Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Jan 13, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jan 13, 2005 |
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Industry & Economy
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Budget Trade unions call for allocating more funds in social sectors Our Bureau
New Delhi , Jan. 12 THE major trade unions on Wednesday urged the Government for allocating more funds in social sectors including 10 per cent of the Budget on education, social security for agricultural, unorganised and organised workers. In their pre-Budget meeting held here with the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the labour leaders also urged for setting up of the Sixth Pay Commission as well as wage boards for different sectors, including newspaper industry, progressive hike in corporate tax and higher income-tax rates for those earning over Rs 10 lakh and above. Speaking to presspersons after their meeting with the Finance Minister, the AITUC General Secretary, Mr Gurudas Dasgupta, demanded that the Employment Guarantee Scheme should be made more universal covering the urban poor as envisaged under the National Common Minimum Programme, and that the relevant minimum wage should be specified. For the benefit of the salaried class, the trade unions demanded that the I-T exemption limit be raised from Rs 1.1 lakh to at least Rs 1.5 lakh and the interest rate on EPF deposits be raised or at least retained at the last year's level of 9.5 per cent. Demanding the setting up of a National Workers' Capital Fund, the trade unions urged the Finance Minister to take steps for ensuring workers participation in management and shareholding of a company and amendment of Bonus Act to enhance the limits on bonus. Demanding the scrapping of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, the labour leaders said that the Government should not be constrained by the gap between fiscal and revenue deficit. The President of CITU, Mr M.K. Pandhe, told presspersons after the meeting that the setting up of pension regulator has also been opposed as well as the newly introduced defined contribution scheme, where the pension contributions made by the Government have been brought down. In the meeting, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sabha demanded a consultative group for identifying jobs for the Employment Guarantee Scheme.
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