K'taka urged to develop sector-specific zones

BCIC asks government to develop corridors along the proposed Mumbai-Bangalore Corridor

The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) has called for developing sector-specific industrial zones along the proposed Mumbai-Bangalore industrial corridor.

There should be secondary corridors connecting other parts of the state to foster an equitable regional development, generate employment and thereby help decongest Bangalore, H V Harish, President, BCIC, said.

“The Congress government in the state had stated in its pre-election manifesto that it would connect Bidar to Chamarajanagar, and establish industrial parks. We urge the government to instead leverage the proposed Mumbai-Bangalore Corridor which has received an in-principle clearance from the Union government,” Harish told reporters.

He said, as part of its plans to decongest Bangalore, the Congress manifesto had proposed to develop Mangalore as a port city and Hubli as an industrial city. The government should also plan efficient connectivity (both rail and road) between these cities and other parts of the state to enable an efficient movement of goods. At least two large ports are required with adequate capacity to handle the containerised cargo, he said.

Commending the efforts of the Rajasthan government for initiating a new labour policy, which is being hailed as industry and labour-friendly, BCIC president urged the Karnataka government to emulate Rajasthan and bring out a similar legislation to encourage investment.

Rajasthan has proposed to make the new labour policy business and labour-friendly and encourage even more investment to flow into the state. “The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) urged the state government to actively look at these and work on similar changes in the state so that we do not lose out on investment generation and the consequent employment generation. We believe it is imperative that the state use a similar mechanism,” Harish said.

<b>Proposed Amendments</b>

Closure of factory, retrenchment of and laying off workmen without government’s permission should be raised to 1,000 workers, from the present limit of 100. Rajasthan has proposed to increase this to 300.

There should be a three-year time limit for raising disputes. To form a union, 30 per cent of the registered workers should be the minimum requirement as against present limit of 15 per cent.

The Contract Labour Act should apply only to companies with more than 50 workers (now 20). Under the Factories Act, this number goes up to 20 and 40 (from 10 and 20), to companies without and with electricity supply respectively.

Introduce a “contract employer” definition to make contractors accountable and remove the rigour of contract labour engagement.

While the state government has extended the exemption to Information Technology companies under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, the conditions attached to the extension must be removed, like those asking for communication of retrenchment to the labour department. It should be automatic as in the case of states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.

“The IT sector is an important segment in the economic development of the state. We would urge the government to allow the IT sector to follow flexible working hours which is being followed presently in states like Tamil Nadu,”  the BCIC president said.

While 48 hours a week has been stipulated, when a five-day week is taken into consideration, with nine working hours per day, it comes to only 45 hours. But if a flexible pattern is allowed, enabling an employee to work up to 12 hours a day if required, but limiting to 48 hours in the week  both employee and employer stand to gain as they have some deadlines to meet and it varies from customer to customer,” the BCIC president said.

Working of women employees during night hours – in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gurgaon and the National Capital Region, permission for women employees working in the night is assumed and automatic under certain conditions, like ensuring the presence of woman supervisors, ensuring at least five women to a room among others, and providing transportation.

In Karnataka, permission has to be sought every year. This requirement must be annulled. This would enable full participation in the workforce, he added.