Right to work, pension hears dissent by ministries

The 45th Indian Labour Conference (ILC) concluded today, with a series of recommendations, including the right to work and pension for all, besides labour rights for all government scheme workers, amid dissenting notes by key ministries. The ILC, which is the annual tripartite conference of workers' bodies, employers' organisations and state and central governments, called upon the government to enact a legislation similar to right to education and information to ensure right to work and pension for all.

A law assuring the right to work would mean a citizen unable to find employment would be eligible for unemployment allowance from the state, Saji Narayanan Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh president, who chaired the social security and pension committee of the ILC, said. Government officials said it was too ambitious to talk of a right to work as it would immediately imply unemployment allowance, which is ruled out.

The other recommendation was to ensure those employed by the government to implement social sector schemes get minimum wages, maternity benefits and pension. They be granted a lump sum gratuity with immediate effect in case of retirement by making changes in the schemes.

However Ministry of Women and Child Development and the HRD Ministry submitted a dissenting note on this proposal and maintained their stand that these are all volunteers and part time workers and cannot be regarded as industrial workers. But all other departments and state governments were agreed that they should be given status of worker as most of them put in close to eight hours of work.

The ILC also recommended minimum assured pension of Rs 1000 which should be linked to price rise, a subject that is under the consideration of the Government. It was also decided together by the Government, workers, and employer bodies to form a tripartite committee to look into rationalization of labour laws for the small scale industries.

The Labour Ministry will accept all suggestions towards this purpose, the ILC recommendations said.

A committee formed by ILC to look into employment and employability called for increasing the number of ITIs and for making Apprenticeship Act applicable to small industries. It called for increasing the seats for apprenticeship in industries with immediate effect.

Earlier the Director General of the International Labour Organisation Guy Ryder addressing the concluding session of the ILC called for strengthening labour inspections, a topic that is controversial with the industry.

Trade unions said that the ILC serves to provide a base for their future struggles. "The last ILC suggested social security for unorganized sector. Have we got it? But the Government is now working on it, so we are getting there," pointed out RA Mittal secretary of Hind Mazdoor Sabha.

Our biggest agenda so far was implementation of the recommendation of last ILC. Now our biggest agenda would be implementation of the recommendations of this ILC. Right to Work is an utopian goal but we will strive for it. We will also struggle for the labour rights of the Government employed underpaid workers like ASHAs , despite the dissent of key ministries, Mittal said.

The demand for work and pension is something the Government should consider at the right stage. We cant call it utopian, said D K Sachdeva of the All india Trade Union Congress. We began with demanding pension. But what use is pension if there is no work? he said.