PM: Govt committed to welfare of working class

The UPA Government is fully committed to strengthening labour laws and ensuring their compliance for securing the welfare of India's working class, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday.

The legislation to regulate the working conditions in factories, including health, safety and welfare of workers, is currently in the process of amedment, the Prime Minister informed.

"The need for amending the Factories Act, 1948 has been felt because of a number of developments since 1987 when the Act was last amended," he said.

These include concerns arising out of disasters such as the Bhopal gas tragedy, those relating to industrial disaster mitigation, rehabilitation and compensation for industrial workers and other affected persons.

Singh was Tuesday speaking at the 44th session of Indian Labour Conference in New Delhi.

"Though our government remains committed to protecting the interests of our workers, we must periodically take a critical look whether our regulatory framework has some parts which unnecessarily hamper the growth of employment, enterprise and industry without really contributing significantly to labour welfare," Singh said in his address.

The Prime Minister, who during his tenure as finance minister ushered in reforms that liberalized India's economy, mentioned two issues he considered important.

Pointing that women was the most under-utilized resources in the country, Singh said the female labour force participation rates were extremely low and remained more or less constant over the past decades.

In order to bring more women into the work force, he said it was necessary to understand the constraints that they faced in balancing their family and work responsibilities. Although the provision of creches was now built into the country's regulations, including those for MNREGA, he felt this was not enough. He suggested making provision for part-time work which would have the same characteristics as in full-time employment.

The other issue he highlighted was that of migrant labour. "Our systems to ensure the welfare and well-being of migrant workers are weak. These need to be strengthened and we must all pool our knowledge, wisdom and experience to ensure that this, in fact, happens," he said.

Speaking on child labour, Singh highlighted the government's successful initiatives that yielded results, such as the reduction in the number of child workers in the last few years; the proportion of 6 to 14 year old children working that has fallen from 6.2% in 1994 to 2% in the year 2010; and the Right to Education Act 2009 which provides for compulsory education up to 14 years.