Workers who refuse to join the factories after the shutdown may face wage cuts and disciplinary action.

New Delhi: Factories and other establishments in some states can be allowed to cut wages and initiate disciplinary action against workers who do not report to work within a stipulated period once the Covid-19 blockade is lifted.

Department of Labor officials in states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh told ET that such a notice is being considered to issue factories in their states at the highest levels to bring workers back. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have loosened labor laws that will make it easier for companies to hire and fire workers as part of measures to ease conditions for companies to resume economic activity.

“While an internal discussion is underway on these lines, a final decision will be made if the blockade does not extend beyond May 17,” said a senior Gujarat labor department official.

If issued, a directive would be under the Factories Act, which covers any unit that employs 10 or more workers and uses electricity for production or employs 20 or more people with or without electricity.

Any circular would apply to all workers in the relevant units and would include migrant workers who may have returned home or are preparing to leave due to uncertainty about jobs and wages.

There is not enough labor in industrial centers

The idea is to discourage migrant workers from returning or to return as soon as possible if they have left.

At least a dozen employers’ associations met with Labor Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Friday and urged the Center to issue such a notice as it would compel workers to return.

There is a recent precedent for such measures: Goa, Gujarat and other states issued similar notices in April to allow essential services during the shutdown to ensure the unimpeded supply of medicines, food, fruits, vegetables, milk, bread and other items.

Such a move will put pressure on workers to rejoin or face the risk of losing their jobs while helping the government tackle the problem of labor shortages as it seeks to open factories and resume economic activity, according to the people quoted above. .

There is concern that, unless strict orders are issued, workers cannot return to work even if the blockade is lifted and production is allowed subject to social distancing rules and precautions.

Other states are monitoring the situation and hoping for clarity on how far industries will open after May 17.

Millions of migrant workers have returned to their home states in the absence of work and wages, leaving industrial centers without enough labor to restart factories.