Unorganised workers urge Tamil Nadu government to protect welfare boards

THOOTHUKUDI: In the wake of the Union government repealing several Acts on labour safety, the unorganised workers have appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to pass a resolution in the Assembly to protect the welfare boards functioning in the State.

The Union government had repealed over 44 Central Acts, and introduced four labour codes such as the Social Security code, Occupational Safety and Health code, Industrial Relations code and Wage code, for unorganised sector workers, claiming them to be the consolidation of the previous Acts.

The workers led by Unorganised Workers Federation coordinator M Krishnamurthy strongly condemned the repeal of the Acts, during a demonstration held in front of the Thoothukudi Collectorate on Monday. "This could sound the death knell for unorganised workers' safety. The social security aspects that were enshrined in the previous Acts, have not been included in the new labour codes. The State government has 36 welfare boards, including 18 boards constituted under the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers Act and 16 constituted under various Government Orders," he said.

National Coordinator for the federation Geetha told TNIE that the new labour codes will affect the functioning of trade unions and labour unions. "The Tamil Nadu government is one of the pioneers in operating welfare boards to effectively safeguard social security of labourers. The State should pass resolutions to protect existing welfare boards by taking a policy decision during the demand for grants session in the Assembly scheduled for April 26," she said.