BMS to hold nationwide protest on Jan 3 against disinvestment, fixed term jobs

Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, the RSS-affiliate trade union, said it will hold a nationwide protest on Friday against government policies on disinvestment, privatization and fixed-term employment in the country. "We will hold nationwide protest at all district head quarters throughout the country on January 3, 2020 to awaken the government," a BMS statement said on Saturday.

According to the statement, the union will also hold a demonstration at Jantar-Mantar in the national capital on Friday. The union noted that most of the formal jobs in the country have been contractualized or made fixed-term jobs.

The job security has been compromised and workers always run the risk of being thrown out/replaced, it added. BMS has strongly opposed contractualisation, and casualization of jobs and demanded that all contract, fixed-term, casual, daily-wage, temporary workers should be regularised as permanent employment, the trade union said.

The union has also demanded that all scheme workers working in Aanganwadi, Aasha, PDS, Midday Meal, NHM etc plans should be conferred the title of government servants. It also urged the government to stop disinvestment, strategic sale, corporatization and privatization of public sector undertakings.

The union contended that the PSUs are the backbone of the Indian industrial structure and the government must stop policy driven disinvestment /privatization of the same. On foreign direct investment (FDI), the union said that FDI must be

stopped. Corporatization of the defence sector is a matter of national security. Privatization of railways, which is an essential service and lifeline of Indian cities, must be stopped, it added.

BMS lauded government's efforts towards codification of labor laws into 4 codes. However, it expressed concerns that a number of provisions in the codes are effectively anti-labor and hurt the general interest of workers and has suggested the government to remove those provisions.

The union has also urged the government to ensure effective implementation of labor laws in the country