Labour reforms a must in present scenario: Minister

Stressing that its goal is to bring holistic, comprehensive and balanced development in the labour domain, the government today said that its priority is to create maximum employment opportunities while maintaining balance between industry and the labour force.
Bringing labour reforms was a "must" in the present scenario, Union Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, adding that his ministry was earnestly working to bring changes to laws which have been rendered redundant over time.
There are around 100 laws at the central and state level which industries would at present find it difficult to comply with. Many of these laws were introduced before Independence, he said.

"The labour ministry is earnestly working to remove or bring changes in these laws," Tomar said during the concluding session of Skoch Summit Governance award.
He said that after the first 100 days of the Narendra Modi government, a sense of hope has come into the country and other nations are now looking to India with a sense of optimism.
Emphasising the need for striking a balance between industry and the labour force, Tomar said that while labour interests must be safeguarded, industry should be enabled to work with ease and flexibility.

He said that his ministry has introduced the Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014, in Lok Sabha wherein an attempt has been made to ease the rules. He said that while there is a proposal to bring in apprentices from other subjects under the Act, the strict and impractical provisions of penalty for industries, too, have been slackened.

He said that amendments to the Factories Act of 1948 and the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers By Certain Establishments) Act, 1988, too have been introduced in Lok Sabha and discussions will be held on them in the next session.
He also urged employers to understand the need of the hour and give as much importance to employment generation as to profit generation.