Government will soon bring all the employees both in formal and informal sectors under Social Security scheme.
Indicating this, Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal, told a recent CII conclave government is also contemplating a new law to ensure minimum wages are paid to every worker so that there is an inclusive climate in the country
This is seen as a significant development as nearly 13 crore people are employed in the MSME sector, which employs highest number of people in the country next only to agriculture.
Most of the current labour laws in India are old and archaic. Since the Industrial scenario has been undergoing a change, labour laws need to be changed to reflect the current economic requirements of the country.
Aggarwal said that Ministry of Labour is conscious of this need and hence has started several initiatives to consolidate and rationalize labour laws.
He felt that India needs to create a facilitating environment for entrepreneurs to set-up their enterprise and run them hassle free.
With the launch of Shram Suvidha “we can register organization under various labour laws with one click of mouse,” he said.
Government is committed to ensuring Employment security, Wage Security and Social Security, he said advocating a continuous dialogue amongst all stakeholders to resolve issues so that the benefits of reforms reach last mile person.
Earlier CII national committee on industrial relations co-chairman Pradip Bhargava said India’s rise towards an inclusive and high-growth economy is predicated on unleashing the dynamism and productivity of its workers.
Government has launched an extensive exercise to simplify and consolidate labour laws, but industry needed take greater responsibility and adopt “employee centric policies” to build trust and create an eco-system of harmonious industrial relations across the country. Rather than presenting the Charter of Demand all stakeholders should ask themselves what they would do to improve industrial relations, Bhargava said.
ILO India Director Ms Panuda Boonpala said labour law reforms is complex and challenging task in any country.
She said that ILO is appreciative of the initiatives taken by Ministry of Labour & Employment to bring flexibility in labour laws and planning social security measures for employees. Commenting on whether IR should be the boardroom agenda, she informed that recently Labour Ministers of G20 countries had a meeting in Turkey where all agreed that there is a need to further strengthen the dialogue process.
