Your employer could soon get added powers to fire you anytime. Here is why

The Government is mulling to table a bill in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, which would give more powers to the companies.

Under the draft Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2015 that will combine Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Trade Unions Act, 1926 and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, the Government has proposed for tougher laws for trade unions.

If the new industrial code legislation gets passed, this would be a major labour reform initiative.

Also, the new bill will give companies the power to lay off up to 300 workers without Government’s permission, instead of 100 currently.

However, the workers' representatives have strongly rejected the proposals.

The legislation also proposes to change the formula for forming a trade union, stating that 10% of workers or 100 employees would be needed for registering a trade union. At present, seven members form a union, irrespective of the size of the establishment.

To study this draft code, Labour Secretary Shankar Agarwal told Times of India the ministry has decided to form a committee, comprising two members each from Centre, state, trade unions and employers.

"The committee will submit a report in the next 15 days which will be discussed in the next tripartite meeting," he told TOI.

Government officials defended the proposal on sacking employees, saying it would enable companies to deal with business cycles.

An official said that the proposal said instead of just 15 days of (salary as) compensation, the employer will have to give 45 days of compensation for every year an employee has served the organization.

Officials also sought to assure workers' representatives that the government was not against unions, but wanted genuine representation.

But the trade union are against the proposals and denounced it.

Centre of Indian Trade Unions President A K Padmanabhan said they rejected the ideas and the approach, adding that the government was of the mindset that labour laws were an impediment to economic growth.

The final decision will be taken at a national convention of central trade unions on May 26 where they will decide about further action which includes strike.

Even the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) President B N Rai protested against the provisions, saying it would dilute the existing labour laws. "The draft is one-sided. The government is in hurry. These are serious issues and need wider consultation," he said.

All India Trade Union Congress Secretary D L Sachdev said that the government was imposing its draft on them, suggesting interested parties
should be consulted during drafting a legislation.