Labour commissioners asked to publicise workers' welfare work

Within days of a nationwide strike by trade unions, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya today asked labour commissioners to hold regular dialogue with the unions and workers and also sought steps to publicise the work done by the government for their welfare.
"You should have more friendly approach and should have regular dialogue with trade union leaders and workers. You must try to convince them about various steps taken by the government such as simplification and pontification of 44 labour laws into four codes," the minister said during a conference of Deputy Chief Labour Commissioners working in different regions of the country.

The minister also said that disbursement of minimum wages should be highlighted and efforts should be made to publicise these relief-orientated works.
"This meeting is being convened in the backdrop of nationwide general strike on September 2," an official release quoted the minister as saying at the event.
"This shows that somehow we have not been able to communicate the people friendly policies and programmes to general public and particularly working class," the minister said.
He said such type of liaison meeting with trade unions leaders and workers should be focus area of the working of labour commissioners.

Dattatreya said labour is a concurrent topic in the constitution and the central as well as state governments are formulating and implementing labour laws and labour reforms.

"In respect of improvement of lives and social status of working class, the central government has to work in cohesion with the state governments," he said.
Dattatreya further it is the duty of the labour commissioners to take into confidence the state governments officials and all the labour laws and policies of the central government should be implemented by the state governments in letter and spirit.
Ten central trade unions had gone on a day-long nationwide strike on September 2 to protest against central government's labor law reforms.
Separately, Dattatreya also met with Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh alongwith a group of farmers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on the backdrop of drought in both the states.

They requested Singh to send an official team to ascertain the reason for farmers suicide and take necessary steps to prevent such suicides.