Govt proposes to make 14-day notice mandatory for employees to go on strike: Gangwar

The government has proposed to make a 14-day notice mandatory for employees to go on strike under new labour laws, Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. "If there is a strike in any unit, they (employees) would have to inform at least 14 days in advance," he said. This was part of the new labour laws the government was bringing and the ministry was in touch with various state governments in this regard, Gangwar said.

Noting that the government was bringing reforms in labour laws, the minister said as part of that, it was clubbing 44 labour laws into four codes. He also informed that according to a 2016 survey, there were 10 crore migrant workers in the country, which was around 20 per cent of the labour force.

"The government understands the issue," Gangwar said, adding, "We would discuss the issue of migrant workers in the codes as well." The minister, who also sought suggestions from the members, was replying to the issue raised by Rakesh Sinha and Digvijaya Singh of the Congress.

Singh urged the government to conduct a district-wise survey of migration of people, on which Gangwar said he had asked the state governments to prepare a list.

Asked whether the government had any plans to compensate the employees if a unit was closed due to a court order, Gangwar said his ministry was also considering that a month's salary should be given to such employees.

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