Govt to address wage, price anomalies

New Delhi, Aug 19 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today assured central trade unions that he would write to all Chief Ministers to ensure effective implementation of labour laws and agreed to set up an Index Review Committee to address anomalies in wages and prices.

In a meeting with trade union representatives at his residence tonight, he said the Government would also set up a Working Group to look into specific problems of implementation of labour laws.

Briefing reporters, the Prime Minister's media advisor Sanjaya Baru said the trade unions expressed concern at the meeting over violation of labour laws, pricing contract labour and increase in working hours beyond eight hours a day.

Dr Singh said his Government was committed to the welfare of the working class and claimed that it had reversed the previous trend of speedy closure and disinvestment of PSUs.

Ever since the UPA came to power, it had been working hard to build a society based on the principles of equity, welfare and social justice, he said, citing the common minimum programme and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

The meeting was attended by CITU President M K Pandhe, AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta, INTUC President G Sanjeeva Reddy, BMS President U Purohit and United Trade Union Congress President Abani Roy.

Labour and Employment Minister K Chandrashekhara Rao, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, and senior officials including the Cabinet Secretary attended the two-hour long meeting.

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