Modi might announce major welfare schemes at labour conference

Expansion of health benefits & ESIC coverage and launch of a national job portal likely at meet starting today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce some big-size labour welfare schemes in his first address at the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) on Monday.

According to sources, Modi is likely to announce health benefits for unorganised construction workers, launch a job portal and address some issues considered important by trade unions (TUs) such as minimum wages and social security benefits for the unorganised sector.

This is the first time Modi will address the ILC after becoming the PM. Termed the "labour parliament" of the country, the two-day ILC is set to witness a strong pitch from business and TUs on the changes proposed to the labour laws. The ILC will be attended by both workers' and employers' representatives, along with the state labour ministers.

This comes soon after the government announced a slew of proposals, strongly opposed by the unions. The unions have called a single-day protest on September 2 for non-implementation of these demands and against many of the changes proposed by the government.

Sources said one major announcement by the PM would be to bring the on-site construction workers under the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). At present, construction workers directly hired by a factory or who work on the premises of a factory or technical workers such as engineers get health benefits from ESIC. However, workers hired through agencies or those working on a construction site are not covered.

"We will term it a second-generation reform. ESIC's expansion needs a quantum jump. In the past five years, the expansion pace has been very slow. We need to bring four more states under ESIC benefits," said a government official, on condition of anonymity.

The PM is also likely to launch a national career counselling portal, part of the modernisation of 100 out of 982 employment exchanges in the first phase. The government-run exchanges will be put under a national web portal and both job-seekers and providers could connect online.

Modi met the trade unions over tea for more than an hour on Sunday. "He heard the demands of all the trade union leaders and said he will hold discussions with (finance minister) Arun Jaitley to address our demands," said Intuc chief Sanjeeva Reddy.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

• SOME KEY ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED: Labour law reforms; amendment to Bonus Act; social security for workers; employment generation
• MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi might announce big labour welfare measures; national career service portal; extending benefits of ESIC to unorganised construction workers
• HEALTH COVERAGE REFORMS FOR WORKERS: Electronic health record; medical helpline number; colour-coded bedsheets in all 36 ESIC hospitals; special OPD for physically challenged workers
• LIKELY ANNOUNCEMENTS: Increasing minimum wage for all classes of workers; empowering government to change bonus ceiling; UWIN card for unorganised workers' social security benefits

Earlier in the evening, a sub-committee of ministers led by Jaitley met the central trade union leaders to discuss the 10-point charter of demands. "The finance minister was very receptive to our demands. He said our demands were reasonable," said Reddy. Other members of the committee were Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh.

Sources said the PM might address some of the demands of the trade unions in his speech on Monday.

A major demands of TUs under consideration is fixing the minimum wage level at Rs 15,000 a month for all categories of workers. This is part of a 10-point charter of demands of the unions. At present, each state fixes its own minimum wages for scheduled employment. Recently, the government announced a rise in the national floor-level minimum wage from Rs 137 to Rs 160 a day. This means a worker will have to be paid at least Rs 4,800 a month by the employer. "This demand might be addressed in some manner. A draft Cabinet note is already under preparation by the labour department in this regard," an official said.

The PM might also empower the central government to fix the ceiling on payment of bonus to workers. The unions have demanded removal of all ceilings on payment and eligibility of bonus. At present, workers earning up to Rs 10,000 a month are eligible. "Once the government is empowered, there will be no need to change the Payment of Bonus Act to fix bonus and its eligibility," said the source.

Other steps include converting ESIC dispensaries into hospitals, upgrading hospital facilities, launch of a medical helpline for workers and an outpatient department for physically challenged workers. To ensure bedsheets are changed on a daily basis in hospitals, the PM will announce colour-coded bedsheets for all 36 ESIC hospitals in the country. "As part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, (ESIC) hospitals will have to ensure bedsheets are changed everyday and there will be a colour code to be followed for a specific day," said the official.