Labour Reforms

 Labour Reforms and Make in India

The present government has decided to amend the archaic labour laws of the country which resembles the colonial mindset of yester years; it is important to understand what the subsequent governments of our country have done for the millions of workers who drive the country. The fact that India is focussing on MAKE IN INDIA products to give impetus to its economy and improve the financial health of the country makes the issue of labour reforms much more significant. Among the laws that are under the scanner are the Factories Act, 1948; Apprentice act 1961; Contract Labour Act 1970 and Child Labour Act 1986.

One of the major problems plaguing the manufacturing industry as well as the other industries is the employability of people. Employability doesn’t reflect the technical qualification but also on the first hand industry experience. The industry people in India employ only 300000 apprentices, which is substantially low for a country like us. They want to remove the hassle of documentation for these apprentices and often employ them as substitutes for works which is done by permanent workers. If the young people are not given first hand experiences then they will never deliver good outputs.

In the name of employer flexibility many organisations use a contractual workforce and exploit them by giving them the same work as permanent workers. The disparity in the payment has to be removed .Proper implementation of the current contract Law provisions has to be followed which explicitly states that contract workers doing perennial job or job performed by permanent workers are not contract workers. The unfortunate death of the HR manager was due to this same issue. Many a times the contractors pay less to the workers even though there is a provision for payment to be done in the presence of a representative of the management. There needs to be proper communication regarding the contract labourers’ dues from the management side as their well beings affects the production also. Proper grievance system regarding less payment has to created to avoid exploitation of workers.

The end to the “Inspector Raj “has been projected as a means to Easy-Governance. This doesn’t mean that they cannot have the right to inspect the plants at a reasonable time. The inspection schedule dictated by Centre will lead to bureaucracy and this is in contravention the International Labour Organisations rules. One thing that can be done is to monitor the Inspectors actions through the Central Vigilance Commission

The issue raised by employers is of Trade Union problems. One cannot deny the fact that the constitution of the country gives the right to each one of us to form groups. The days of militant trade unionism is past and it should be kept that way only by aligning the objectives of the organisation with the individual’s goals. In countries which have established itself as manufacturing hubs like Germany and Japan, workers feel a part of the organisation. The quality of product is reflected from their love for their work. Accountability for the work has to be promoted and a proper benchmark has to be set for judging performance. Till date the trade unions has been crucial in looking after the health and welfare of the workers of the countries and involving them in the holistic development run will only boost the efforts.

The efforts of the present government in creating a favourable atmosphere for business are commendable; but one thing the government needs to remember is that laws without their proper implementation are nothing. Efforts like PPF portability is well appreciated and leads to utilisation and easy access of money to all. In order to be a manufacturing country India also needs to ensure that the workforce is properly trained , well represented in decision making processes regarding themselves and involved to take the country ahead.