Why labour reforms?
- Multiplicity of labour laws and the difficulty in their compliance has always been cited as an impediment to the industrial development
- The World Bank annual report for year 2014 on Indian Labour Laws- The Indian states with flexible labour laws and easier compliance mechanism have fared better in terms of Industrial development than those where labour laws are rigid and the compliance is difficult as well
- Ease of compliance has also been found to be important for the growth of organized sector
- It is needed to amend the labour laws and make them flexible for the present circumstances
- It is also important to ensure that the compliance is made easy as this will encourage the development of manufacturing industry particularly MSME sector in the country
#1. Shram Suvidha Portal
Aim: To create a conducive environment for industrial development Features:
- Unique labour identification number (LIN) will be allotted to Units to facilitate online registration
- Filing of self-certified and simplified Single Online Return by the industry Mandatory uploading of inspection Reports within 72 hours by the Labour inspectors
- Timely redressal of grievances will be ensured with the help of the portal
Advantage:
- Ease in compliance of provisions related to labour
- A step forward in promoting the ease of doing business
- The complete database will add to the informed policy process
#2. Labour Inspection
Aim: To bring in transparency in labour inspection So far, the units for inspection were selected locally without any objective criteria Features:
- Serious matters are to be covered under the mandatory inspection list
- A computerized list of inspections will be generated randomly based on pre-determined objective criteria
- Complaints based inspections will also be determined centrally after examination based on data and evidence
- There will be provision of Emergency List for inspection of serious cases in specific circumstances
Advantage: A transparent Inspection Scheme will provide a check on the arbitrariness in compliance mechanism
#3. Universal Account Number (UAN)
- Under the scheme, complete information for approximately 4 crore subscribers of EPF has been centrally compiled and digitized & a UAN has been allotted to all
- The UAN is being seeded with Bank account and Aadhar Card and other KYC details for financial inclusion of vulnerable section of society
- Camps are being organized to facilitate opening of bank account and Aadhar card for those subscribers who have no bank account or Aadhar card
Advantage: This will ensure portability of the Social Security Benefits to the labour of organised sector across the jobs and geographic areas
#4. Recognition of Brand Ambassadors of ITIs
Need:
- The Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country are the backbone of the vocational training system, only source of supply of skilled manpower to manufacturing industry
- There are 11,500 ITIs having about 16 lakh seats. But this is grossly inadequate for supplying skilled manpower to Indian industry
- Only 10% of the workforce has got formal or informal technical training. Only one fourth of this is formally trained
- Whereas in South Korea, Japan, Germany, the percentage of workforce having received skills training is 96, 80 and 75 respectively
- Therefore we need to rapidly expand certificate level vocational training if we have to succeed in our mission of ‘Make in India’
- Also, blue collar work is not respected and regarded in the society
Features:
- Over 60 years of existence ITIs have given excellent technician, mechanics, entrepreneurs and professional leaders & manufacturing sector is reservoir of this success
- They have brought name and fame in the country and abroad It is proposed to compile these success stories and publish in print and electronic form
- These success stories shall be used for motivating youngsters and their parents
- Such successful ITI graduates will be showcased as National Brand Ambassadors of Vocational Training
Advantages:
- It will serve as communicator and catalyst, taking the message of ITI vocational training to every section of society
- Improve the brand image as well as social acceptance of the vocational training
#5. All India Skill Competition
Aim: To foster the healthy spirit of competitiveness among the trainee Craftsmen/ Apprentices Competitions:
- All India Skill Competition for Craftsmen among trainees admitted under Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS)
- All India Competition for Apprentices among trainees admitted under Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS)
#6. Apprenticeship Protsahan Yojna
The Apprentices Act 1961 was enacted for regulating the Apprenticeship Training Scheme in the industry for imparting on-the-job training to apprentices Need:
- Presently, there are only 2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing training against 4.9 lakh seats
- Present framework tightly regulates the number of apprentices trade-wise, and is not attractive to youth because of low rate of stipend
- Also, the industry is averse to participate because the scheme is not viable for the small industries
- There are a large number of establishments including MSMEs where training facilities are available but could not be utilized so far
Aim: To revamp the apprenticeship Scheme in India with the vision of increasing apprenticeship seats to more than 20 lakhs in next few years Components:
- Making the legal framework friendly to both, industry and youth
- Enhancing the rate of stipend and indexing it to minimum wages of semi-skilled workers
- Support manufacturing units mainly and other establishments by reimbursing 50% of the stipend paid to apprentices during first two years of their training
- Basic training component (mainly class room training part) of the curricula is being restructured on scientific principles to make it more effective, and MSMEs will be supported financially by govt
Advantage:
- Apprenticeship Scheme has huge potential for training the large number of young person’s to make them employable
- Similar schemes have been highly successful in countries like Germany, China and Japan where the number of apprentices are stated to be 30, 20 & 10 million respectively
- If properly revamped, it could also significantly contribute to ‘Make in India’ Mission
Let’s end this article with a nice summary from The Hindu
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Published with inputs from Swapnil
