Good Governance Initiatives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment

Good Governance Initiatives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment

Question - India’s Ministry of Labour & Employment is focused on good governance. Discuss the recent initiatives taken by the ministry for improving the state of labour and employment in the nation.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has worked to ensure transparency and accountability in enforcement of labour laws

• Numerous good e-governance initiatives have also been undertaken by the ministry which are as follows.

• Shram Suvidha Portal for filing unified online return instead of filing separate returns under different acts is one such initiative

• Another is a Single Unified Annual Return for 8 Labour Acts on 24th May 2015 and thence onwards

• The Ministry has also allowed 9.5 lakh labour identification numbers/LIN to establishments

• Common registration under 5 Central Labour Acts through integration with DIPP’s E-Biz Portal/WIP is another major achievement. The Acts covered comprise the following:

- The Employees Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act (1952)
- The Employees State Insurance Act (1948)
- The Building & Other Construction Workers Act(1996)
- The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act (1970)
- The Inter-State Migrant Workmen(RECS) Act (1979)

• The ministry has also allowed more than 4.54 crore Universal Account Numbers to EPF subscribers for portability of Provident Fund benefits and ensuring accessibility and ease of operation

• Facility for establishments to apply online for allotment of PF code number was also launched recently. Around 43,000 establishments across the nation are benefitting from this facility

• Allotment of 8234 code numbers in 20 offices has created benefits for stakeholders in this sector

• The ministry has also established a 24/7 Helpdesk for unclaimed Provident Fund Accounts

• Online updation of member accounts for provident funds is yet another initiative. Close to 15 crore account holding EPF members in 120 offices have been updated

• Pensioners have also been guaranteed minimum pension of INR 1,000 per month under the Employee Pension Scheme

• Wage ceiling for EPF benefits has risen from INR 6500/- to INR 15000/-
• The ESCI and EPFO have been integrated with eBiz portal for registration of employees to improve ease of doing business

• Facilitation of online payment of ESIC Contribution is yet another step as is improved medical infrastructure for ESIC. ESIC provides entire range of benefits from super speciality to primary health care

• The process has also been initiated for providing UWIN cards which are umbrella cards to persons working in the unorganised sector; This social security card covers 1 billion persons

• NCVT-MIS portal has been launched for improved environment for vocational training with user friendly features such as e-certification and information loaded for more than 11000 Industrial Training Institutes

• IT based National Career Service platform is already established for employment services. Ministry will also establish 100 model career centres in 2015-2016

Facts and Stats

• Ministry of Labour and Employment aims to protect interests of workers in general, especially those from the marginalised sections to create a healthy work environment

• Promotion of welfare and social security is another focus area of the ministry

• Currently, there are 44 labour related statues enacted by the Centre

• These deal with minimum wages, social security, accidental security benefits, occupational health and safety, terms and conditions of employment, formation of unions and industrial relations.