Ease of labour laws will create jobs

Govt says it will help and encourage young entrepreneurs, small businesses

The moment you cross 300 (number of employees), you have a different set of laws, the moment you cross 20 you have different set of laws, and those laws may be a little more harsh. So everybody is trying to limit the workforce and that is not very conducive (for growth)

– Shankar Aggarwal Union Labour Secretary

• Plans to convert 44 labour laws into 4 codes
• They are industrial relations, wages, social security and safety
• Aim is to offer every worker a decent salary
• At present, labour polices and laws are working in opposite direction
• These laws are demotivating the workers to go for higher levels of employment

New Delhi : Terming the existing labour laws as "tardy", a senior Labour Ministry official on Friday said that government is working to ease and simplify the laws with a view to encouraging young entrepreneurs and promote job creation. "Our labour laws were also very tardy, and great impediment for the growth. We got to take stock of the situation.

We got to look into each and every sector, which is basically labour intensive, and wherever required we got to change our rules and regulations, especially the labour laws," Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal said. He was speaking at a seminar on 'Compliance of Labour Legislations-Issues and Concern' organised by industry PHD Chamber.

Making a strong case for easing of labour laws, Aggarwal said it will help youth to set up enterprises and create jobs. "We have got about 44 labour laws. And to expect a small business enterprise to take care of all these is a tall order. So, we are converting those 44 labour laws into 4 codes.

"One code is on industrial relations, another is on wages, the third is on social security and fourth on safety. Two codes are almost ready, one on wage and one on industrial relations," he added. Besides, he said, the government would also focus on safety, health, hygiene and social security of workers.

"On the compliance side, we are trying to dilute many more compliances, so that people need not be scared of these laws. Even in terms of hiring people, we are taking steps. We also have to ensure that every worker get a decent salary," Aggarwal said. On job creation, he said India needs to create 5-7 million more jobs per year at every level to make the economic growth sustainable and sufficient.

"In the last few years, in spite of all these growth of 9 per cent and plus (before 2008-09), the growth has mainly been a jobless growth." "Unfortunately the labour polices and the laws are working in the opposite direction. Instead of encouraging creation of jobs, it basically demotivates a person to go up a higher level of employment generation.

"The moment you cross 300 (number of employees), you have a different set of laws, the moment you cross 20 you have different set of laws, and those laws may be a little more harsh. So everybody is trying to limit the workforce and that is not very conducive (for growth)," he added.

"Recently, we have taken a large number of initiatives in the labour reform area. Be it ESIC (Employee's State Insurance Corporation), PF...In all these areas the process part has been simplified," he said. Aggarwal said people can now get registered for PF account and need not visit those offices physically.