Ministry of Labour & Employment is administering
44 Labour Laws. These laws are enforced by Central and State Enforcement
agencies in their respective spheres. Multiplicity of Labour Laws and
complexities in compliance have been a matter of concern for a long time. There
have been requests for ensuring simplification of formats, ease of compliance, effectiveness
of inspections and speedy redressal of grievances.
2. In
order to address these concerns Ministry of Labour & Employment is developing
a Single Unified Labour portal for Online Registration of units, submission of
annual returns, Reporting of inspections, and redressal of grievances.
3. The
pilot project is being operationalized in four organizations in Central Sphere
namely the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) organization, the Employees
State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Employees Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO) and Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) covering 16 Labour Laws
to start with. The web portal is being developed and maintained by the National
Informatics Centre (NIC).
4. Each
Employer/Establishment will be allotted a Unique Labour Identification Number
(Shram Pehchan Sankhya) for online registration on this integrated Web portal.
Complete information of all 11 lakh units for these organizations is being
collected, digitized and de-duplicated. It is proposed to allot LIN to all
these unique units. The annual Return format is being harmonised and simplified
with amendments to respective Rules. With the given LIN number, the employer
will be prompted about the applicable Acts and be able to file a single unified
annual return instead of filing separate returns under individual Acts. This
will be a step forward in promoting the ease of doing business.
5. The
web portal will also provide for online Grievance Redressal System integrated
with Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) portal.
6. The web portal will contribute proactively
to achieve the objective of compliance of labour regulations and harmonising
compliance across Labour Acts/organisations.
Labour
Inspection Scheme
About
175000 inspections are carried out annually by 4 central agencies in the
central sphere. So far these units were selected locally without any specific
criteria. A computerized Inspection Scheme has been designed with the objective
of enhancing effectiveness of labour inspections and ensuring transparency. It
also aims to ensure focussed inspections based on objective criteria.
2. The
Scheme will be operative in the Central Sphere covering 4 organisations namely
Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) organization, the Employees State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC), Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and
Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS).
3. A
Central Analysis and Inspection Unit will be set up in each of the 4
organisations to analyse the complaints centrally according to data and
evidence. The inspection report formats of EPFO, ESIC, CLC(C) and DGMS have
been simplified with online inspection schemes based on computerized system
for random allotment of inspection. The scheme has also been linked to web
Portal for online reporting of harmonized inspection report by Labour
Inspector/Inspecting Officer. Under the scheme, the Inspection Report will be
uploaded on web portal within 72/120 hours after the inspection. Monitoring of
Inspections will be based on Key Performance Indices.
Major
Amendments
proposed in the Factories Act, 1948
·
The
threshold limit for coverage under the Factories Act to include besides the
existing limits of 10 workers (for units with power) and 20 workers (for units
without power), units with such number of workers as may be prescribed by the
State Government with a cap of 20 workers (for units with power) and 40 workers
(for units without power) respectively.
·
Permission
for employment of women for night work for a factory or group or class or
description of factories with adequate safeguards for safety and provision of
transportation till the doorstep of their residence.
·
Enhancement
of limit of overtime hours from the present limit of 50 hours per quarter to
100 hours per quarter. This limit to be increased to a maximum of 125 hours per
quarter in public interest with the approval of State Government.
·
Insertion
of provision relating to compounding of certain offences and amendment of the
Act enhancing the quantum of penalty for offences.
·
Increase
in the period of spread over from 10.5 hours to 12 hours by State Government
through notification in the Official Gazette.
·
Provision
of personal protective equipment for workers exposed to various hazards.
Stricter provisions regarding entry into confined spaces and precautions
against dangerous fumes, gases etc.
·
Provision
of canteen facilities in respect of factories employing 200 or more workers
instead of the present stipulation of 250 workers and also provision of
shelters or restrooms and lunchrooms in respect of factories employing 75 or
more workers instead of the present stipulation of 150 workers.
·
Introduction
of new terms like “hazardous substance” and “disability” to existing
definitions.
·
Prohibition
of employment of pregnant women (it was earlier for all women) and persons with
disabilities on or near machinery in motion and near cotton openers.
·
Reduction
in the eligibility criteria for entitlement of annual leave with wages from 240
days to 90 days.
·
Central
Government also empowered to make rules under the Act on some of the important
provisions.
Status:
After stakeholder consultation, the amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok
Sabha in August 2014.
Amendments
in Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by
Certain Establishments) Act, 1988.
The Government also gave notice of its intention
to move certain official amendments to the Labour Laws (Exemption from
Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act,
1988 which would
(i)
Expand
the coverage of the Act to establishments having up to 40 workers from the
existing 19 workers.
(ii)
Increase
the number of Acts in the Schedule from 9 to 16.
(iii)
Simplify
the annual returns and reduce the registers required to be maintained.
(iv)
Permit
maintenance of records in electronic form and submit returns electronically.
Status: The proposal
was put up for public consultation on the Ministry’s website. The Amendment
Bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha.
Social
Security For Organized Workers:
The Government has notified
the enhancement in the statutory monthly wage
ceiling for making contribution under the EPF & MP Act 1952 from Rs. 6500
p.m to Rs. 15,000/- w.e.f 1.9.2014. This is likely to extend PF coverage to an
additional 50 lakh workers.
It has also notified
the enhancement in Minimum pension to pensioners under Employees’ Pension
Scheme 1995 to Rs.1,000/- w.e.f 1.9.2014, which is likely to benefit about 28
lakh existing pensioners.
As
part of the endeavor to improve the services to members of EPFO and introducing
Portability of Accounts, KYC seeding in respect of all 4.17 crore members (in
respect of whom at least one contribution has been received during the period
of January to June, 2014 and the member has not exited as per its records) has
been undertaken. Bank account, Aadhaar number and PAN number etc. are being
collected and opening of new Jan Dhan accounts and Aadhaar Numbers is being
facilitated in the respective establishments. This will facilitate portability
of PF accounts across jobs and geographies. Nearly 35% of the UANs have been
seeded till date. With the activation of the UAN services,
the members will be able to collate their PF accounts. The members can also
view their updated accounts and can download the same. UAN will also help in
counting their pensionable services. This will also obviate the intermediation
of the employers between the members and EPFO for all services including
withdrawal, transfer etc.
EPFO
has also launched an online registration
facility for convenience of the employers. During the month of
July and August, 4700 establishments have availed this facility and have got PF
codes online. With the assistance of State Bank of India, facility has been
given to the employers by which the employers can now deposit their PF
contributions through 58 other banks with which SBI has created an internet
payment gateway.
Improvement in
Medical Services:
In
order to improve the medical care provided by ESIC to its members, a high
powered Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary (Labour & Employment)
reviewed the medical services and accordingly, the following initiatives have
been approved and implemented:-
a.
To
empower the State Governments and strengthen the monitoring mechanism of
medical care delivery system, ESIC has approved institutional mechanism in the
form of inter-alia, the State Executive Committee. The State Executive
Committee has been empowered for taking up of renovation work, annual repair
and maintenance, empanelment and de-empanelment of tie-up super-specialty
hospitals, apart from other functions. This State Executive Committee will have
powers of up to Rs.3.00 crore for special repair of 200 bedded hospitals and up
to Rs.5.00 crore for special repair of ESI hospitals with more than 200 beds.
It will have powers up to Rs.50.00 lakhs for executing special repair works
related to dispensaries.
b.
To
ensure quality and supply of drugs, drugs testing policy has been revised.
Computer programme based random sampling from amongst all the batches received
shall be carried out and sent for testing by the indenting units.
c.
Strengthening
of Insurance Medical Practitioners (IMP) system in order to provide medical
care services in the areas where dispensaries cannot be opened up due to less
number of IPs or dispensaries, services cannot be started because of
non-availability of building/infrastructure etc. Annual fee to be paid to IMPs
has been revised from Rs.150/- to Rs.300/- per IP.
d.
Dispensaries
with a heavy patient load are to be upgraded to provide basic lab investigation
facilities in order to minimize references to the hospitals.
e.
The
ESI Corporation also increased the ceiling on medical expenditure being
reimbursed to the State Govts. from Rs.1500/- per insured person family per
annum to Rs.2000/- per annum.
f.
The
Medical Benefit under the ESI Scheme has now been extended to the widow spouses
of deceased/retired/superannuated Insured Persons as well as to the widow
spouses of Insured Persons who ceases to be in an insurable employment on
account of Permanent Disablement, and also to widows of Insured Persons who are
in receipt of Dependents’ Benefit.
ESIC is
providing medical benefits to more than 7.58 crore beneficiaries. During the
year 2013-14, the Corporation has made an expenditure of Rs.4781.57 crores on
the medical care.
Social
Security For Unorganised Workers:
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Several schemes for social security
of unorganized workers are being implemented by different Ministries.
Efforts are on to effect convergence of these schemes on the RSBY platform.
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
(RSBY)
RSBY, which provides cashless health insurance
benefit of Rs.30,000 to families of the unorganized workers, is one of the
schemes under the Unorganised Worker’s Social Security Act 2008. Based on
extensive consultations with State Governments, revamp of the Scheme has been
undertaken in two phases.
(i)
Phase I: During this phase, the existing
arrangements will be improved for immediate benefits to the insured
population. Efforts will be concentrated in developing selection and
contracting arrangements with strict performance criteria for insurance
companies, setting up a centralized multilingual call centre, contracting
Third Party Agencies for field Audit, developing a robust and responsive
grievance redressal mechanism, rectification of existing glitches in the
software and increased involvement of states through strengthened State Nodal
Agencies.
As part of the financial inclusion scheme of the Govt. of India, it has been
decided that all the beneficiaries of RSBY will be facilitated to open Jan
Dhan accounts with the support of the State Level Bankers Committee and the
District Lead Banks. Efforts will also be made so that the RSBY
beneficiaries who do not have an Aadhaar Card are facilitated to get one
during the enrollment in RSBY.
Status:
Implemented
in June 2014. Detailed Operational Guidelines issued with earmarking of
clear role and responsibilities. Supplementary Agreement notified. Work on
setting up call centre and Third Party Audit empanelment is in progress.
(ii)
Phase II: The key initiatives of Phase-II are proposed to be: Centralized Procurement
and issuance of cards, enrolment of beneficiaries and management of Kiosks by
Consortium of State / Central PSUs, provision of wellness check for the card
holders in a public health facility including PHC / CHC / ESIC hospitals, national
level strengthening of RSBY team and creation of a comprehensive IT
architecture covering all aspects of the programme.
Status:
Selection
of IT agency to develop the IT architecture is under progress. Committee of
Principal Secretary / Secretary of the State Governments has been
constituted to work out details of revamp based on the learnings of the
State Governments. The Phase II is expected to be rolled out from February,
2015
Convergence of Social Security
Schemes for unorganized workers
In
the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act 2008, ten schemes are mentioned.
At present, beneficiaries have to fill up separate application forms and
contact different agencies to obtain benefits under different social security
schemes. In order to facilitate convergence of major social security
schemes, a pilot project is being undertaken to issue a Single RSBY Smart
Card for the three major social security schemes for unorganized workers to
begin with namely, Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme
and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana. The project involves setting up single
points of contact for all the three schemes in 20 Districts on a Pilot
basis.
Status:
The
Districts have been selected and the preparation of the of Draft Project
Report (DPR) is in the final phase.
Efficient
utilization of the Workers’ Welfare Funds
The Ministry of Labour and Employment operates five workers welfare funds for
Beedi workers, workers in iron ore manganese, chrome limestone and dolomite
mines, mica workers and cine workers. The State governments manage Building
& Other Construction Workers Welfare Funds. The Ministry will focus on
improving welfare measures for workers from these funds through funding Skill
Development, enrolment under RSBY along with seeding/opening of Jan Dhan
Accounts and Aadhaar Numbers and annual health check-up.
Status: The
recommendations have already been accepted by the Central Advisory Committee
of Beedi Workers’ Welfare funds. Other Central Advisory Committees are being
convened shortly.
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Status of Technical
Education of Workforce
India
has workforce of about 48.5 Crore. The proportion of workforce who either
received or were receiving vocational training (both formal and non-formal) was
10.1 % (Figure1).
Figure 1: Proportion of workforce with
vocational training 2009-10
Of these 10.1% only
25.6 % of the vocationally trained workforce had formal training (Figure 2
below).
Figure 2: Proportion of vocationally
trained workforce with formal and non-formal training 2009-10
The
distribution of the technically trained workforce according to the nature of
their technical qualification is given in Figure 3 and the unemployment rates
in Figure 4, which highlight the need for skilling at the shop floor level,
both for employment and growth.
Figure 3: Proportion of vocationally
trained workforce by level of education 2009-10
Figure 4: Unemployment Rates - Total,
Youth (15-29) and Educated Youth (secondary and above) - 2011-12 (UPSS)
Training
And Employment
1. One
of the flagship schemes for vocational training is the Craftsmen Training
Scheme which is implemented through a network of more than 11300 Industrial
Training Institutes (ITIs). They conduct courses of one or two year duration
for 8th or 10 class pass outs, in NCVT (National Council for
Vocational Training) approved 126 occupations of which five are for visually
impaired. The ITIs have developed skilled craftsmen with the potential to
directly contribute at the shop floor of our industries and, thereby, to the
country’s overall GDP and progress.
2. Given
the burgeoning skill gap faced by the Indian economy, the Ministry has set up
Mentor Councils (MCs) having representatives from thought leaders among various
stakeholders viz. industry/academic/professional institutions, champion ITIs
for each of the sectors and experts.
MCs
are guiding the Ministry in responding proactively to the skill demands in the
sector, through restructuring of courses, curriculum development,
identification and development of good teaching and learning aids,
infrastructure required, suggest ways of scaling up training of trainers with
quality, making assessment systems more reliable, improving on the job training
and placement of trainees, etc.
On
the recommendations of the Mentor Council, NCVT has revised 61 existing courses
and introduced 21 new courses in the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS). These
courses have an integral component of “Employability Skills”. The revamped
curricula has been implemented from Aug 2014 session.
3. Further,
to inculcate a spirit of innovation and research, Incubation Centres are also
being set up in different sectors to help budding entrepreneurs from ITIs, test
their ideas and get mentoring and support of experts. The Incubation Centres
are housed in premier academic institutions of higher education in India such
as the IITs. The Incubation Centres will offer opportunities to the ITI
graduates to work side by side with students from these institutions, expand
their learning and vision, and create marketable business ideas and implement
the same. Chair positions are also being set up in these eminent institutions
to conduct best practices research for improving the course structure,
pedagogy, and overall quality of training delivery by the field institutions.
4. There
is sometimes a concern that NCVT courses are not responsive to the need of
local industry. To overcome this gap and to assist industry with qualified and
trained workforce, the Government has started a scheme on “Demand responsive
Vocational Training. Any industry can sign an MoU with DGE&T to conduct
training programme to meet specific skill requirement of the company. Under
the scheme approval of courses, examination and certification will be done by
NCVT. Industry would ensure minimum 80% employment.
Flexi-Memorandum
of Understanding (MoUs) under this scheme have been signed with Tata Group as a
knowledge partner, FlipKart ,Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited (GIPCL),
LabourNet, Raymond and Cadila Pharmaceuticals.
5. In
order to promote excellence in vocational training, provided through ITIs,
Ministry is introducing a new scheme for developing one existing Government ITI
as a Model ITI in each State which should become a demand-responsive centre for
local industries excelling in training. They will also coordinate with Career
Centres towards Industry Clusters – Career Centres – Vocational Training collaboration.
The identified ITI situated in a prominent industrial cluster in the State will
be provided funds for taking up several initiatives and reforms such as
upgradation of facilities, introduction of industry relevant training, and
improved industry interaction. States have been requested to identify the ITI.
6. A
Bill has been introduced in the Parliament after consultative process regarding
amendment of Apprentices Act, 1961. The amendments meet long pending demand of
youth and industries, giving more flexibility and freedom, to both apprentices
and the industry as follows:-
I.
Provides
for prescribing number of apprentices to be engaged at establishment level
instead of trade-wise.
II.
Flexibility
to the industry in terms of 2.5% to 10% of the workforce in any trade(s) of
their choice, open ended eligibility in terms of qualification of apprentices,
flexi period of training, etc.
III.
Provides
for employers to undertake new courses (optional trades) which are demand
based.
IV.
Provides
for apprenticeship training to non-engineering graduate and diploma holders
also.
V.
Provides
for simplifying the procedure to registration of contract of apprenticeship
training.
VI.
Inspections
only with permission of Central and State Apprenticeship Adviser.
Status: Amendment
Bill has been passed in Lok Sabha.
The Government has proposed a Scheme for
sharing of 50% of stipend of apprentices for undergoing apprenticeship training
in MSMEs having turnover less than Rs.100 crore and registered under MSMED
Act. Main objective of the scheme is to bring a large number of MSMEs. Stipend
is being enhanced from Rs.2100/- per month to about Rs.4200/- per month.
7. In view of the
large workforce having informally learnt skills working in construction sector,
Ministry has launched a scheme of “Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) of
Construction Workers” with involvement of industry and expert institutions.
This is proposed to be funded by BOCW Cess. RPL will provide gap training and
lead to NCVT Certification.
8. Another
important initiative is running additional shifts in urban ITIs for training of
existing workforce in several trades. A special window has been created in
Skill Development Initiative Scheme to give focus to this target group.
Career Centres
The
Government has decided to transform the Employment Exchanges to Career Centres
which shall connect local youth and other job-seekers with job opportunities
through counselling and mapping jobs with skill requirements. National Career
Service Portal will provide information about available career options,
training courses, apprentice seats, job opportunities etc., and also resources
for efficient functioning of Career Centres. The Career Centres would be the
pivotal outreach and counselling interface of the National Career Service for
teeming millions of aspiring youth from rural, semi urban areas as well as from
disadvantaged sections of the society. These Centres would be staffed by
motivated young professionals, enabled with necessary tools and infrastructure
for effectively and continuously assessing demand of skills in labour markets,
guiding youth visiting the Centres and by outreach to schools/colleges about,
various training institutions, on-the-job training, job opportunities, etc.,
according to their aptitude and potential. These Centres would connect youth
and other job seekers with jobs through portal, job fairs and other possible
interface with employees such as campus placements. Last mile employability
modules are also proposed to be offered.
The Ministry has
circulated the guidelines to States for establishing the Career Centres and
capacity building of the Employment Exchange officers has also commenced from
25th August, 2014.
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NSK/NN