Vol. 10, Issue : 3 & 4
March - April 2018
Fixed Term Employment:
A Subterfuge for Legitimising Contract Labour
In the budget for 2018-19, Central Finance
Minister announced the government’s decision to
allow hiring of workers on fixed-term contracts for
all employers.
As a follow up of this announcement the
“Industrial employment (standing orders)rules-
1946 have been amended, so as to enable
employers to hire workers through fixed term
contract method., providing much flexibility in hiring
seasonal and other temporary labourers.
The Union government thus made it easier for
the industry to hire labour contractually for a fixed,
implicitly for shorter term. Such labour can be
terminated at the end of the contract without any
notice, without having to pay any retrenchment
compensation whatever. The employers need not
renew the contract on its expiry.
As usual the FICCI welcomed this move made
by the NDA government hailing it that it would ease
the doing of business.
This move is an outcome of a consultation
meeting held on Feb 2018 by the Labour and
Employment Ministry with representatives of state
governments, trade unions and industry. All the 12
state governments represented in the meeting
were in favour of the Fixed Term Contracts (FTC).
The RSS affiliated BMS, National Front of Trade
Unions (NFITU) and Trade Union Co-ordination
Committee (TUCC) have supported the move. The
other trade unions walked out of the meeting as a
protest over not holding consultations before
announcing the move in the Union budget.
The supporters of the industry are hailing this
move to be a “big ticket labour reform”.
In fact this bitter pill of FTC is coated with such
a sugar that it provides for more job opportunities,
and more secure working conditions. That the FTC
workers are ensured with same work hours,
wages, allowances and other benefits on par with
the permanent workers such as PF, ESI, bonus,
gratuity and other compensation in case of
accidents or death while at work, is the bait put
forwarded before the workers to accept the contract
work system which is universally being criticised
and opposed.
While such a facility of FTC was allowed since
October 2016 to the leather and garment
industries, now it has been extended to all the
sectors.
According to the data from the Annual Survey
of Industries, the proportion of contractual labour
in total employment in industries has increased
considerably. During 2014-15, about a third of the
total workers employed in factories were hired
through contracts and the terms of their
employment are worse than the rest. Such worse
working conditions and terms are being
condemned and opposed strongly by various
sections of contract labour, whose basic demand
contd. on page no 3
Organ of the Central Committee of CPI(ML)