3 Minute Time Allotted A ‘Cheap Joke’: 10 Major Trade Unions Boycott Pre-Budget Meeting With FM Sitharaman

The trade unions called the three minutes allotted for each union to forth their budget demands a “cheap joke”. The unions had also sought a physical meeting with the finance minister in order to discuss their various demands in detail.

New Delhi: Ten of the major trade unions across the country that include AITUC, INTUC, CITU, HMS, LPF, SEWA, AIUTUC, and others, on Monday boycotted their pre-budget consultations with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, citing lack of proper time given to them to put forth their demands before the Centre, reported IANS.

In a letter written to Ms Sitharaman on November 25, the unions had threatened to boycott the meeting after the Finance Ministry reportedly allotted them three minutes each to put across their views before the Minister.

The trade unions called the three minutes allotted for each union to forth their budget demands a “cheap joke”. The unions had also sought a physical meeting with the finance minister in order to discuss their various demands in detail.

The Ministry had arranged for a meeting via video conferencing.

The IANS report says an INTUC leader said that the 10 unions boycotted today’s meeting and that the Finance Ministry had called them to assure that they would be informed about a fresh time slot for a meeting with Sitharaman at a later date.

The 10 unions have also sought an increased budget allocation for MGNREGA and giving workers under the scheme’s ambit the status of government employees and paying them minimum wages.

They have also asked the Minister to increase taxes on corporates and introduce wealth tax.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman met RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and representatives of industry bodies like FICCI and CII, as well as the CEO of National Skill Development Council among others, to hold pre-budget consultations on Monday.

(With IANS inputs)