NEW DELHI, Jan 11: The BJP-led Government today said that it was constituting the second National Commission on Labour by the month-end, but within hours of the announcement, the issue turned political as Left trade unions slammed the idea.``It is only an alibi to put pressing labour issues on the backburner,'' screamed the CPI (M) and CPI-backed Trade Unions (TUs). The BJP-sponsored Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh supported the idea, saying the Left TUs' criticism was ``political.''The decision to set up the Commission, 30 years after the first was constituted, was made by Labour Minister Satyanarayan Jatiya. The Commission, he said, would recommend rationalisation of laws relating to labour in the Organised Sector and suggest an umbrella legislation for ensuring minimum level of protection to workers in the Unorganised Sector.Besides the chairman, it will have two full-time members, one of whom will function as its member-secretary and seven part-time members representing the Government, industry andworkers. The Commission's tenure will be for 24 months from the date of its constitution.Left TUs termed the decision to set up the Commission as ``unilateral'' and said that it was only an exercise to change labour laws to suit the liberalised, globalised economic regime.They also apprehended that the BMS, ``recognised fraudulently as the biggest TU,'' would deny them adequate representation on the body. According to CITU secretary Varadarajan, ever since the Vajpayee Government took office, there had been no consultation with the labour unions. ``The demand from the trade unions for such a commission was not unanimous,'' he told The Indian Express.K L Mahendra, AITUC General Secretary, said that it was clear that certain things, like removal of the restrictions on industry to close shop without permission from the Government, would be recommended by the Commission.He also found fault with the Government for not talking about social security cover for the Unorganised Sector. The Left unionsfeel that the two-year timeframe within which the Commission is expected to give its report, is too long. They also fear that it may seek extensions.
