Bandaru Dattatreya, the first Minister from the newly formed Telangana to join the Narendra Modi Cabinet on Monday, said social security and protection of workers is both a priority and ‘religion’ for his Government.
Taking charge as Minister of State (Independent charge) for Labour and Employment, Dattatreya said that in keeping with Modi’s vision of ‘Shrameva Jayate’, his priority will be skill development and job generation.
On the recent labour law reforms that are being seen as “anti-worker” by trade unions who said were not taken into confidence, the Minister said he would study various labour laws and ensure that social security for workers in the organised and unorganised sectors is protected.
Dattatreya takes over at a time when the Modi Government is on an overdrive to initiate labour reforms tailored to ease ‘doing business” in India.
Under his predecessor Narendra Singh Tomar, the Government had initiated a string of labour reforms in response to Modi’s call to foreign companies to ‘Make in India’, such as steps to end ‘inspector raj’ and self-attestation.
Among the key challenges ahead for Dattatreya will be to initiate amendments to some more labour Acts, as well pushing for passage of pending Bills in Parliament, such as the new Factories Act.