SAARC Labour Ministers to meet in August

New Delhi, June 16 (UNI) Union Minister for Labour Oscar Fernandes today said he would convene a meeting of South Asian Labour Ministers here in August to discuss various issues concerning workers of the region.

Talking to newspersons Mr Fernandes said during the International Labour Conference, he had called a meeting of Labour ministers of SAARC countries on the sidelines and the ministers had decided to meet again for further discussions on the problems concerning the unorganised workers.

He said there are many issues that the ministers could take up and work to benefit the region. ''We can exchange notes with each other because developed countries would require trained labour force as these countries were having aging labour force and would depend in areas where labour was available.'' He said during the discussions, he was surprised to know that the United States alone requires one million nursing staff while many West Asian countries need trained maids to take care of the families. There were several trades like plumbing which was in great demand in western countries, he added.

Maids trained in handling kitchen gadgets were in great demand in countries like UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait. The ITIs can introduce such courses that could impart training in house keeping and improve their language skills, the way they spoke and dressed, he said.

UNI