2 key labour reform bills to come up in Parliament: Dattatreya

As a part of labour reforms, two important bills relating to wages and industrial relations will be tabled in Parliament in March, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said.
"Next week at the inter-ministerial meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, we will take the final decision and after that we will go to the Cabinet. In March (leg of Budget Session) both the bills would be introduced and I am hopeful it would be passed," Dattatreya said at an Assocham conference.
He said that all 43 labour laws would be codified into four broad categories.
The Labour Minster said the Central Board of Trustees would consider the proposal to increase the EPFO portfolio in the share market from existing 10 to 15 per cent from the total corpus.

"At present as much as Rs 17,000 crore from the EPFO corpus of Rs 8.70 Lakh crore has already been invested in the stock market," Assocham said in a release quoting the minister.
The minister said in the statement that the returns on EPFO investment into equities amounted to 8.7-9 per cent annually.

Dattatreya said with the codification of Labour Laws the industry would see an end to the red tape and inspector Raj, while the welfare of the workers would also be ensured.
In response to queries from the Assocham members, the minister said the minimum wages of skilled and unskilled workers have been fixed keeping in view the rising cost of living.

He also listed initiatives for women work force for whom the maternity leave is being extended from 12 to 26 weeks. The bonus limit for workers has also been increased along with the health benefits being extended by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).