PM INAUGURATES 39TH INDIAN
LABOUR CONFERENCE
Following is the
English rendering of the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s
inaugural address at 39th Indian Labour conference,
here today:
"I am happy
to be with you today to inaugurate the 39th Session
of the Indian Labour Conference. The Government has always benefited
from the deliberations and recommendations of this unique tripartite
platform.
The annual session
of the ILC is an occasion to survey the national economic scene
in the context of what is happening in the world. It is an occasion
to revisit some of the issues that have figured prominently in
the debate on economic reforms in recent years. Above all, it
is an occasion for us to achieve a convergence of views on how
we can together make India a stronger and more prosperous nation,
with economic and social justice for all her citizens.
Friends,
today India is a nation on the move. We have made significant
all-round progress since economic reforms were unveiled slightly
over a decade ago. Our economy is growing stronger by the month
– indeed, it is rated as one of the fastest growing economies
in the world. Prices of essential commodities are stable. Our
foreign exchange reserves are close to crossing the 100 billion-dollar
mark. Contrast this with the situation some years ago when we
faced a severe balance of payments crisis and had to pledge our
gold.
Reforms have begun
to unleash the untapped productivity in our economy. It is helping
us to better harness the nation’s resources. Despite many difficulties
and obstacles our domestic industry has achieved robust growth
last year. You are well aware of the impressive turnaround that
our manufacturing sector has achieved. You are also aware that,
doomsday predications were being made about this sector. "India
would not be able to face the onslaught of global and regional
competition in manufacturing," it was being said.
Well, these predictions
have been belied. Just look at the figures. India’s iron and steel
industry has emerged out of a prolonged recession and, since 1998,
its exports have nearly doubled. The public sector Steel Authority
of India Ltd. (SAIL) is on a strong rebound. Indian passenger
car exports have nearly tripled in these five years. Indian vehicle
component exports, which were only 350 million dollars in 1998,
are expected to reach as much as 1.5 billion dollars this year
– and 10 billion dollars by 2010.
The world is applauding
India’s similar success stories in IT, telecom, pharmaceuticals,
housing and road construction, and other areas of industry and
infrastructure.
How did these successes
happen? I have no hesitation in saying that the answer to this
question can be summed up in just one single word: Change.
Whatever we have achieved is because all the players in the economy
– the Government, workers, managers, scientists, engineers, and
entrepreneurs – have begun to embrace the imperative of change.
We changed our policy
in telecom and IT, and the result is a boom in telephone connectivity
and software exports. We changed our approach to financing and
building highways, and the result is the promise of world-class
road connectivity.
Similarly, you changed
the way you worked on the shop-floor, you changed your tools and
technologies, you changed your product range and marketing practices,
and the result is greater productivity and faster growth.
This is also borne
out by the experience of all those countries that have achieved
faster growth in recent years, and have succeeded in improving
the quality of life for their citizens.
Therefore, we should
not be afraid of change. We should change all that needs to be
changed and leads to the larger good of our nation and our people.
After having observed
the ups and downs of our national economy for many decades, I
have come to the conclusion that India has suffered much because
of three types of beliefs. First, the belief that held that private
enterprise is only for maximizing wealth for the employers. Second,
the belief that held that there is a fundamental contradiction
between the class of employers and the class of employees. Thirdly,
there was the belief among some in the Government – and that belief
is still there to some extent – that their job is to control everything,
and not to facilitate investment and growth.
We have to change
this mindset. We should replace it with a single overriding belief
– namely, that faster growth in all sectors of the economy, and
in all regions of our vast country, is critical for faster eradication
of poverty. It is critical for faster generation of employment
and self-employment opportunities for all our young men and women.
I must also point out that it is critical for strengthening our
national security.
This means that employers
have to be more sensitive to the needs and concerns of their employees.
Are you fulfilling all your social security obligations for your
employees? If you are a big unit, are you making your suppliers
and distributors provide social security to their employees? Are
you investing enough in making the workplace safer and healthier?
Similarly, the new
economic compulsions require workers and their trade unions to
be sensitive to the needs of their business units. For example,
restructuring of business models, reorientation of production,
and flexibility in working conditions are crucial for our business
units to be competitive in the new environment. Wherever this
has happened, it has benefited both businesses and their employees.
There is another
important question. It is true that many companies can no longer
guarantee a life-long employment. But can they not guarantee employability?
This is a concern that many potential VRS seekers have. Skill
and capabilities of workers, displaced in the process of restructuring
is important for their reintegration in the mainstream of economy.
You might have noticed
how the new economy has changed the nature of employment fundamentally.
Increased ancilliarisation in production system and contract manufacturing
has shifted the focus of employment from the organized sector
to the service and peripheral sectors. Our strategy on employment
now needs to be reviewed and reassessed keeping in mind the under-currents
and complexities of the new economic order.
For example, several
million new jobs have been created in the IT sector – and many
of these jobs did not exist even five years ago. Indeed, there
is a big debate going on in the United States, in which some argue
that outsourcing by American companies is taking away jobs to
India. I would not like to comment on that debate. The point is,
it is essential for our employment strategy to anticipate technological
and institutional changes so that workers could be equipped with
the tools to handle the challenges thrown by the new economic
order.
A mismatch between
the skill requirement and skill base of job seekers has for long
been an important reason for unemployment and under employment.
A majority of our work force does not possess any identifiable
marketable skill. It is, therefore, necessary to re-orient and
restructure our educational and training system meaningfully to
meet the requirement of the changed employment scenario.
Friends, speed
has become a crucial determinant of success in our productivity
and employment strategies. We cannot afford to dither or delay
our action. The world is not going to wait for us if we choose
to be slow and half-hearted in our reform process. I have full
confidence in our workers, trade union leaders and entrepreneurs.
You have always been enthusiastic participants in the wider process
of development.
I, therefore, urge
you to realize the new realities of the domestic industrial climate
and new aspirations in the labour market. These realities and
aspirations have necessitated a fresh look at the legislative,
administrative and judicial system. Your cooperation is vital
for evolving a common vision to boost productivity, production,
competitiveness and the employment creation potential of the Indian
economy. I assure you that in this process, the interests of our
working class will never be ignored.
You will agree with
me that the existing labour laws are only for those who are employed
in the organized sector. The organized sector forms a very small
part of total labour force. We wish to bring suitable changes
in the legal framework so that it could serve as an instrument
for speedy employment generation in all sectors of the economy.
Our aim is to make our laws respond better to the needs of millions
of poor people in our rural and urban areas, working as landless
labour, contract workers on building sites, on road construction,
street vendors, etc. I urge the workers’ organisations to make
these segments of our workforce a major focus of their activity.
My Government is
fully aware that providing basic social security to workers in
the unorganized sector continues to be the biggest challenge before
us. Despite various constraints, we have been able to improve
the conditions of unorganized labour to some extent by a series
of special programmes. The Central and some State Governments
have set up welfare funds for different categories of occupations.
The recently announced Universal Health Scheme and Varishtha Pension
Bima Yojana cover the workers in the unorganized sector as well.
An umbrella legislation to provide labour protection, medical
care, old age pension and insurance cover to the workers in the
unorganized sector is also on the anvil.
The Government’s
commitment to the welfare of our workers and farmers was evident
in the recent WTO Ministerial Conference at Cancun. We did not
compromise on the interest of our farmers and working class –
and we shall not do so under any circumstances. We want a fair
deal for them in all international trade and business matters.
It is really unfortunate that protectionism in the developed world
is growing just when developing countries are being exhorted to
liberalise their trade regimes.
Friends, this
session of the ILC is being held at a time when many important
issues are being intensely debated by all the stakeholders in
our economy. I am confident that the deliberations in the ILC
will throw up fresh and practical ideas for collective action
for the well being of our working class and for the speedy progress
of our nation.
Thank you."
