2 April, 2012
As the use of CAL continues to grow around the world more and more unions and their members are taking to the streets to protest against the degradation of employment relationships.
An all-India general strike was held on 28th February which brought together workers from various sectors to oppose the neoliberal policies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government. One key demand of the action was to ensure that contract workers are award the same rights and protections as permanent workers.
The Indian Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act stipulates that contract workers who perform the same or similar work as permanent workers will be entitled to the same wages and conditions. Under this Act, contract labour ought not to be permitted for permanent or core functions.
However, as regularly reported by the ICEM, this Act is widely violated and contract workers in India habitually receive inferior terms and conditions of employment despite performing core tasks. On 12 January, the ICEM joined a complaint to the OECD submitted by its local affiliate Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS) regarding the illegal treatment of contract workers in India by the Swiss multinational cement company Holcim. Further information on the complaint is available here.