Will push for amendments to labour laws posing hurdles: Tomar

New Delhi, Sep 17: Unfazed by opposition from trade unions, the government today indicated that it will push for amendments to various labour laws that pose "hurdles" in development and have "lost relevance" in the present scenario.

Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that there can be differences of opinions but if there is a need for change in a particular law to fulfil the requirements of the country, then the government should not be hesitant in making changes.

"If any law poses a hurdle for our development and has lost its relevance in the present scenario, then the law is not there so that we keep counting and keep studying it. Law is for implementation and creation. Law is there for solutions to problems of the country. If there is a need for a change in the law, why should the government be hesitant in (doing) that? To fulfil the requirements of the country, there can be differences of opinions but if our intentions are good, then we should not hesitate in making a good policy... The Modi government is presently working in the country with this thought," Tomar said.

Speaking during the Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar and National Safety Awards for performance in 2012 here, Tomar said that employment creation is a national challenge and there is a need to face this challenge collectively.

Stating that in the area of business, the work of skill development used to take place through the Apprentices Act, Tomar said after becoming the minister he was told by many of his department officials and employers that the act itself posed as a hurdle in increasing the number of apprentices and there is a need to change it.

He said his ministry has introduced the Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in the Lok Sabha and through the amendment whatever problems the industry faced due to it, "we have tried to open the law and simplify it".

He said after the passage of the bill, the number of apprentices will increase to a large extent in the country from its present standards.

PTI