The budget has come at a time when the workforce is set to face even greater economic hardship, on account of joblessness, reduction in wages for average worker, rise in informal jobs, and decline in formal and salaried employment. Many of them are likely to be forced into accepting lower quality jobs with less wages and little social security coverage. Large number of workers in jobs are even being laid off. With the prospect of decline in economic growth, there is a prospect of even lesser job opportunities. Means of survival are at stake.

Obviously, the workforce needed secured salaried and regular jobs or alternate resources for their survival. They have been witing for the Union Budget 2023-24 with great hope for some sort of minimum income guarantee or social security coverage, but they are betrayed. There is neither proposals for these in the budget nor any indication that the government has any intention of formulating such programmes.

Union Budget 2023-24 have done just the opposite. The sufferings of the working class has been ignored. Allocation for the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been reduced from Rs 16,893.68 crore in the last budget to Rs 13,221.73 crore in 2023-24 with cuts in several central sector labour welfare schemes. Rs120 crore allocation for 2022-23 has been reduced to mere Rs75 crore, PM Karmayogi Mandhan Scheme reduced from Rs50 crore to Rs3 crore, Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojna reduced from Rs6,400 crore to Rs2,272 crore, National Child Labour Project reduced from Rs30 crore to Rs20 crore, Skill development and livelihood in the Ministry of Minority Affairs reduced from Rs491 crore to only 64 crore, Bima Yojna (insurance scheme) for unorganised workers reduced from Rs 10 lakh to zero.

The only employment guarantee scheme in India is MGNREGA for rural areas. It suffered a massive cut. The allocation for this scheme has been reduced from Rs89,400 crore in 2022-23 to Rs60,000 crore. Under this scheme work for 100 days were assured to the rural jobless, but actual jobs were available for only around 50 days on an average. Wages were also not given for months which depressed the demand for work. Even though the demand for work stood at 6.49 crore as on January 24, 2023. CTUs have been demanding extension of 200 days of guaranteed work.

Then comes the question of food. Price rise and high inflation rate has already created cost of living crisis leading to increased malnutrition and related burden of diseases. Out of pocket expenditure on health has risen that is pushing them further into survival mode. Budget 2023-24 has made poor allocation for health sector and food subsidy has been reduced.
The market intervention scheme supposed to provide price support to farmers has been reduced from Rs1500 crore to only Rs100,000. It would make the survival of the working class in general costlier, and would directly affect the farmers’ income in the country. Farmers have been irked and their unions have already announced to fight out this new injustice.

Farmers have been betrayed, says Samyukta Kinsan Morcha (SKM), even on their earlier demands which included legal guarantee of MSP of their produce, though the three controversial farm sector laws were unilaterally withdrawn which led to withdrawal of the historical farmers agitation in December 2021. SKM had already renewed their struggle against the betrayal of the given promises in December 2022, and even RSS-BJP supported Bharatiya Kisan Sangh has organised protest demonstration in Delhi. PM Kisan payments have been announced to be increased from Rs6000 to Rs8000 but allotment have been kept the same at Rs60,000 crore, creating doubt among farmers regarding government’s real intention.
Farmers’ unions and trade unions and other association and organisation in other sectors like insurance, banking, transport, electricity, government employees are supporting each other and are likely to fight the betrayal jointly. CTUs are agitated against such a betrayal since their long-standing demands have been entirely ignored.

The National Convention of Workers and independent sectoral associations and federations had even decided to hold year-long campaigns against the policies of the Modi government, and warned of strikes in various sectors at the end of the year if policies of privatisation and corporatisation of public sector is continued. Protest demonstrations would be organised at all levels right from factory level to district, state, of country level. Rallies would be organised culminating into state-wide march on August 9, the Quit India Day. They have resolved to fight back the four labour codes, privatisation of public sector undertakings, sale of national resources and assets to corporates etc. Their long-standing demand also include restoration of old Pension Scheme, social security to all, pension to all, regularization of schemed workers, and minimum wages for workers of unorganized sector including the agriculture workers.

The National Convention of Workers had seen participation of the leaders of almost all sectoral national federations along with the participants from almost all sectors of the economy, informal, unorganised, formal, organised, self-employed and also own account workers. It is indicative of the growing unity among all sections of the working class. The budget betrayal has only made them more agitated and united. More intensive movement of the working class is on the cards.