With factories restarting work in the past fortnight, differences over payment of wages, increments and other benefits have started cropping up across the State, and industry-related strikes have been reported. While in some cases, where unions are present, wages have been settled as part of earlier agreements despite industries attempting to reduce them, in factories where unions are not present, workers have been left to fend for themselves with very little institutional support available.
So far, it is learnt that the Labour Department has received about 900 complaints pertaining to wages and retrenchment, and the same has been brought before the joint task force of industries and union representatives set up to look into these issues.
At present, the focus of officials in the Labour Department is on coordinating transport for migrant workers returning home. To initiate any action, the department has to notify the March 29 notification of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs not to reduce wages or indulge in retrenchment during the lockdown period, union sources said. However, the Labour Department’s efforts to set up a helpline on non-payment of wages and retrenchment was stymied under industry pressure. An earlier order on compulsory payment of wages was also withdrawn.
Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry president C.R. Janardhan said the wages of those in the MSME sector earning less than ₹15,000 a month have been paid, and others were taking wage cuts in slabs. Trade union sources acknowledged that MSMEs were in a precarious financial situation that might require government support, but were perplexed with some medium- and large-scale industries with deeper pockets resorting to wage cuts.
Pay cuts
A nearly five-decade-old precision engineering technology company in Bengaluru that supplies parts to leading aircraft makers in the world has proposed a 15-25% pay cut, citing a lack of demand. It has also proposed cuts in attendance bonus and incentives, among other things. A pharmaceutical company that operated during the lockdown has paid just about 33% of wages to workers in the lockdown period.
“The problem is that where collective bargaining exists, industries are trying to bargain even on the agreed wage settlement. In industries where there is no collective bargaining, workers are in distress. Incidentally, in Karnataka just about 30% of the factories are unionised,” said M. Sathyanand, secretary, All-India Trade Union Congress, Bengaluru. Furthermore, he said that to tide over the wage crisis in the MSME sector, the Union government should include wage subsidy as part of its package of ₹20 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, attempts to reach Labour Commissioner Shantharam over the mechanism for workers to seek redressal failed, while Labour Minister A. Shivaram Hebbar said the government would come up with plans to protect labourers this week.
