Final touches to be given to Unorganised Workers Bill: Oscar

New Delhi, Dec 21 (UNI) Final touches were being given a legislation to provide statutory backing to about 370 million unorganised workers through schemes to be formulated for their comprehensive social security coverage, Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes said today.

Addressing the State Labour Ministers Conference here, Mr Fernandes said his department was finalising the legislation for the social security coverage of the workers in the unofficial sector.

The Minister lamented that only few states were implementing the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, He urged the State governments to take up the issue on a priority basis.

Referring to the creation of a skilled workforce in a liberalised economy, he underlined the need to increase five times the present number of trained institutions for the 12.8 million new entrants in the job market every year.

The Minister also urged the State governments to modernise Industrial Training Institutes.

On issues relating to child labour, Mr Fernandes said, ''There is a need for concerted efforts with greater emphasis on poverty alleviation programmes coupled with education expansion.'' Earlier, Department Secretary K M Sahni said the incidence of child labour had declined in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra while it increased in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Labour Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Asom, Bihar, Delhi, Kerala, Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Gujarat and West Bengal participated in the conference while other States were represented by their senior officials.

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