INDIAN
LABOUR CONFERENCE CALLS FOR REVIEW OF GLOBALISATION
ACCORDS
PRIORITY TO EMPLOYMENT GENERATON
URGES
GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE SPENDING ON SOCIAL SECURITY
The Indian Labour
Conference has called for an in-depth review of Globalization.
The 38th Session of the ILC, which concluded here this
evening after two days of deliberations, said that social partners
should through dialogue evolve strategies to meet the challenges
of globalisation. According priority to employment generation,
the ILC urged the Government to accelerate growth in Small Scale
Industries, agri-businesses and rural sectors which it said have
a lot of employment potential. The ILC said that sectors like
education, health care and tourism and travel having knowledge
based employment potential should be rapidly developed. It said
that job creation should be an important criterion of the investment
policy. It also called for setting up of a Skill Development Fund
and for convergence of training and employment scheme of all Central
Ministries.
There was divergence
of views among social partners on the Disinvestment Policy of
the Government during the discussions. While the Workers' Group
wanted an overall review of the policy saying that it did not
serve the national interest, the employers supported it saying
that it has enhanced efficiency and competitiveness among enterprises.
The Workers’ Group also wanted the government not to disinvest
in profit making PSUs. The Government was of the view that some
of the positive suggestions made during the ILC would further
facilitate fine-tuning of the process of disinvestment. As it
had been conveyed by the trade unions that preference should be
given to the company formed by employees of the concerned company
in the bidding process, the Labour Minister will discuss this
further with the Ministry of Disinvestment.
The ILC also
had an in-depth review of social security schemes. It urged the
Government to increase spending on social security by 1% to 2%.
of GDP each year till a satisfactory social security net gets
in place. The ILC urged the Government to have a National Social
Security Policy covering all workers and set up a National Social
Security Authority headed by the Prime Minister. It said all labour
laws concerning social security should be consolidated into a
comprehensive legislation. While calling for making existing social
insurance scheme more effective, the ILC specifically referred
to workers who lose their jobs. It said that they should be provided
minimum financial assistance for a reasonable duration of unemployment.
The ILC unanimously
urged the Government to simplify and rationalise labour laws applicable
to Small Scale Industries particularly for those employing less
than 100 workers. It recommended the concept of self-certification
in lieu of periodic returns and inspection for small scale units.
The Report
of the Second National Commission on Labour attracted divergence
of views on various recommendations of the Commission with many
of the trade unions generally opposing the Report and employers
broadly supporting it. The State Labour Ministers favoured a detailed
discussion on the Report by a tripartite Committee to arrive at
a consensus before which the Centre should come out with its own
views on specific recommendations. The Union Labour Minister urged
the State Governments to send their views on the Report in writing
to enable the Government to come out with a definite view. The
social partners, however, held by and large unanimity of views
on certain recommendations. These included umbrella legislation
for workers in unorganized sector, creation of a skill development
fund for training and retraining of workers, encouragement of
small scale industry, agri-businesses and rural sector for higher
employment generation and consolidation of social security legislations.
Earlier the ILC constituted
four committees to facilitate focused and in-depth discussions
on agenda items. The Committee on the Impact of Globalization
on Indian Economy particularly on Employment was headed by Shri
Ram S. Taneja, Vice Chairman (Employers' Group) of the Conference.
The Committee on Social Safety Net met under the Chairmanship
of Minister of State for Labour, Shri Ashok Pradhan while the
Committee on Disinvestment Policy of the Government was headed
by the Labour Minister of Gujarat, Shri Kanjibhai Patel and the
Committee on Problems and Challenges Being Faced By Small Scale
Industry and Their Remedies was chaired by Shri Hasu Bhai Dave,
Vice Chairman(Workers' Group) of the Conference. The meetings
of the four groups was followed by open house discussion on the
Report of the Second National Commission on Labour.
The Conference
was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
on Saturday and was presided over by the Labour Minster Dr. Sahib
Singh. The Minister of State for Labour Shri Ashok Pradhan welcomed
the Chief Guest and participants at the beginning of the Conference.
