Report of the on-line meeting of the All India Forum Against Privatisation (AIFAP) on “Repeal the Four Labour Codes” on 7 December 2025 by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
The All India Forum Against Privatization (AIFAP) organized an important All India meeting on December 7th 2025 on “Repeal the Four Labour Codes” demanding repeal of the 4 Labour Laws. Nearly 400 people from all over India attended this meeting.
This meeting was conducted by Dr. A. Mathew, Convenor, AIFAP and Secretary, Kamgar Ekta Committee and addressed by Com. Amarjeet Kaur , General Secretary, All India Trade Union Congress(AITUC), Shri M. Shanmugam, Member of Parliament (DMK) and General Secretary, Labour Progressive Federation(LPF), Com. Santosh Kumar, Mazdoor Ekta Committee(MEC), Com. Clifton D’Rosario, National Vice President, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) and Com. Krishna Bhoyar, Deputy General Secretary, All India Federation of Electricity Employees (AIFEE) and General Secretary, Maharashtra State Electricity Workers Federation (MSEWF).
The highlights of the opening address of Dr. A. Mathew are given below.
This is the 5th National Meeting being organised by AIFAP this year. After every major attack by the Central/State Government for privatisation, contractualization of public sector enterprises, the AIFAP has organised an All India on Line Seminar. The first meeting was on February 2nd 2025, against the announcement of the Uttar Pradesh State Government to privatise two major DISCOMs, the Uttaranchal and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, which supplies electricity to more than 50% of the population of Uttar Pradesh. This meeting was attended by more than 500 people from all over India and was addressed by the National leaders of electricity employees as well as defence, NMOPS, insurance and railway workers.
The second meeting was on July 20th, 2025, against the circular issued by the Railway Board to appoint workers and engineers on a two-year contract basis in the S&T Department of the Indian Railways (IR). The S&T Department is a critical safety department of Indian Railways and the work is of a highly technical nature. It requires two years for a fresh recruit to understand the complex interlock mechanisms, the gears and signalling system, and to appoint workers and engineers on contract basis in such departments is to endanger the safety of passengers as well as railway employees. National Leaders of 9 Railway Federations/Associations/ Unions including all the category associations in the safety department of IR addressed this meeting. After this meeting a joint memorandum signed by all these railway federations /Unions was sent to the Chairman Railway Board demanding immediate withdrawal of the circular and filling the nearly 2 lakh vacancies in the safety category.
The third meeting was held on August 10th, 2025 against the Government of India’s decision to sell IDBI bank, a profit-making public sector-bank to private monopoly corporates. This meeting was addressed by the National leaders of all the bank unions as well as LIC union and attended by more than 300 people.
The fourth meeting was held on November 9th, 2025, against the Government of India’s draft of the Electricity Amendment Bill (EAB) 2025. This meeting was addressed by the National leaders of electricity employees, defense, consumers associations and railways and attended by nearly 400 people.
Today we are meeting for the fifth All India meeting against the 4 labour Codes, notified by the Government of India.
These labour Codes remove large sections of the Indian working class from any protection under law. They make it difficult to form unions and makes it nearly impossible to call a strike which is our fundamental right.
The Codes allow increase of working hours to 12 hours as well as fixed term employment – which means a worker with absolutely no rights.
Owners need not provide a safe and healthy working environment for the workers as the owners only need to self-certify that proper working conditions are being provided. Factory Inspectors will be replaced by inspectors-cum-facilitators whose role will be to facilitate the violation of all laws.
Further the Codes allow night shift for women workers without ensuring safe working conditions and neither providing for safe transport to and from work place.
The meeting concluded with more than 10 participants expressing their views on the subject.
The highlights of the other speeches are given separately.