Bhubaneswar: Eight central trade unions Wednesday issued a stern warning to the Centre and the state government, demanding withdrawal of the new labour codes, cancellation of the 10-hour workday notification, and a ban on nightshift duties for women workers. In this connection, a massive protest was organised at Lower PMG here, where leaders of INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AICCTU, TUCC, LPF and various independent federations opposed the new labour codes.
Leaders Kishore Jena, Ashok Das, Bishu Mohanty, Raj Kishore Mallick, Bansidhar Parida, Jyotiranjan Mohapatra and others took part in the demonstration. The leaders alleged that the Centre’s four labour codes and the state’s decision to extend the workday to 10 hours were intended to benefit large corporate houses. They further claimed that allowing employers to lay off up to 300 workers at a time would pave the way for a ‘company raj’. They also opposed amendments to the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, arguing that excluding units with fewer than 20 workers from labour protections amounted to a betrayal of workers.
The unions accused the government of pushing pro-corporate reforms under the guise of ease of doing business, pointing to steps such as bank mergers and proposed privatisation of LIC. They said extending work hours to 10–12 hours also violated ILO conventions. “The government is moving to privatise every sector, and the new labour codes are designed to undermine workers’ rights. The previous laws should be restored, and the four new labour codes scrapped,” said a protestor. The leaders submitted a three-point memorandum to the Chief Minister through the joint platform led by Mahendra Parida. They warned that if their demands were not met, they would launch massive statewide and nationwide agitations.
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