Extend employment guarantee to 200 days, recommends ILC

Updated on: Thursday, November 25, 2010

Extending employment guarantee from 100 to 200 days, introducing similar scheme in urban areas and removing ban on recruitment in public sector were
among a host of recommendations made by the Indian Labour Conference here today.
The conference, however, saw some differences on the issue of contract labour with some states demanding regularising contract labourers and employers group objecting to it.

The 43rd edition of the conference deliberated on three key issues -- employment generation and skill development, the global financial crisis and its impact on job
losses and the problems of contract labour.

Sources said barring issues related to contract labour, the conference -- a tripartite body comprising representatives from workers, employers and government -- unanimously adopted the recommendations on the concluding day.

Among the recommendations were strict implementation of labour laws in case of lay-offs, retrenchment, job losses, closure etc and devising a broad-based social security and unemployment insurance programme.

Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said the recommendations adopted would be studied and analysed in detail by his Ministry and discussed at various levels before a Cabinet note is prepared.

Extension of public distribution system to unorganised sector workers and a comprehensive package for workers who lost jobs due to recession were also adopted.

One of the committees which went into the issue of employment generation and skill development as part of the deliberation process in the conference said "the provisions to increase work days from 100 to 200 under MGNREGA will provide
more sustainability to employment being generated under the programme in rural areas".

On contract labour, the conference unanimously recommended that the existing provisions of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 are implemented in letter and spirit.

The workers group as well as the trade unions, who have been vocal on the issue of exploitation of contract labour, suggested that in the event of the abolition of
contract labour under section 10 (2) of the Act, the workers should be regularised.

"This was agreed to by the state governments but was disagreed by the employers group," sources said.

Extend employment guarantee to 200 days, recommends ILC

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