Uniform Labour Code will be a landmark initiative: J K govt

Jammu and Kashmir government today said the proposed Uniform Labour Code would be a landmark initiative for the welfare of the labourers in the state.
"The proposed uniform Labour Code will be a landmark initiative for the welfare of the labourers," Finance minister Haseeb Drabu said while winding up the discussion of the Budget proposals in the Legislative Council today.
The code, consisting of all labour laws of the state, will set out a framework for terms of employment and service of the workers.
"The bane of multiple labour laws has been their poor implementation and the resultant inadequate impact on the ground.

"Labour law reforms are critical to ushering in real ease of doing business in the state, besides, of course, addressing the aspirations of the labour class," he said.
Drabu said the government has recently increased the minimum wages of un-skilled, skilled and highly skilled workers and the move will raise the market wages prevailing in the state thereby increasing the incomes of the poorest.

He said these reforms have been long overdue.
While the whole country currently grapples with the issue of labour law reforms, we have decided that the state should take the lead and show the way to the country, he said.

"A multi-disciplinary committee has been set up to frame the J&K Employment Code for the State," Drabu said, adding the proposed Employment Code shall set out the framework for terms of employment and service of all the workers except domestic workers and agricultural labour and a strong, independent and separate labour judiciary.