The 45th session of the Indian Labour Conference began in New Delhi today with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh laying emphasis on need to focus particularly on the well being and welfare of migrant workers, domestic workers and those working in unsafe conditions. These groups not only need special legislative support but also a more effective implementation of the existing laws that have been made for their protection and wellbeing. He said we need to bring in the best international practices for bringing about improvements in their working conditions.
Inaugurating the two day conference the prime minister said his government has paid very serious attention to the issues that Trade Unions have raised from time to time. He said he believes that providing our people with productive employment opportunities is the best way of achieving this objective.
Dr. Manmohan Singh said in order to strengthen our economy and our country we need the cooperation of both Captions of Industry and our Trade Unions. He said in recent months a number of steps have been to boost investment, encourage enterprise and improve business sentiment. We have paid special attention to the need for removing bottlenecks that hamper new industrial activity. He sought the help of all Captions of Industry and Trade Union leaders to help us in making a success of these efforts
Dr. Manmohan Singh said the demands raised by the Trade Unions like universal social security cover for workers in both the organized and unorganized sectors and creation of a National Social Security Fund, fixing a National Floor Level Minimum Wage and provision of minimum pension of Rs. 1000 per month under the Employees’ Pension Scheme. In fact, the Cabinet has already approved amendments to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 to provide for a statutory National Floor Level Minimum Wage are already under an advanced stage of consideration by the Government. Dr.Manmohan Singh said a Group of Ministers under the Finance Minister to go into the whole gamut of demands raised by the Trade Unions and expressed confidence to see some forward movement on these demands.
Giving detail the prime Minister said during the period 2004-05 and 2009-10 20 million additional job opportunities were created. Employment in the organized sector registered a growth of more than 9% from 26.5 million in 2005 to 29 million in 2011. It is heartening to note that women employed in the organized sector have also registered a growth of about 19% during the same period.
He said a skilled workforce is also a pre-requisite for the achievement of our objective of rapid and inclusive growth hence special emphasis on skill development has been laid. Also our aim is to skill 5 crore people by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan. This will not only help in generating good quality employment but will also provide Industry with the skilled workforce they need to expand and modernize their operations.
In order to achieve our ambitious targets, the skilling efforts of both the Central and the State Governments need to be supplemented by the private sector. Furthermore, skills need to be closely matched with emerging job requirements. The National Skill Development Corporation has been established for promoting private sector efforts in the area of skill development. In addition, the Government has recently taken the decision to set up the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) to anchor and operationalize the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) which should play a vital role in transforming the quality of training in our country. The NSDA will also endeavor to bridge the social, regional, gender and economic divides in processes of skill development, he added.
The Prime Minister also gave a detailed account of the other initiatives taken by the Government especially the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in 2008 to provide for smart card based hospitalization facilities for workers in the unorganized sector and its further expansion, the enacting of Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008 for the benefit of the workers in the informal sector, increasing the eligibility limit under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 from Rs 3500 per month to Rs 10000 per month, the enhancement in medical bonus payable under the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 and increase in the the period of unemployment allowance to retrenched workers from 6 months to 1 year under the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana.
He also referred commencement of National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment and the National Policy on HIV and AIDS in the World of Work in the year 2009 and steps taken up to the elimination of child labour. He said Our Government has taken a decision to amend the Child Labour Prohibition & Regulation Act, 1986 to ban all child labour below 14 years to enable our children to exercise their right to education. He said the number of children working as labourers in our country has decreased by 45% from 90.75 lakh in 2004-05 to 49.84 lakh in year 2009-10.
The Prime Minster also referred to the introduction of a number of Bills for amending Acts such as the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act, 1988, the Mines Act, 1952 and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. He said besides it a number of amendments in labour laws are at various stages of consideration.
He said The Employees` State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Act was amended in the year 2010 to cover factories employing 10 or more workers, instead of the earlier threshold of 20. The wage ceiling for coverage of employees has been enhanced from Rupees 10,000 to Rs.15,000 per month. The number of establishments covered has increased to 5.80 lakh till the end of 2011-12 from 3.94 lakh in year 2008-09. Also,the Modernization initiatives in the Employees Provident Fund Organization have resulted in 25% increase in the settlement of claims as compared to the previous year. The Status of all Provident Fund Accounts is now available online along with SMS alerts for important account information. Payment is now possible through National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), he added .
Welcoming the Prime Minister Union Labour & Employment Minister ShriMallikarjuna Kharge said The Indian Labour Conference occupies a predominant place in the functioning of the Ministry of Labour & Employment as a part of our commitment to Tripartism. It is a unique forum which brings together the voice of the social partners in designing our policies and programmes.
The 45th Session of Indian Labour Conference is taking place at a crucial time when the world economy is still struggling hard to sail through the ripple effects of the global economic slowdown. The purpose of this conference is to take certain decisive and crucial steps for the upliftment of working class of our country. The presence of Prime Minister of India amongst us at the inaugural session shows our Government’s solidarity with the cause of labour.
As a prelude to the Indian Labour Conference, meeting of Standing Labour Committee takes place which reviews the Action Taken Report of the conclusions of the preceding labour conference and also decides upon the agenda item of the forthcoming Indian Labour Conference. During the last Standing Labour Committee meeting held in January 2013, the following four agenda items for this 45th Session of Indian labour Conference were finalized.
1. Service conditions, wages and social security for various categories of workers employed in different Central Govt. and State Govt. schemes (Anganwadi, Mid-day meal, ASHA, Sarva-Shiksha Abhiyan and other schemes under various Ministries of Central Government.
2. Social Security with special reference to Assured Pension with indexation for all workers including self-employed workers.
3. Labour Law for Micro and Small Enterprises.
4. Measures to improve Employment and Employability.
The selection of the agenda items of this 45th Session of Indian Labour Conference is a fair indicator of the main concerns of the various stakeholders associated with the subject of labour. Increasing ‘Quality Employment’ and ‘Extending Outreach of Social Security Net’ are the two broad areas receiving continuous attention of the tripartite constituents.
He said our Government’s policy of inclusive growth has yielded good results in the last decade. These positive outcomes have inspired us to keep ‘faster and more inclusive growth’ as the basic mandate of our 12th five year plan. Ministry of Labour & Employment in collaboration with social partners and State Governments has been continuously striving to work towards the cause of nation building.
Vast majority of our workers are employed in the unorganized sector. Ministry of Labour & Employment endeavors to bring this informal sector under the ambit of labour laws and cover them under various social security schemes. Our Government has enacted the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008 for protecting the interests of unorganized sector workers. Our Ministry’s flagship scheme RashtriyaSwasthaya Bima Yojana has expanded its coverage at a very rapid pace.
Industrialization and technological innovation require trained manpower. Since 54 percent of our population is below 24 years of age, skill development speciallyof our youth is one of the highest priorities of Ministry of Labour & Employment. Our skill development programmes aim to create a workforce empowered with necessary and continuously upgraded skills, knowledge and recognized qualifications. We are proposing to start 3000 new ITIs, 5000 new Skill Development Centres and 27 Advanced Training Institutes in the 12th Plan. Special focus is being given for skill development in 34 districts affected by Left Wing extremism. Sector Skill Councils are contributing towards keeping the Skill Development System relevant and demand driven.
There has been a significant reduction in the number of child labour in the country during the last 5 years. This is primarily due to effective measures like Right to Education and MGNREGA taken by the UPA Government. The Minister said Ministry of Labour & Employment has paid special attention for bringing about improvements in service delivery to the beneficiaries of EPFO by undertaking computerization and systemic reforms. ESIC has taken up a number of measures including upscaling of infrastructure facilities, customer friendly procedures, enhanced coverage, geographical extension and provision of better health coverage including super speciality treatment. ESIC has also entered the field of medical education since 2008.
Labour is a concurrent subject and the State Governments have enormous responsibilities to rise up to the challenge. Efficient utilization of the funds, timely documentation and regular exchange of updated information with the Central Government is necessary for smooth functioning of all our schemes. Proper implementation of labour laws by appropriate governments also needs to be a focus area.
Shri Kharge expressed the hope that the tripartite constituents of the Indian Labour Conference – Governments, Workers & Employers will synergize their ideas in this two day’s conference leading to improvement in the life of our workers and rapid growth of our country’s economy.
The inaugural session was also addressed by the Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shri Kodikunniel Suresh, Shri C.K.Saji Narayanan, Presdent BhartiyaMazdoor Sangh and Representative of Laghu Udyog Bharati.
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