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On the last day of the Budget session, the Lok Sabha passed a Bill to amend the Apprentices Act, 1961 with a voice vote, despite Opposition parties, such as the Congress, Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) demanding that it be sent to the Standing Committee for greater deliberation.
The Bill seeks to open up apprenticeship to non-engineering graduates and diploma holders among others to expand the base of skilled workers in the country.
Moving The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014 for passage, Labour Minister Narender Singh Tomar said the measure was “revolutionary” and would help the country meet the growing requirement of skilled people, whose number could rise to 23.75 lakh from the current level of 4.29 lakh.
He said the new law would entitle apprentices to enjoy facilities, such as leave on par with regular employees in any unit with five or more staffers.
The Bill, a long-standing demand from industry chambers, had initially been brought in by the previous UPA Government, and seeks to empower employers to formulate their own policies for recruiting apprentices and providing for exchange of information through a web portal.
Terming the Bill as “old wine in new bottle, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy accepted that it would increase job opportunities for the youth, but feared that companies would phase out contract and casual workers and get apprentices to do their work instead.
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