Privateinvestmentboostmustforjobcreation, saysGadkari
The government needs to encourage private sector investment in order to boost jobs in the economy, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
“Till entrepreneurs do not bring in capital investment, there will be no jobs. We need to encourage investments and also ensure that employers do not exploit the workers,” Gadkari said, at an event to celebrate International Workers’ Day here.
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, originated in 1884, when the Federation of Organised Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada demanded an eight-hour workday.
In India, Labour Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1923, in Chennai, organised by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan, founded by Malayapuram Singaravelu Chettiar, one of the founders of the Communist Party of India.
Gadkari called for better amenities for unorganised workers, including better access to health, housing and education ■ ■ One unified registration form for Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched
One unified electronic challan-cumreturn to ease filing of EPFO and ESIC returns for employers launched
facilities. He also pitched for speedy justice for workers in the labour courts and tribunals. “Workers do not get justice in courts for over five years. The labour courts hear the cases but do not take a decision on them. We need to fast-track decisionmaking in courts through information technology,” he said.
He also highlighted the poor health services provided to formal sector workers and suggested private participation in hospitals and dispensaries under the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).
“ESIC hospitals in Maharashtra are in poor condition. We take contribution for ESI benefits from employers and employees. It’s not the government's job to run hospitals,” he said, asking the labour and employment ministry to adopt a model for private participation in providing health care services to workers.
ESIC provides health facilities to workers earning up to ~21,000 a month through its dispensaries and hospitals spread across the country. Health benefits under the ESI scheme are compulsory for factories with at least 10 workers.
Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said 38 central labour laws had become obsolete and the government was in the process of bringing in reforms. He said the government has targeted bringing 10 million workers under the formal sector’s fold, with the help of various incentive schemes for employers.
A parliamentary standing committee has finalised its report on the first labour code, Wage Code Bill 2017, which seeks to fix a national-level minimum wage for various geographies and states, Gangwar said on Tuesday. States cannot set minimum wages below the benchmark set by the Centre, according to the Bill.