JOIN USUnion Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said on Friday that employment generation is a challenge.
To address this issue, the government has increased the number of industrial training institutes (ITIs) to more than 10,000 while improving the infrastructure of existing centres.
Addressing the 45th session of the tripartite Standing Labour Committee here, Kharge said modular employable skill was one of the ambitious schemes of ministry to address the employment needs of the unorganized sector.
The government has been able to develop 1,422 short-term courses for providing skills in a short span to a large number of people. The rural job scheme has been able to provide income support and has contributed towards checking distress migration.
Other employment generation programmes like National Rural Livelihood Mission, Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojna and Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, have also contributed a lot towards providing livelihood security.
The minister said 94 per cent of country’s workforce was in the unorganised sector.
“This area requires relentless efforts and innovative indigenous solutions. Strategies for bringing improvement in this area should aim at improving labour legislation and labour administration.”
According to him extending organisational support and augmenting bargaining power of the unorganised workers should be a priority. Noting that the process of amendment in the Mines Act, 1952, was in progress, Kharge said the cabinet has approved amendments in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.