India has done relatively better than even some of the developed countries in terms of dealing with pandemic Covid-19. The Central government — through swift decision making and timely interventions and putting systems in place — has so far managed to stave off the enormity of the pandemic, though it is too early to say we are out of the red patch.
The labour sector is in distress: Workers in non-essential services have faced a huge crisis. A good percentage of the workers in essential services have also had to face problems. The government should have discussed all matters related to workers with trade unions.
As far as Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh is concerned we will support whatever directions come from different governments — be it the Union government or the State governments. It is time for united action. For example, we are supporting all efforts taken by the Communist government in Kerala despite our ideological differences with them. It is in national interest that we should rise above ideological differences.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on our economy. The country cannot remain in lockdown for long, therefore, it should be relaxed in a phased manner. The labour sector is in distress: Workers in non-essential services have faced a huge crisis. A good percentage of the workers in essential services have also had to face problems. The government should have discussed all matters related to workers with trade unions. The Labour Ministry had given certain suggestions to the government on this. The BMS had taken up a number of issues with the Centre, particularly from the informal sector.
Considering the nature of our economy, the formal sector will face maximum hardships during this lockdown. The informal sector, we think, will recover sooner. There will be losses in areas such as harvesting in the farm sector, and the IT and IT-enabled services and export-oriented sectors. The informal sector has survived the 2008 financial recession and demonetisation. Since we are fighting this pandemic is a coordinated manner, I am sure that problems in the economy now also can be fought in a similar manner.
The government should give more attention to the small scale sector. With proper policy push, this sector can prove to be the growth engine for our economy. It has the capacity to create additional jobs thereby find a solution to the burgeoning unemployment problem caused as a result of the pandemic in other sectors.
Our exports and foreign trade have been in loss for years. But Covid-19 has also provided some opportunities. We can seek the possibility of enhancing our competition with China, particularly in sectors like healthcare. We can focus on areas such as health tourism and export of medicines.
This pandemic re-emphasised the role and importance of the public sector. Some of our public sector pharmaceutical companies were closed down by governments in the past. The private sector was in a state of shock, but the public sector discharged its duties in an effective manner. This is a lesson not just for the government. When we revive and reshape our economy after the pandemic, such issues must be discussed in an innovative manner.
(As told to Indus Scrolls correspondent)
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