Nawanshahr, January 23- Nirman Mason Mazdoor Union (Iftu) Punjab will hold a state level dharna in front of the Chandigarh office of Labor Commissioner Punjab on March 4 regarding the demands of construction workers. This decision was taken in the state committee meeting at the organization's office.
Giving information in this regard, Iftu Punjab President Kulwinder Singh Waraich, State Secretary Raj Singh Malot and State Press Secretary Jasbir Deep said that the Modi government at the Center has first abolished the pro-labor labor laws and in their place implemented four anti-labor and pro-corporate labor codes, which the Modi government is going to implement across the country in April this year. With the implementation of these four labor codes, all the welfare schemes of the workers associated with Building and Other Construction (BOC) will be stopped.
He said that the matter of labor laws is a matter of concurrent list, so the Punjab government should bring a resolution in the Punjab Assembly against these four labor codes and repeal them. These labor codes are a deadly attack on the fundamental rights of the workers. Demanding the recruitment of necessary employees in the Labor Department and BOC, he said that many cases of laborers are pending due to lack of employees.
He demanded that two representatives of the union should be included in the BOC board, the Labor Department should start offline work along with online work, minimum wage should be implemented in Punjab and increased according to inflation, the union should be registered within 30 days, shelter homes should be built for migrant laborers and compensation on the death of a construction worker should be increased to Rs 5 lakh.
He said that at present many offices of the Labor Department in Punjab have become a den of corruption, where the work of laborers is not being done properly and according to the rules. Laborers have to make rounds to get their work done. There are obstacles in the registration of laborers, the money of their welfare schemes is not being deposited in their accounts, whereas about Rs 1400 crore is deposited in the BOC Board of the Labor Department for the welfare of laborers, which according to the law cannot be used anywhere other than the welfare of laborers.
The Labor Department is sitting on this welfare fund of laborers. In this meeting, it was also decided to hold meetings, rallies, flag marches and printing of pamphlets to prepare for the protest on March 4.