers. He said states can allow 12-hour shifts through flexible scheduling, even though eight-hour shifts are retained on paper.“Workers must wait 60 days before striking, plus a 14-day cooling-off period. This prevents quick action against unsafe or unfair conditions. Requiring one union with 51% membership to be the sole negotiator sidelines smaller unions and reduces representation for diverse worker groups,” he said.Carrying posters and placards against the new labour codes, the opposition MPs raised slogans demanding their rollback.Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi; TMC’s Dola Sen; DMK’s Kanhimozhi and A Raja; CPM’s John Brittas and Amra Ram; CPI(ML)’s Rajaram Singh and Sudama Prasad; MPs NK Premachandran, Amar Singh, Gaurav Gogoi, among others, were part of the protest. They held a large banner — ‘No to Corporate Jungle Raj, Yes to Labour Justice’.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said govt had snatched all the rights of workers in the name of simplifying laws and bringing labour codes. “Through these laws, Modi’s pro-capitalist and anti-worker mindset has again come to the fore. The country does not accept these laws,” she said.
