The RSS-affiliated labour union demands stimulus package for the labour intensive sectors.

The RSS-affiliated labour union, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), on Wednesday blamed the government’s “faulty” advisers and “misguided reforms” as the key reasons for the economic slowdown and demanded a stimulus package for the labour intensive sectors.

“[The] Prime Minister’s good intentions and efforts are neutralised by lack of proper experts, lack of communication and feedback from social sectors [which includes labour, farmer, below poverty line, tribals, backward people, micro industries etc.], dependence on faulty advisers and misguided reforms,” BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said in a statement.

Blames UPA govt. too

The union further blamed “wrong direction” of the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s policies for “job displacing reforms.”

BMS national president Saji Narayanan demanded strong intervention “to tackle economic slowdown” by announcing a stimulus package towards labour intensive sectors and increasing the work days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme (MGNREGS) from present 100 days to 200 days.

The BMS asked the government to retract from its present reform process and reiterated its demand for a round table with the government to discuss economic concerns. “Its labour law reforms proposed hire and fire, labour cost reduction, labour displacing technologies, disinvestment, ban on recruitment, abolition of posts and staff, automation etc. FDI had already destructively affected our micro and small scale sector as well as retail trade sector,” the BMS said.

It further sought loans with lower interest rate for the construction sector and more subsidies, loan waiver and other measures to boost the agricultural sector.