Kharge blames Centre’s policies for rising unemployment, seeks labour law review
Kharge blames Centre’s policies for rising unemployment, seeks labour law review
M.U.H
01/05/202624
The Congress on Friday sharpened its criticism of the Centre over rising unemployment, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge alleging that the situation stems from what he described as the government’s “hum do, hamare do” policies.
In a post on X, Kharge accused the administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pursuing measures that he said have weakened job security and adversely affected workers across sectors.
“Unemployment in India today is a direct result of the ‘hum do, hamare do’ policies,” Kharge said, claiming that labour reforms introduced by the government were “anti-worker” and had led to unrest in several industrial hubs, including Noida, IOCL facilities in Panipat, Adani’s factory in Raikheda, NTPC in Patratu and Samsung’s plant in Sriperumbudur.
He argued that the new labour codes promote contract labour and “hire-and-fire” practices rather than ensuring stable employment, and called for a comprehensive review of these laws.
The Congress president also targeted the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, alleging that the government has “effectively dismantled” it by shifting 40 per cent of the wage burden onto state governments. “States are unable to bear this cost, and eventually they will be forced to stop providing work,” he said.
Kharge further contended that workers are increasingly being pushed into precarious forms of employment. “The Modi government has pushed workers towards unemployment and gig work. As many as 69 per cent of people are working for less than the minimum wage,” he said, adding that stagnant wages have worsened the crisis. According to him, when adjusted for inflation, wage growth for most workers has remained below one per cent annually over the past decade from 2014–15 to 2022–23.
Raising concerns about educated unemployment, Kharge said the situation among graduates has deteriorated due to policy decisions such as privatisation of public sector undertakings and unfilled vacancies in government jobs. “The government has refused to fill nearly three million vacant posts, and MSMEs have collapsed due to its policies,” he alleged.
Reiterating the party’s demands, Kharge called for the expansion of MGNREGA to urban areas, implementation of a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day, and a “Right to Health” law guaranteeing universal health coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh for workers. He also sought life and accident insurance for all unorganised workers and an end to contractualisation in core government functions, along with a review of the labour codes.
Unemployment and labour reforms remain key political flashpoints, with opposition parties frequently criticising the government over job creation and wage growth, while the Centre maintains that its structural reforms are aimed at improving ease of doing business and fostering long-term employment generation.
