The central trade unions on Friday requested Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to hold a physical pre-budget meeting, taking place on November 28, in place of a virtual meeting.

According to the letter, of which ANI has possession, the trade unions expressed disappointment for calling the Pre-Budget meeting on virtual mode despite the complete easing of Covid restrictions, and that too for 75 minutes only for a consultation involving more than 12 central trade unions.

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The trade unions urged the finance minister to seriously reconsider convening a physical meeting with reasonable time allotment for effective consultation in the pre-Budget meeting, according to the letter.

“As per Labour Ministry’s physical verification, there are 12 central trade unions in our country. That means less than five minutes or even less for each organisation if the time for customary opening remarks is taken into account,” the letter said.

The trade unions in the letter requested the finance minister to consider, “whether such kind of consultation exercise, that too with the major stakeholders like “Labour Organisations”, representing the most productive segment of the society, who are actually generating GDP (gross domestic product) and value creation for the whole economy,” is at all compatible or fair in a democratic governance system worth its name. The trade unions also expressed their emphatic protest against such a ritualistic approach of the government/ministry.

These trade unions mentioned in the letter were INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, and UTUC.