Himachal: Construction Workers Federation Demands Withdrawal of ‘Anti-Labour’ Decisions

A delegation of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and Himachal Pradesh Construction Workers Federation met Dile Ram Dhiman, secretary, Himachal Pradesh Workers Welfare Board in Shimla. and handed over their charter of demands.

The delegation, consisting of state CITU leaders, told the board secretary that due to the letter issued by them on December 12, 2022, the work of submission of forms for registration, renewal and assistance of labourers at the district level had stopped. Apart from this, the amount released to labourers from the board office for the past six months was also not being accepted.

The trade union leaders urged the secretary to withdraw this letter immediately and release all pending benefits. They also warned that if this was not done soon, they would begin protests at the block level across the state on March 15.

The Himachal Pradesh State Labour Welfare Board, unannounced, banned the acceptance of benefits to registered MGNREGA (rural job guarantee scheme) workers from December 2022, which has been strongly opposed by the CITU-affiliated MGNREGA and Construction Workers Federation.

Across the country, MGNREGA workers are considered a part of the Construction Workers' Welfare Board, through which they get social and economic benefits. But the Himachal Pradesh government first tightened the rules for MGNREGA workers to become labour board members and has now decided to exclude them completely.

After the meeting, the union leaders said the board secretary assured them that a decision in this regard would be taken soon after discussing the issue with the state labour minister, chairman of the board and the Chief Minister in the next one or two days. The union also demanded that construction work done under various heads in panchayats and municipal bodies should be recognised by the board as registered work and the right to issue and countersign the employment form should be given to the registered labour unions, as was done earlier. This practice was discontinued vide a notification dated February 8, 2023.

The memorandum also demanded that labour unions should also be included in the expert committee formed to take decisions related to the board. Apart from this, the condition that the labourer concerned can become a member of the board only after deducting cess in the construction work, shpuld be done away with.

This is because there is no such mandatory condition for registration under in the Building and Other Construction Act, 1996. Joginder Kumar, state president of the Construction Workers Federation, said the government had not imposed any cess on building and construction work done in villages and cities, so the board has illegally imposed this condition for registration and renewal of workers, because of which they cannot become members of the board. This is why the union has demanded its immediate cancellation.

The union demanded early release of pending benefits of the past two years and the aid amount of Rs 6,000 each announced for the Covid period for all labourers. Apart from this, smooth and timely functioning of the board was needed to fulfil all these demands, as also appointment of labour welfare officers in all the districts. The union also demanded that a board meeting be called soon in which all these issues should be discussed and the “one-sided anti-labour decisions” being taken by the bureaucracy be changed. Bhupendra Singh, general secretary of the union, said registration of labourers should be done both offline and online.