National Law University Delhi students protest over termination of workers

For the last 15 days, students of National Law University Delhi (NLUD) have been out on their campus protesting daily after the university “removed” 55. The workers were allegedly stopped from marking their entry in the register from December 28, 2019, without any prior notice.

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Students said the workers were not given a formal written notice with respect to the termination of their contract and that their removal was not in adherence with the Delhi government’s cabinet resolution of October 2018, which mandates retention of a minimum 80% of the old work force under a new contractor. They further maintained that the employment of 30 new workers is not in keeping with the personnel requirement of the university, which is a violation of law.

“Our demand is that the university must strictly comply with the labour laws and ensure 100% retention of the old workers who have been serving the university since its inception. Further, we want the new contract to be cancelled since it exploits workers,” said a third year student of the university on condition of anonymity.

The student added that apart from organising daily sit-ins, speeches and sloganeering in the campus, the students have formed a team of advisors who engage with the workers on an everyday basis.

“These are outsourced services. We hire a contractor and the they hire the workers. Since the contractor had not been changed in the last 12 years, we were forced to hire a new one,” said Ranbir Singh, vice chancellor of NLUD. “The students want 100% retention of workers in the university, which is not possible. However, I have already assured them that I will ensure that each and every worker finds some sort of employability somewhere else.”