'Labour reforms underway, important step towards job creation'

 Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya today said job creation is the government's "top priority" and labour reforms now underway by amalgamating 44 central laws into just four labour codes, is an important step towards ensuring this.

"Our main motto is job security, wage security and social security, these are the major components that are required for the worker's survival... and also our top priority is employment generation," he said.

"For this (employment generation) we have to create a conducive atmosphere between the industries and the worker a cordial relationship needs to be created," he said.

Dattatreya was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event where he flagged off 'Tiranga Yatra' to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Quit India movement and inaugurated Employees Provident Fund Organisation's regional office here.

Pointing out that the government has taken steps towards creating conducive atmosphere for job creation, he said labour reforms is an important part of this exercise.

The minister said there are about 44 central labour laws and the government had decided to amalgamate them into four labour codes -- on wages, industrial relations, social security and safety, and health and working conditions.

Noting that these codes would revamp all the labour laws, he said the revamping is required to be in tune with present- day times.

"For rationalising and simplification the amalgamation process has started," he said.
Stating that the code on wages has already been introduced in Parliament, he said tripartite meetings and Group of Ministers meetings had already taken place.

The code on industrial relations would be introduced in the next Parliament session after Cabinet clearance, he said, and expressed hope these would be cleared then.

He said tripartite meetings and consultations are on over the code on social security and on safety, health and working conditions, following which it would go to the Cabinet before being introduced in Parliament.

"These four labour codes will provide security, safety and protect the interests of workers... it will in turn help in employment generation with conducive atmosphere being created," he added.

Speaking on EPFO's nationwide enrolment campaign from January to June, 2017, Dattatreya said 1.03 crore new members had been added, of which 14 lakh are from Karnataka.

Noting that more than 93 per cent of workers in the country are from the unorganised sector, he said efforts are on to bring construction workers in a phased manner into the formal sector, which would help them avail of EPFO and ESIC benefits.

Also UWIN (Unorganised Workers Identification Number) cards would be provided to employees in the sector that would help them avail social security benefits, he said.

The minister also said the government was now in the process of also bringing Anganwadi, Asha and Mid-day meal workers in a phased manner under the EPFO fold, for which a scheme is being formulated.