'Labour reforms should create jobs'

The government was in favour of labour law reforms that not only protected the existing jobs, but also created new employment opportunities, said Commerce And Industry Minister Kamal Nath at a press conference.

He added that "so far, labour laws have concentrated on protecting jobs." He said the government was debating as to how this could be accomplished. Nath said there were certain jobs that were seasonal in nature. Therefore, there should be provisions in the law to hire workers for short duration in such jobs to attract investment, he added. He said India was losing out on many jobs because laws did not provide for seasonal hiring of workers.

The minister said many states had already moved proposals for amending labour laws to provide flexibility, particularly in export-oriented units.