While contractualisation of labour and deciding a minimum wage for workers dominated debates at the inaugural day of the 44th Indian Labour Conference (ILC), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh steered clear of both these contentious issues.
Inaugurating the two-day event, the prime minister came under attack from labour leaders and workers' representatives who blamed the government for not fixing a minimum wage and a rise in the number of contract workers.
The prime minister stressed on the need for quicker action on skill development. He said the skill development in the country was progressing at a pace slower than what he had earlier hoped for. He also sought more engagement from the private sector to help fill the gap in skill development.
"The private sector would need to engage more vigorously in these efforts, if we are to overcome this massive challenge. Poor students must find it financially viable to learn a skill, rather than take up a job prematurely. The industry and the government should work together to ensure such students are adequately financed," he said.
Singh voiced concern on the fall in the number of women workforce in the country. He said women were one of the "most under-utilised resources in the country".
The government was committed towards strengthening labour laws in the country. However, he also dismissed the popular perception among industry that there were too many labour laws. "It is often expressed that Indian labour policies unduly protect the interests of the labour currently employed and act against the expansion of employment in the organised sector. However, this view has lost its importance in recent years, as more and more state governments have become considerably more flexible in their approach to labour restructuring and rationalisation," he said.
Singh added though the government was committed to protecting the interest of the workers, there was also a need to take a critical look at whether the regulatory framework of the country had parts that unnecessarily hamper the growth of employment, enterprise and the industry without really contributing to labour welfare.
However, labour leaders said the prime minister had missed addressing the crux of the debate that dominated the meeting. "Contractualisation of labour is the single biggest problem for labour. It will make Indian industrial relations highly explosive and tense, unless all those concerned with labour intervene constructively in addressing the tragic plight of the unorganised sector and the growing contractualisation in the organised sector," said C K Saji Narayanan, president of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, who represented workers at the meet.