 "Cabinet approves ILO instrument for moving to formal economy")
The recommendations offers guidance to members to facilitate the transition of unorgainsed workers and economic units from the informal to the formal sectors of the economy.
They aim at respecting workers' fundamental rights and promote creation, preservation and sustainability of enterprises and decent jobs in the formal economy as also preventing informalisation of formal economy jobs.
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"The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for placing the new Instrument adopted by ILO - Recommendations concerning 'The Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy (No.204)' before the Parliament," an official press release said.
The International Labour Conference, at its 104th Session held in Geneva in June 2015, adopted the recommendations.
According to the statement, its adoption was supported by India, represented at the Session by the Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment.
Under Article 19 of the ILO Constitution, each Member State of the ILO is required to submit the instruments adopted by the Conference before the competent authority (Parliament in case of India) within a year from the closing session of the Conference.
There is no financial implication on India in adopting the ILO Recommendation, which is applicable to all workers in the country which ratifies the instrument.
Given the diversity of the informal economy across member states, the competent authority should identify the nature and extent of the informal economy as described in this Recommendation, and its relationship to the formal economy using Tripartite mechanisms.
In designing coherent and integrated strategies to facilitate the transition to the formal economy, the Recommendation encourages members to take into account the diversity of characteristics, circumstances and needs of workers and economic units in the informal economy.
It also seeks to take into account specific national circumstances, legislation, policies, practices and priorities, effective promotion and protection of the human rights and promotion of gender equality and non-discrimination.
ILO Conventions are international treaties, open for ratification by member countries. The ratification of an ILO Convention is a voluntary process.
Once ratified, the ILO Conventions create legally binding obligations on the Member countries that ratifies the particular Convention.
ILO Recommendations are not open to ratification but they are meant to provide guidance to the governments as regards formulation and implementation of policy, legislation and practices.