New Delhi, October 25
Should IT sector come under the purview of essential services divided the CPM Politburo members with the trade union wing opposing any such move and those in the saddle of power in the states rallying for it to attract investments.
However, adopting a safe stance, Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters “Labour laws must be upheld in the IT sector. We are against any dilution of labour laws. The matter had not yet come up for discussion but was on the agenda” of the two-day meet of the party’s highest decision-making body.
While West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee advocated that these sectors should be within the ambit of essential services, other party leaders insisted that these sectors must not be considered as essential services as these were moneymaking industries.
CITU head and Politburo member M K Pandhe said the trade union had already taken a position and written a letter to the Labour Ministry, saying that the IT and BPO sectors should even have the rights to form labour unions.
He also quoted a survey of the NOIDA-based V V Giri Institute of Labour to say that 19th century working conditions existed in the IT and BPO sectors.
The Politburo would also chalk out its strategy for the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meet to be held on October 27, which the Communists would rejoin after boycotting it for over two months over the disinvestment of profit-making BHEL.
The meeting will also consider the government’s approach to foreign policy issues and its proposal to allow FDI in the retail sector, among other things.
“The CPM Politburo is also discussing how and in what manner FDI can be allowed in various sectors. But the party will protest any move to dilute labour laws,” said party senior leader and Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri
Yechury said the Politburo reviewed the political situation in the country including the on-going Bihar elections.
“It is unprecedented in India’s political history that two months is the span of time between the announcement of the polls and declaration of results. So many general elections have been held in this time-period. If this is the yardstick, then we will continue to have elections for five years”, Yechury said.
The Politburo would also discuss ways and means to raise resources for implementation of major schemes in the social sector, including education, healthcare and the ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, which have been promised in the Common Minimum Programme.
