Modi Pushes Labour Reforms

<div>Introducing the first phase of the much-awaited labour reforms on Thursday (16 October), Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched portability for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts by linking them with bank accounts. To make it seamless, the Prime Minister suggested that EPFs accounts be linked through a Universal Account Number (UAN) with bank accounts, Aadhaar cards and other KYC details. This will ensure that the EPF account remains the same even when employees shift to another job with a new employer. <br /><br />These labour reforms are seen as part of the BJP government&rsquo;s new &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; push and are aimed at easing controls over business. Industry too has been demanding simplification of labour laws in addition to the disinvestment and land acquisition that the government has promised. The PM had also faced criticism during his recent US visit from investors and multinationals that red tape and labour laws were proving to be deterrents to doing business in India.<br /><br />The other legs of the slew of changes include a unified labour portal and a transparent and accountable labour inspection scheme to facilitate compliance to labour regulations. As part of the new system, a unique Labour Identification Number (LIN) will be allotted to factories or industrial units for online registration. Instead of 16 separate returns, companies will have to file just one consolidated, self-certified online return. <br /><br />Under the programme, the labour ministry is setting up a 'Shram Suvidha', or labour facilitation, portal. The portal will be operated by four central organisations: Chief Labour Commissioner, Directorate General of Mines Safety, Employees' Provident Fund, and the Employees' State Insurance Corporation. <br />&quot;Satyamev Jayate (truth triumphs) has the same power as Shramev Jayate (labour triumphs) for the development of our nation,&quot; Modi said at an event at Vigyan&nbsp; Bhavan.<br />&nbsp;<br />&quot;We have to ensure 'Make-in-India' becomes a success; for that, ease of business is a must,&quot; he added. He promised the new system would end the &lsquo;terror&rsquo; of &lsquo;Inspector Raj&rsquo;.<br /><br />About 1,800 labour inspectors across the country will get text messages from the Prime Minister apprising them of the new rules that will also include wages and pensions for workers. Inspection lists would now be made centrally and will be generated randomly by computer. Every inspection will have objective criteria and the report will have to be uploaded on the unified portal within 72 hours.<br /><br />The wage ceiling has been raised from Rs&nbsp; 6,500 to Rs 15,000 per month to ensure vulnerable groups are covered under the EPF scheme. A minimum pension will also be introduced for the first time, so after retirement, a person gets at least Rs 1,000 per month. <br /><br />While labour unions are still studying the slew of announcements, these basically do not touch the vast array of labour laws like the Industrial Disputes Act, Factories Act and Payment of Wages Act which facilitate a high degree of government control over companies. The Prime Minister&rsquo;s strategy may also be guided by a &lsquo;soft&rsquo; first phase of pronouncements that do not create direct contradictions with trade unions. These can later be followed up with more meaty reforms that will dismantle the controls industry has been agitating against.<br /><br />Commenting on the slew of announcements made by the Prime Minister on Labour Reforms, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said &ldquo;CII welcomes the Ministry of Labour&rsquo;s initiative of launching the &ldquo;Shram Suvidha Portal&rdquo;&nbsp; to facilitate a single window for compliance of labour Laws.&nbsp; Simplification of procedures has been a long standing concern for Industry and this initiative by the Ministry will considerably ease the burden of compliances especially for SME Sector&rdquo;.<br /><br /><strong>Modi Reaches Out To 4.2 Lakh ITI Students</strong><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><strong>Agencies Add:</strong></span><strong> I</strong>naugurating the 'Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram' organised by the Labour Ministry, Modi also reached out to 4.2 lakh ITI students through SMS as he greeted the achievers with ITI degrees in various fields, hailing the undergraduate technical course.<br /><br />Besides the ITI students, about one crore EPFO subscribers also got SMSes regarding portability through UAN and about 6.50 lakh establishments and 1,800 inspectors got SMSes about Unified Labour Portal which, the government believes will make for a transparent and accountable Labour Inspection Scheme.<br /><br />The Prime Minister said that this event is different from other launches as the message has reached to the stakeholders at the same time.<br /><br />Laying emphasis on skill development in Apprenticeship Protsahan Yojana that he launched, the Prime Minister said that the country has huge potential to provide manpower to the world, which will require this by 2020.<br /><br />Presently there are 2.82 lakh apprentices undergoing training against 4.9 lakh seats.<br /><br />An initiative to revamp the apprenticeship scheme has been undertaken and the particular scheme will support one lakh apprentices during the period up to March 2017.<br /><br />Reaching out to the working class, he said that he is keen that Rs 27 thousand crore lying unclaimed in PF accounts are given back to their claimants arguing that if mobile subscribers get connectivity everywhere they go, why cannot migrating labour force can continue to get PF benefits.<br /><br />&quot;I have to give back this money to the poor. This Rs 27,000 crore belongs to the poor,&quot; he said even as he took a dig at this critics for questioning his vision.<br /><br />&quot;Those who ask what is Modi's vision won't be able to see this because the power of their spectacles has gone up just looking for a vision,&quot; he said. <br /><br /><br /><br />gurbir@gmail.com<br />gurbir1@gmail.com<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;</div>