| |
| The government is likely to significantly expand the purview of the Contract Labour Act to cover Central government establishments also.
|
| |
| The group of ministers (GOM) on labour reforms slated to meet tomorrow will also consider replacing the grounds on which contract labour can be employed: from emergency to that of public interest.
|
| |
| The GoM headed by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman KC Pant to discuss the Draft Bill to amend the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 will give a major leg up to the expansion of the scope of employing contract labour in the country.
|
| |
| The GoM has proposed to amend Section 2 (1) of the Act to bring government establishments, which are currently outside the purview of the Industrial Disputes Act, under the Contract Labour Act.
|
| |
| At present, public sector undertakings and the private sector are covered by the provisions of the Contract Labour Act.
|
| |
| If the amendments are ratified, the Central government too will be required to undertake all the obligations of the principal employer as envisaged in the Act.
|
| |
| Since this will also regularise the status of the thousands of labourers who are working on contract with the Central government, the GoM feels it will not be difficult to sell the proposal.
|
| |
| Besides Pant, the other members of the GoM on labour reforms include Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma, Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Communications Minister Arun Shourie and Small Scale Industries Minister CP Thakur.
|
| |
| The proposal to substitute the need to prove an emergency for hiring contract labour with public interest will lend greater flexibility for all enterprises to hire and fire.
|
| |
| But Verma is still adamant about ensuring that payment of compensation for retrenched contract labour should be equivalent to 30 days wages for every year of service.
|
| |
| However, Jaitley is pushing for only 15 days wages for each year of service as compensation, since a higher amount would raise costs for industry and make it uncompetitive.
|
| |
Verma has argued that safeguards were necessary because of the rigidities in the labour market, and also because such labour will not have the benefit of pension, gratuity or provident fund schemes. Last week, the GoM meetings were cancelled twice due to Jaitley
|
