 "LS passes Apprentices (Amendment) Bill")
The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill 2014, aims to make apprenticeship responsive to youth and industry, increase skilled labour, ease rules for employers to recruit apprentices and allow them to undertake demand-driven courses.
The amendments include dropping a provision in the existing law for arrest of employers for not adhering to the provisions and allowing companies to add new trades including IT-enabled services in the scheme of apprenticeship without the Centre’s approval. The Bill also seeks to provide apprenticeship to non-engineering graduate and diploma holders and allow employers to make their own policy for recruiting apprentices.
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Replying to a debate on the Bill, labour minister Narendra Singh Tomar said this “revolutionary” step will help the country meet the growing requirement of skilled people whose number could rise to 2.4 million from the current level of 4,29,000.
Tomar said India has 4,80,000 seats available for apprenticeship and against this, only 2,80,000 people are imparted skills. “When we look at the figures in Germany, China and Japan, there are three million, 20 million, and 10 million apprentices, respectively.”
West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the government of rushing through the Bill and urged Tomar to set up a National Advisory Committee to take all stakeholders’ views into consideration. “The fact is, there are many lacunae... and they need to be obviated,” said Chowdhury.
The lacunae are outdated curriculum, lack of infrastructure, and low level of stipends, Chowdhury added.
M B Rajesh of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) asked for sending the Bill to the standing committee for “detailed scrutiny”. He said since the Act is rigid, proper training is not being imparted to people.
He called for linking the incentives provided in the Bill with employment. “In the name of growth, you are giving lakhs and crores of rupees as incentives. Let it be linked with employment,” said Rajesh.
Rejecting the charge of low stipend, the minister said a semi-skilled apprentice will get Rs 3,999 a month in the first year of training in Bihar, while the figure is Rs 6,624 for Chandigarh.
The amendment Bill has also drawn opposition from the central trade unions.
Proposed amendment in Apprenticeship Act 1961:
1) Drop clause which imprisons employers not implementing the Act; will now invite penalty in terms of fine
2) Companies can add new trades under the Act without Centre’s nod
3) Contractual workers, daily workers, agency workers, casual workers, etc to come under the Act
4) Holidays, leaves, shift working to be same for apprentices as regular workers
5) Providing apprenticeship training to non-engineering graduate and diploma holders
6) Allow employers to formulate their own policy for recruiting apprentices