Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant on Saturday slammed the implementation of the Centre`s four new labour codes, saying they would destroy the rights of workers and create uncertainty, reported news agency PTI.
Speaking to reporters, Sawant, who heads the Sena (UBT) workers` wing, accused the government of aligning with capitalists and the rich.
The law has taken everything from certainty to uncertainty, he said, adding that the new codes will be challenged in the courts.
The Union government has notified the Industrial Relations Code-2020, the Occupational Safety, Health Code-2020, the Social Security Code-2020, and the Code on Wages, 2019, which have been pending since 2020, ushering in major reforms.
“The codes will destroy the lives of labourers and give them no certain rights. The Bharatiya Kamgar Sena will oppose the implementation of these codes,” Sawant said, reported PTI.
Under the earlier law, any factory owner employing 100 workers needed permission from the state government to shut his unit, but the new code has raised the cap to 300, he said.
Sawant further said that when the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power, he had opposed any move to implement the codes in the state, reported PTI.
The government on Friday implemented the four codes, introducing worker-friendly measures such as a timely minimum wage for all and universal social security, including gig and platform workers, while allowing longer work hours, broader fixed-term employment, and employer-friendly retrenchment rules, reported PTI.
The codes have replaced 29 fragmented laws with a unified and modern framework.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday accused the MahaYuti government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of making grand claims about infrastructure while ignoring the collapsing healthcare and basic facilities in remote tribal regions, reported news agency IANS.
In its editorial, Saamana, the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the government’s talk of development amounted to nothing more than “empty words” and “colourful balloons” when people living barely a few hours from Mumbai continue to suffer due to poor roads, inadequate health services, and unreliable ambulance systems.
The Thackeray camp urged the Chief Minister to prioritize the basic needs of the poor and remote tribal populations — namely decent roads, health facilities, and reliable ambulance services — before focusing on ambitious projects like the Metro network, highways, and tunnel roads.
The sharp criticism followed the incident in Mokhada in tribal dominated Palghar district, where an ambulance driver dropped off a tribal woman and her newborn baby halfway home after delivery, forcing them and her relatives to walk two km.
According to the editorial, this event, which came to light only because a citizen posted it on social media, exposed the gap between the government`s “vision of development” and the ground reality. It said that despite seven decades of independence, areas like Wada-Mokhada and other tribal parts of the state lack the basic necessities, reported IANS.
“There are no proper roads or adequate transportation facilities (daldalvanachi soy). Even if a Primary Health Center (PHC) exists, it often lacks doctors, staff, or medicines. Due to a lack of roads, pregnant women and sick people have to be carried in slings (zoli) or palanquins (doli) to the nearest town for treatment, which frequently leads to deliveries or deaths during the journey. Even when ambulances are available, they are often useless due to a lack of roads or a lack of drivers,” said the editorial, reported IANS.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
