NATIONAL COMMISSION ON LABOUR TO SUBMIT
ITS REPORT TOMORROW
The Report of the Second National Commission
on Labour will be submitted to the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee by the Chairman of the Commission Shri Ravindra Varma
here tomorrow. The Commission was set up through notification
on October 15, 1999 with a two-year term. It took some months
for the Commission to become fully functional due to logistic
problems. It subsequently got four extensions ranging from four
months to two weeks. The Commission was asked to suggest rationalisation
of existing labour laws in the organised sector and take into
account opening up of the Indian economy, international competitiveness
and the needs and demands of the future labour markets. It was
also asked to suggest an umbrella legislation for welfare of workers
in the unogranised sector. The 10-member Commission had representation
of both the industry and the labour.
The Commission collected a large volume of oral
and written evidence during its visits to 27 states to know the
views of workers and employers, state governments, NGOs, academicians,
consumer organisations, labour law practitioners and other eminent
persons connected with labour issues. It also held discussions
with several central trade unions, employers’ organisations and
various central government labour functionaries. The Commission
also met management and trade unions of National Textile Corporation
to specifically know about sickness in NTC mills/ Textile sector.
It also met officials and representatives of workers employed
in Railways, Postal Department, Ports, civil employees in various
defence establishments and CPWD and federations of various export
organisations. The Commission visited work places of workers in
the unorganised sector and areas having concentration of women
and child workers in various parts of the country to see their
living and working conditions. It also visited Malaysia and China
to know skill upgradation of workers and contract labour system
in these countries.
The Commission set up six Study Groups to have
an in depth and focussed study on Review of Laws, Umbrella Legislation
for Unorganised Sector Workers, Globalisation and its Impact,
Social Security, Women and Child Labour and Skill Development,
Training and Workers’ Education. Among important recommendations
of some of the Study Groups are :
- Make employment the centre of all policies in view of impact
of globalisation on Indian economy .
- A Scheme of Unemployment Relief be introduced at national
level.
- Labour laws be changed to make them more positive for workers
in the unorganised sector.
- Social Security be made a fundamental right and a National
Policy on Social Security should be formulated.
- Income and social security of women workers should be enhanced
and they should be given voice and representation under the
Trade Union Act.
- Setting up of Rs. 2000 crore fund for care of children and
enactment of Child Labour (Prevention & Education) Act.
- The minimum wage should constitute a basic rate of wage, cost
of living allowance and cash value of concessions.
- A statutory Unorganised Sector Workers’ Board should be constituted
with powers to create democratic labour rights situation, conservation
of national common property resources, ensuring minimum wages/earnings
and providing social security and welfare measures.
- Unorganised workers should be given digital identity cards.
The Indian Labour Conference had recommended
the setting up of the Second National Commission on Labour in
September 1992. Constituted seven years later the Second Commission
came into being thirty years after the First National Commission
on Labour in 1966 under Justice P.B. Gajendragadkar which had
submitted its recommendation in August 1969. Since then there
has been a sea change in the labour scene because of manifold
increase in industrial activities, adoption of several ILO labour
standards and introduction of new economic policy in 1991 which
set forth the process of globalisation.
