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BANGALORE, Oct. 4

THERE is a proposal to have 100 more industrial training institutes soon in Karnataka to cater to the needs of the industry.

Announcing this, the Union Labour Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, reiterated the need to develop skilled labour specifically suited to certain industries.

Mr Verma was inaugurating the 22nd Annual National Employee Relations Conference on `HR as a champion of business and guardian of people' at Bangalore today.

The Labour Minister also said that new labour laws would be ushered in before the Budget session this year. "We need to bring in laws that can be implemented. All these days we had laws that could not be implemented,'' he said, adding, " we'll also try to give protection to the unorganised sector.''

Organised by the Council of Indian Employers in association with the International Labour Organisation, the two-day conference starting today will examine corporate responses to business downturn, impact of technology on HR functions and lessons from ILO projects. Nearly 150 delegates from various parts of the country are participating in the conference.

Mr Herman Van der Laan, Director, ILO, expressed the view that globalisation could bring benefits to employees and employers alike if companies follow ILO standards. "We call upon Indian employers to prove that globalisation need not be anti-people.''

Quoting Jack Welch that `in this age no one can be an information spectator,' Mr Vikram Kapoor, President, All India Organisation of Employers, highlighted the fact that vocational training in India needed to cover broader areas.

"In India, vocational education covers only five per cent of the population as against 80 per cent in Korea, Taiwan and Japan.'' This was a challenge area for Indian enterprises, he stressed.

"If companies are not loyal, will employees be loyal?'' questioned Dr C.S. Venkata Ratnam, Professor, International Management Institute, New Delhi. The panic response of the industry to the downturn was cost reduction and retrenchment, which led a further downward spiral, he said.

"Has anyone documented the history of VRS in the country and studied the morale of the survivors?'' he asked.

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