DEMANDS OF UNIONS UNDER STUDY, SAYS PM
They had sought inter alia universal social security cover for both organised and unorganised sectors
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said some of the demands raised by
the various central trade unions, for which they organised a nationwide
general strike for two days in February, were in advanced stage of
consideration of the government.
Those
demands include universal social security cover for workers in both
organised and unorganised sectors and the creation of a National Social
Security Fund, fixing a National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) and
provision of a minimum pension of Rs. 1000 a month under the Employees
Pension Scheme.
AMENDMENTS APPROVED
“The
Cabinet has already approved amendments to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948
to provide for a statutory NFLMW,” Dr. Singh said, inaugurating the 45th
session of the Indian Labour Conference here.
The
trade unions focused on a number of issues relating to the welfare not
only of the working classes but also people at large. These include
demands on which there could be no disagreement. “Demands for concrete
measures for containing inflation, for generation of employment
opportunities, for strict implementation of labour laws, are
unexceptionable.”
Dr.
Singh claimed that the government had created 20 million additional
jobs during 2004-05 and 2009-10. The unemployment rate came down from
8.3 per cent to 6.6 per cent in the same period.
JOB GROWTH
Employment
in the organised sector registered a growth of more than 9 per cent
from 26.5 million in 2005 to 29 million in 2011. Women employed in the
organised sector had also registered a growth of about 19 per cent in
the same period.
Rural
women were increasingly going for self-employment opportunities in
ever-increasing numbers, Dr. Singh said adding that out of 44.32 lakh
self-help groups in the country, 30.21 lakh were exclusively for women.
Labour
and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said there was a significant
reduction in the number of child labour in the country in the last five
years. “This is primarily due to effective legislations like [the]
Right to Education and MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act],” he said.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Kodikunnil Suresh participated.
BRIEF DISRUPTION
The
conference was briefly disrupted by a union leader, who demanded a
“reply” from the Prime Minister on alleged inaction of the Assam
government despite promising a CBI probe into the killing of a colleague
there in March. Subhas Sen, secretary of the Assam unit of the All
India Central Council of Trade Unions, caused the interruption.
Courtesy: The Hindu, 18, May 2013
