By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 06, 2013: 'RAPID economic growth’ coupled with ‘Safeguarding the rights of the workers’ will lay the foundation of our country’s development in a sustained manner. Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister of Labour and Employment, emphasized this while delivering his presidential address at the 45th session of Standing Labour Committee at Vigyan Bhawan. He laid stress on the proactive measures to improve the situation of the workers in general and those of the vulnerable sections of the society in particular.

According to him the concept of ‘Dignity of human labour’ and ‘Safeguarding the interest of our work-force’ should be the cornerstone of all our policies. He stated that active labour market policies and speedy Social Security coverage are the two basic requirements of our present day society. Mr Kharge said that one of the contemporary challenges is employment generation. In this regard MGNREGA has been able to provide income support and has contributed towards checking distress migration. Other employment generation programmes like National Rural Livelihood Mission, Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojna and Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme etc. have also contributed a lot towards providing livelihood security.

Labour and Employment Minister also spoke about various legislative steps taken by his Ministry for Labour Welfare in recent years. These are:-

· Increase of wage ceiling in the Payment of Wages Act, 1936;

· Amendments in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 for speedy reconciliation and settlement of disputes;

· Provision of reservation for OBC in the Apprenticeship Act, 1961;

· Increase in Wage Ceiling in the Bonus Act;

· Increase of Medical Bonus under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961;

· Increase in gratuity ceiling to Rs.10 Lakh.

Mr Kharge further stated that the process of amendment in the Mines Act, 1952 is in progress. Cabinet has approved amendments in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which will facilitate ratification of ILO Convention 138 and 182. He said that 94% of our workforce is in the unorganized sector. This area requires relentless efforts and innovative indigenous solutions. Strategies for bringing improvement in this area should aim at improving Labour Legislation and Labour Administration. According to him extending organizational support and augmenting bargaining power of the unorganized workers should be a priority.

According to Labour and Employment Minister India faces a mammoth challenge in the area of skill training. Because of Government’s intense efforts India has been able to increase the number of ITIs to more than 10,000 and improved the infrastructure of existing ITIs. Modular Employable Skill is one of the ambitious schemes of Ministry to address the employment needs of the unorganized sector. Government has been able to develop 1,422 short term courses for providing skills in a short span to a large number of people. The Minister stated that 27 States/UTs are implementing RSBY and more than 3.35 crore smart cards have been issued. More than 46.75 lakh persons have availed hospitalization facilities.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr K. Suresh, stated that Ministry of Labour and Employment is always guided by the spirit of tripartism and it works towards creation of harmonious relationship and conducive industrial environment. He further stated that all efforts should be made to ensure that labour-management relations in India must be marked by cooperation and consensus, not confrontation. Any proactive step in this regard will act as a catalyst in sustaining our growth momentum which is also very essential to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, particularly poverty eradication, added he.