CITU noted with concern the ongoing move of the government of India to repeal the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provision) Act, 1985(SICA), as reported by the press. Although the concerned Act has many shortcomings and loopholes as reflected in its lacklustre operation, the outright repeal of the Act without any concrete alternative mechanism for revival of sick industrial units would mean complete abdication of government’s responsibility with regard to industrial sickness. It would also give a free hand to the employers and mill-owners to play merrily with the instrument of industrial sickness at the cost of the workers, the industry and the country’s economy.

Earlier, on February 17, in a letter written to Prime Minister, CPI(M) MP Dipankar Mukherjee had pointed out that, the deficiencies and problems involved in the functioning of the SICA Act should be considered and alternative measures to strengthen them are formulated rather than repealing the Act without even putting an alternative mechanism to deal with the problems of industrial sickness. This would lead to more than 15 lakh workers (75-80 lakh dependents) employed in approximate 1005 units currently under the purviw of BIFR/AAIFR totally vulnerable. The serious ramification of such a course of development has to be judged in the context of increasing concern articulated even in world for a like the WTO meet in Seattle, World Economic Forum at Davos and UNCTAD Conference at Bangkok for strengthening social security safety net in the wake of the economic policy changes.