Bhubaneswar, 16 August (H.S.): The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will launch a nationwide agitation on Monday, August 17, demanding protection of workers’ rights, employment security, dignity and social security. Members of the organisation and its affiliated 42 federations across 28 states will stage demonstrations, rallies and sit-ins at district headquarters. Memoranda addressed to the Prime Minister, Union Finance Minister and Union Labour Minister will also be submitted through the respective district administrations.

BMS Odisha State President Badal Maharana said workers play a crucial role in the country’s economic development, but the working class is currently facing growing economic pressure and insecurity. Rising prices of essential commodities, increasing living costs and changing conditions at workplaces have placed an additional burden on workers and their families.

The nationwide agitation is being organised in accordance with a decision taken at the BMS Central Executive Committee meeting held in Ranchi. The organisation has expressed concern over the increasing use of unorganised and contractual employment in government establishments and public sector undertakings. It has demanded job security for contractual workers and implementation of the principle of “equal pay for equal work.”

The BMS has demanded that scheme workers engaged under various government programmes, including Anganwadi, ASHA, Mid-Day Meal and the National Health Mission (NHM), be granted formal worker status, provided respectable wages and brought within the ambit of the new labour codes.

The organisation has also demanded an increase in the minimum pension under EPS-95 to ₹7,500 per month and its linkage with dearness allowance. It has sought inclusion of eligible workers in the Ayushman Bharat scheme and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees.

Among other demands, the BMS has called for fixing the minimum monthly wage at ₹30,000, increasing the eligibility limits for ESI and EPF, and bringing reforms in the bonus and gratuity systems. It has reiterated its demand for employment security and equal pay for equal work for all contractual workers.

The organisation has further urged the government to fill vacant posts in government departments at the earliest and create more employment opportunities for qualified local youth through industrial development. It said adequate local employment opportunities should be generated to reduce the need for people to migrate to other states in search of livelihoods.

The BMS has also raised objections to certain provisions of the Industrial Relations Code (IR Code) and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSH & WC Code). It has called for an immediate meeting of the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) to facilitate a detailed discussion with major trade unions on these issues.

The organisation has also demanded a separate national policy for workers in the country’s vast unorganised sector. According to the BMS, the country’s overall economic development cannot be achieved without ensuring workers’ rights, dignity and social security.

BMS Odisha State President Badal Maharana said workers constitute a strong foundation of the national economy and therefore issues concerning their rights, dignity, employment security and social protection must receive priority.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda