Govt working on streamlining labour laws: PM

Voicing concern over cases of industrial unrest, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the government was working on streamlining labour laws for welfare of workers and it would move ahead only in those areas where consensus for reform was built.

He underlined that healthy worker-management relations were fundamental to industrial development and both sides need to work in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, without losing sight of the overall objective of progress.

"Recently we have witnessed some incidents of industrial unrest. This is a matter of serious concern to me and I believe we need to address this issue with alacrity and sincerity," he said while giving away Shram awards here. Though cited no specific case of industrial unrest, his statement comes against the backdrop of strike at Maruti’s Manesar plant.

Referring to labour reforms, the Prime Minister said his government was committed to do everything possible to ensure good industry-labour relations.

"There is a view that the labour laws are too rigid and are a constraint on our growth impulses. There is also a contrary view that the labour legislation needs to better protect the interests of workers, particularly in the unorganised and the contract labour sectors," he said.

Singh said there were areas where there was a need to strike a balance between the needs of a growing economy and interest of the workers.