Business
Labour ministry simplifying procedures; to club over 35 laws
New Delhi, March 11
In line with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's directive to simplify procedures, especially to
promote the ease of doing business, the labour ministry is clubbing
together nearly 35 central laws in four new bills, one of which may be
introduced during the ongoing budget session of parliament, officials
said.
The officials told IANS on condition of anonymity that the
new bills will consolidate the existing laws under four heads: wages;
safety and working conditions; social security and welfare; and
industrial relations.
"Once the new bills are framed and passed,
it will lead to ease of compliance. Rather than registering with
authorities separately under existing laws, one will have to fill a
single form for various labour laws. It will be like a single window
service," an official, who did not want to be named, told IANS.
He
said the four bills that will amalgamate laws under codes were a "top
priority" of the Modi government and are a key part of the "labour
reforms".
"The issue is being monitored at the top level," the official added.
This
is the second exercise being undertaken by the Modi government to
lighten the statute book. Last year, it had begun the process of
repealing 323 laws, most of them dating to the British colonial era. A
bill is already pending in parliament to repeal 32 of these laws.
Consolidating
the different labour laws will reduce multiplicity and ensure better
enforcement and compliance, another official told IANS.
He said single window clearance for labour laws will also be in line with the government's Digital India policy.
The labour ministry has prepared a preliminary draft of the wages bill.
"It
will be deliberated at various levels and then go to the cabinet. The
bill is expected to be introduced in the second half of the budget
session," the official said.
The wages bill is likely to club
four laws, while the one on social security and welfare is expected to
stitch together 18 laws. The one on safety and working conditions would
put together 12 laws and the one on industrial relations is likely to
club three different laws.
He said the new bills will not dilute the provisions of the existing laws but will give a fillip to the ease of doing business.
"Rather than going to ten different places, a person can file one form," the official added.
The
procedure for simplifying and rationalizing labour laws will require
them to be examined individually and provisions that have outlived
utility would be deleted. Some laws that have outlived their utility may
also be repealed, said an official.
He said there were 44 central labour laws.
The
second National Commission on Labour had recommended that labour laws
should be broadly grouped into four-five categories, he said.
The
report of the Working Group on Labor Laws and other Labour Regulations
for the 12th Five Year Plan had also recommended clubbing together of
laws.
It said that consolidation of labour laws and
"harmonization of key definitions in select cognate groups" would lead
to better adherence, reduce the cost of administration and help improve
implementation as
fewer register logs would need to be maintained.
The report also said that simplifing the rules would have a positive impact on boosting regular employment.
Modi
has repeatedly laid thrust on simplifying government procedures. He has
also said that ease of doing business was the most important component
for success of the government's Make in India initiative.
As part
of its moves towards labour reforms and ease of doing business, the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had last October unveiled
the Shram Suvidha portal to simplify compliance with 16 labour laws
through a single online form.
Officials
said the three industrial relations laws likely to be consolidated are
the Trade Unions Act, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act
and the Industrial Disputes Act.
The safety and working
conditions laws likely to be clubbed include those relating to weekly
holidays, factories, plantation labour, mines, dock workers, building
and other construction workers, contract labour, child labour and
working journalists.
The social security and welfare laws to be
put together include those concerning employees' compensation, Employees
State Insurance Act, employees' provident funds, maternity benefit,
gratuity, unorganized workers, beedi and cigar workers, iron ore mines
workers and cine workers.
(Prashant Sood can be contacted at [email protected])