Hyderabad: The Union labour ministry is planning to issue labour codes in areas like wages, industrial relations, social security and working conditions, amalgamating existing laws for safety and social security of workers.
Union minister of state for labour Bandaru Dattatreya said the Centre was simplifying and rationalising laws to promote productivity and welfare of workers.
Mr Dattatreya was addressing a regional conference of state labour ministers and officials from southern states here.
The Centre is holding consultations with trade unions, governments and employers on labour related issues. He said the government had initiated a process where 44 Central labour laws would be “simplified and rationalised and amalgamated” into four labour codes.
“The Labour Code is very, very important. It is going to play a major role. One will be for wages. There is complication in wages being paid. We would like to bring all wages under one code. Second is te industrial relation code. We will amalgamate all laws. Third is the social security code and fourth one is working conditions and safety. Safety and security of the workers will be strengthened,” Mr Dattatreya said.
The NDA government is bringing in different schemes like Universal Account Number (UAN) and skill development for the benefit of workers, he said.
Explaining the reasons behind the changes, Mr Dattatreya said, “The labour ministry feels that some changes in laws are needed as per the requirements of the country and in tune with the present times. Because, these laws have been there for long.” He said the rights of workers will not be taken away but the new laws will only bring more transparency and accountability among employers.
Kerala labour minister Shibu Baby John said violation of labour laws is rampant in India while developed countries protect their workers even at the expense of diplomats, referring to the Devyani Khobragade case. TS home and labour minister Nayani Narsimha Reddy spoke about the welfare schemes being implemented here.
