Bengaluru: Over 300 contract workers rally against labour codes, demand job security

Bengaluru witnessed a strong show of unity on Sunday as over 300 contract workers from key public sector institutions including NIMHANS, HAL, and DRDO assembled to protest exploitative employment practices and demand the repeal of recently introduced labour codes.

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The convention, held at Gandhi Bhavan under the banner of the Government and PSU Non-Permanent Workers Joint Forum, voiced serious concerns over the growing reliance on contract labour for core functions in public sector undertakings. Workers highlighted the lack of job security, stagnant wages, and absence of basic social protections as major challenges they face under the current system.

Participants argued that the four new labour codes further entrench a system of precarious employment, leaving non-permanent workers vulnerable to exploitation. They claimed that despite performing essential roles, many are denied permanent status and the accompanying benefits. The forum demanded legislative intervention to grant permanency to contract workers, pointing to recent reforms in states like Assam and Tamil Nadu as examples worth emulating.

The gathering also criticised the outdated central minimum wage structure, last revised in 2017, which has failed to keep pace with inflation and rising living costs. The workers insisted that this stagnation effectively forces them into subsistence conditions.

Alongside calls for job regularisation and wage revision, the forum demanded that authorities safeguard the rights to unionise, protest, and strike—essential freedoms they say are under threat amid growing institutional restrictions.