The BRICS Employment Working Group aims to work for inclusive growth and to provide social security for migrant workforce. This was announced at the conclusion of the two-day BRICS meeting here today.

The meeting was a prelude to the major BRICS meeting to be hosted and chaired by India in September.

India’s proposals “India has attempted to put forth some proposals for concrete collective action in the field of social security as well as research and capacity building. A broad consensus has been reached on social security agreement and networking of BRICS Labour Institutes. They will get fed into the forthcoming Labour and Employment Ministerial document,” Union Minister for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya said.

Briefing newspersons on the sidelines of the conference here today, the Minister said, “Social protection to workers through various initiatives and schemes and inclusive growth is top on the agenda.”

Skilling mission “Low skill levels remain a major concern for India. Increasing skill levels of the workers will enable them to earn better remuneration in the labour markets. The Centre has initiated a number of measures towards improving skills and addressing some of the concerns by the Skill India Mission. Programmes such as Make in India and Startup India have been launched to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation,” he said.

Referring to the Skill India Mission, he said that this was aimed at developing and enhancing the skill sets of the workers in this challenging and rapidly changing economic environment.

The Minister said, “The BRICS Group is committed to job security, wage security and social security for all. Employment generation is our prime goal and we are working towards enhancing the welfare of workers.”

Model Bill Dattatreya said, “We have introduced the Model Shops and Establishment Bill, 2016 that gives the shops and establishments employing 10 or more workers the freedom to operate 365 days a year.”

Under this, women would be permitted to work during night shift provided adequate safety and security provisions are made. The model Bill, once adopted by States, is likely to boost job opportunities, without compromising on salaries, social protection and safety of the workers. Since the issue comes under the concurrent list, it is for the States to decide how they plan to go about implementing the Bill,” he said.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW