The opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday opposed the amendments to certain labour laws in BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in ensuring all such laws were duly followed.
Party President M K Stalin wanted the states to withdraw the changes, which he termed as 'anti-labour.'
BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have decided to stay labour laws for three years and also announced a series of changes to give a boost to investments hit by COVID-19.
Joining the league, Gujarat had eased some labour laws and also increased working hours from 8 to 12 hours.
"The Prime Minister should issue a special advisory to all state governments, at least in his capacity as Chairperson of National Disaster Management Authority, that factories must abide by all labour laws and that no state government should disregard any of them," Stalin said in a statement.
Calling the amendments by the respective states "anti-worker and anti-people autocratic measures," he said they have extended the 8-hour workday to 12 hours and denied the workers their rights and protection.
"From the beginning, the BJP government refused to accept that workers are the backbone of the economy. They are now siding with the employers to exploit the hard work of the workers," Stalin said.
Already, the BJP-government at the Centre pushed the workers to the brink of despair during the COVID-19 lockdown leaving the stranded migrant workers to walk home for several miles, while their family members underwent abject poverty, he said.
"Dispensing with the labour laws only reveals the dangerous ulterior motive of the BJP governments," Stalin added.