Statement by Shri Chandra Sekhar Sahu,

Hon’ble Minister of State for Labour & Employment on

DG’s Report
 

I should like to congratulate the Director General of ILO, for coming out with an excellent report on changes in the world of work.

In the past decade or so, we have seen substantial changes in the world economic scenario. National borders, in so far as economic activities are concerned, have ceased to exist. There has been a considerable increase in global economic activity. However, the benefits of globalisation have not been evenly distributed across nations. Income inequities across nations have increased. The imbalances within nations, between income and social groups, have also widened. The paradox of want amidst plenty is yet to be resolved. We therefore need to address this issue as citizens of a new world order.

Globalization has brought with it increase in competition, which, in turn, has been the precursor of structural changes. One main fall-out of globalisation has been its impact on employment. Vibrant economic growth has not always led to greater labour absorption. In a country like India, with more than 400 million workers and with more than 50% of our population below the age of 25, in search of jobs, the sheer magnitude of the situation takes you to a different world.

The Indian economy has experienced a sea change in the past one and a half decades. Since the early 1990s, a number of steps have been taken to liberalize the economy. India has, over this period, increasingly integrated with the world economy. While we have benefited from globalisation, especially if one looks at the rate of economic growth and increase in investment, we have also been witness to higher unemployment rates. We believe in economic growth which is brought in with a human face; we believe in growth with brings social justice with prosperity; we believe that growth of a few without ensuring the participation of the many others will not be sustainable.

In India, we fully realize that to sustain the growth impulse, it is important that we focus on the poor and those left out from the growth process. Our recently implemented National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is one such measure. It has been enacted to provide livelihood security to the poorest of poor and unskilled workers. The Scheme ensures 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to an adult member of every rural household who is willing to do unskilled manual work. This employment guarantee programme is an anti-poverty initiative which should provide a broad based safety net.

India is an ancient nation comprising young people. The majority of our population is in the working age group. This is definitely a blessing but the ‘demographic dividend’ will payoff only if their energies are so channelized as to meet global requirements. We need to create 10 million productive jobs every year.

The challenge faced by our country is to provide for and harness the talent pool of the Indian labour force, so that the economy can move to a higher growth trajectory. Augmenting the skill endowment of our labour force is fundamental to improving the productivity of labour. Much of the skills acquired by our workers has been through learning by doing. We feel that focussed training will go a long way in improving their capabilities. It is in this context that the Industrial Training Institutes in India are being upgraded, modernized and strengthened to become centres of excellence. This will help us in meeting the manpower requirements -both quantitative and qualitative - of the various sectors of the economy.

Of our nearly 400 million workers, more than 90% work in the informal / unorganized sector. The working conditions of the workers in this sector leave much to be desired. We have realized that growth can be sustainable only if it translates into prosperity for all. It must create opportunities for every section of the society. We have therefore set up a National Commission for Enterprises in the unorganized Sector, which is an advisory body and, also, a watchdog for the informal sector. The objective is to bring about improvement in the productivity of these enterprises for generation of large-scale employment opportunities on sustainable basis.

The welfare of unorganized workers is one of the thrust areas of the Indian Government. Our Government is committed to address the issues facing this sector by amending laws suitably to ensure a modicum of social security to these workers. A couple of draft Bills on social security for unorganized workers are under active consideration of the Government. It is proposed to provide health insurance and a minimum pension for the workers, and its financial implications are being worked out.

Employment policy should not just aim to create more jobs but should also ensure that working conditions in both existing and new jobs are adequate. We broadly agree with the principles espoused by the Decent Work Programme of the ILO. Good economic growth, distributive justice, social inclusion, effective governance and social dialogue, should be prerequisites for any employment policy. We have taken effective steps to address the issue of all forms of discrimination at the workplace.

We also recognize the need to eliminate child labour from the country. Our National Child Labour Project Scheme, which is the largest programme world-wide for withdrawal of child labour from economic activities and their rehabilitation through special schools presently covers 250 child labour endemic districts. India is also collaborating with ILO through the IPEC Programme on this issue.

Social Dialogue is an important component of the Decent Work Programme. In India, dialogue with social partners is a continuous process. We try to ensure that decisions affecting workers are taken with consensus.

I conclude with a quotation of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of Independent India, and I quote: “Our ambition has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but so long as there are tears and sufferings, our work will not be over.”

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