Near unanimity reached on bonus and calculation ceiling:Oscar

New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) The two-day Indian Labour Conference concluded here today with the Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes announcing near unanimity on enhancing the eligibility of Bonus ceiling to Rs 10000 per month and calculation ceiling of Rs 3500 per month.

The deliberations, attended by representatives of the employers, trade unions, central and state governments, also recommended that the contract workers engaged in the construction sector should also be brought under the Payment of Bonus Act.

Briefing the mediapersons on the Conference, inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Fernandes said a consensus had been reached that there was a crying need to prevent the exploitation of the contract labour.

The ILC, held after a gap of 17 months, made a strong case for strict implementation of the Contract Labour Act and various rules and mechanisms under the Act to ensure that the law should be strictly adhered to.

All the contract workers, eligible to be covered under the EPF and ESIC Act, should be brought under it and it may be stipulated that principal employers might deduct appropriate amount of the contractor's bills and pay directly to the authorities concerned to ensure that the contractor does not have any temptation to hold back or delay the requisite amount.

In order to examine the issue relating to grant of gratuity to contract workers, it recommended constitution of a Tripartite Committee, Mr Fernandes informed.

The ILC also called for appropriate steps, without further delay, to make the youth productive by providing employable skills both for wage and self-employment.

It also recommended vocational training from the school level.

''Both central and state governments as well as the industry must come forward to accomplish this task,'' he said.

Both Mr J P Choudhry, Vice-Chairman of the deliberations and Mr Girish Avasthi of the BMS in their respective brief comments said the discussions were ''highly fruitful''.

''It is for the first time that the employers and the employees have come so close to the extent that they have reached a near consensus on the contentious issues like bonus, contract labour and implementation of labour laws,'' Mr Choudhry told UNI.

However, CITU president M K Pandhe observed, ''Even not much progress has been made, yet we welcome the proposed amendment in the Bonus Act and the sincerity shown to implement labour laws among other things. But a consensus eluded the Contract Labour Act.'' UNI