The Labour Standing Committee of Parliament has pulled up the Union Labour Ministry for not convening the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) during the last 10 years. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Labour Standing Committee of Parliament, headed by senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai, has pulled up the Union Labour Ministry for not convening the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) during the last 10 years. Maintaining that the last ILC (46th) was held in 2015, the panel says the reasons for not holding it during the last 10 years have not been shared. It said the Ministry did not convey the tentative date of its next session despite being specifically asked to do so.
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“The Ministry has simply stated that the government has been holding tripartite consultations on important labour policies/issues from time to time. The committee understands that holding the conference is a critical step towards strengthening tripartite mechanisms and fostering social dialogue which are essential for addressing the evolving needs of the workforce and ensuring equitable economic growth,” the panel said in its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament on Friday.
Labour Codes
The panel said representatives of trade unions had expressed their serious concern for not holding ILC and have urged to convene it to uphold the traditions of tripartism and also to address pressing labour issues. “Observing that during the last 10 years many important decisions involving labour issues, including notification of four Labour Codes in the year 2019-20, have been taken, the committee exhorts the Ministry to convene the Indian Labour Conference at the earliest opportunity in the larger interest of the labour force,” the report said.
The panel noted that while 32 States/union territories have pre-published the Rules under all four Labour Codes, West Bengal and Lakshadweep have not done so. “The Ministry needs to be more proactive in its approach as even after the Rules are pre-published by all the States/union territories, a lot further needs to be done for implementation of the Codes at the ground level,” the panel said, adding that it would separately look into the implementation of the Labour Codes and submit a report to Parliament.
Observing that the employment of women, as per the data available in latest Periodic Labour Force Survey reports, under estimated Worker Population Ratio has increased from 28.7% in 2019-20 to 40.3% in 2023-24, the panel said the upward trend brings to the fore the positive aspect of participation of more women workforce in both organised and unorganised sectors. It asked the Ministry to further intensify its efforts through other innovative measures such as encouraging employers to engage more women workforce, organising awareness campaigns in rural/remote/hilly/underserved areas in particular about national career services portal, etc. so as to further increase women participation in various sectors, thereby uplifting their social and financial status.
Published – March 30, 2025 10:01 pm IST