Gujarat govt relaxes labour laws to attract investment

In a bid to bring in "ease of doing business" and attract new investment, the Gujarat government on Friday made some changes in the rules of two labour acts through a notification, an official said.

According to a government release, these changes were applied to the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 and Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1979, to help industries hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"In a bid to help industries hit hard in the current situation, and to attract fresh investments, the Gujarat government has announced a series of relaxations in labour laws, and more reforms are done and some are in the pipeline," said Vipul Mittra, additional chief secretary of Labour and Employment department.

As per the new rules, entrepreneurs are not supposed to pay any "contract fee" if less than 50 contract labourers are employed, the release said.

In more relief, entrepreneurs are now exempted from renewal of licence and from getting duplicate certificate of registration or temporary licences under the Contract Labour Act.

Similarly, another notification amended the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) (Gujarat) Rules.

"The coronavirus outbreak has adversely impacted industries and economic growth. The government is trying to be a facilitator to put growth back on track. These labour reforms and availability of skilled manpower will help Gujarat attract new industries. We are ensuring that interests of workers are also protected," Mittra added.