National Labour Conference

Inaugurating the two-day National Labour Conference (in Tirupati), India’s PM stated that India must prepare for future labour needs by providing for flexible workplaces with flexi work hours, developing a work-from-home ecosystem, particularly to increase women participation in the workforce.

The Conference is aimed at addressing a variety of issues concerning the implementation of the labour codes, discussions on migrant workers’ data and Vision-2047 for the workforce.

Details –

• The future requires flexible workspaces, a work-from-home ecology, and flexi work hours. These policies have the potential to increase women’s labour-force participation.
• The Indian labour force, particularly women employees, will help India accomplish its labour-sector goals under ‘Vision 2047.’
• India had lagged behind in capitalising on the first, second and third Industrial Revolutions, but it was time for the country to capitalise on the ongoing 4th Industrial Revolution in the digital sphere with the right policies and efforts.
• The Centre has taken initiatives to abolish laws from the period of slavery that reflect slavery mentality.
• The country is now changing, reforming and simplifying such labour laws and justified the decision to convert 29 labour laws into four simple labour codes.

What is the ‘National Labour Conference’?

• It is the apex level tripartite (Government, employers, workers) consultative committee in the Ministry of Labour & Employment to advise the Government on the issues concerning the working class of the country.
• The first meeting of the Indian Labour Conference (then called Tripartite National Labour Conference) was held in 1942. The most recent session was held in 2014-15.
• There is a need for such a conference because India has a legal obligation, as the Indian Parliament has ratified International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention (144) on strengthening the tripartite mechanism.

National Labour Conference, 2022 –

• The two-day Conference is being organised by the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
• The Conference is being convened in the spirit of cooperative federalism to discuss various significant labour related issues.
• The Conference will have four thematic sessions on —
  • • Integrating e-Shram portal for on-boarding social security schemes to universalise social protection;
    • Swasthya se Samriddhi for improving medical care through ESI hospitals run by State Governments and integration with PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY);
    • Framing of rules under four Labour Codes and modalities for their implementation;
    • Vision Shramev Jayate @ 2047, with focus on just and equitable conditions of work, social protection to all workers, including gig and platform workers, gender equality at work, etc.

Labour Codes –

• The Parliament of India passed the 4 labour codes —
  • the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 —
    • To consolidate and amend the laws relating to Trade Unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishment, investigation and settlement of industrial dispute.
  • the Code on Social Security, 2020 —
    • To amend and consolidate the laws relating to social security with the goal to extend social security to all employees and workers.
  • the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and
    • To consolidate and amend the laws regulating the Occupational safety and health and working conditions of the persons employed in an establishment.
    • It replaces 13 old central labour laws.
  • the Code on Wages, 2020 —
    • To simplify the existing labour laws dealing with payment of wages, overtime, bonus, minimum wages etc.
• Labour being a concurrent subject, states will have to frame their rules and only then can the codes be implemented in their entirety.
• These codes aim to streamline and simplify (by merging 29 pre-existing labour laws into 4) the country’s existing and overlapping labour laws.
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, had earlier envisaged implementation of the four labour codes from April 1, 2021.