Pre-Budget Meet: Trade Unions Seek Higher Employment Days Under MGNREGA

Trade unions have asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to increase the number of minimum work days under the rural employment guarantee scheme.

Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, in a pre-budget meet with finance minister, sought more funds to be allocated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and employment days be increased to 200 from 100, Pawan Kumar, zonal secretary of the body, told reporters.

This, according to Ashok Singh, national vice president of Indian National Trade Union Congress, would be in line with the 43rd Indian Labour Conference to guarantee employment for 200 days, along with an extension of the scheme in urban areas. Also, immediate payment should be made for accumulated unpaid wages to workers, he said after the meeting.

This comes at a time the government cut its budgetary allocation for the scheme—that provides 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household family member—to Rs 60,000 crore in July from Rs 61,084 crore in the interim presentation in February. But that’s higher than Rs 55,000 crore allocated in last year’s budget.

The trade unions also suggested that contract employees who have worked for five years be employed as regular workers and they should be provided productivity-linked bonus until they find regular employment.

While Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh sought raising minimum pension to Rs 3,000 from Rs 1,000 currently, INTUC said the contract workers doing similar work as regular employees should be paid same wages and be entitled to similar benefits as them.

The trade bodies also requested government to stop divestment of public sector companies to prevent job losses. That too when India decided to privatise Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and four other state-owned entities.