Ministry of Labour and Employment

About Ministry

• The Ministry of Labour & Employment is one of the oldest and important Ministries of the Government of India. The main responsibility of the Ministry is to protect and safeguard the interests of workers in general and those who constitute the poor, deprived and disadvantage sections of the society, in particular, with due regard to creating a healthy work environment for higher production and productivity and to develop and coordinate vocational skill training and employment services. Government’s attention is also focused on promotion of welfare and providing social security to the labour force both in organized and unorganized sectors, in tandem with the process of liberalization. These objectives are sought to be achieved through enactment and implementation of various labour laws, which regulate the terms and conditions of service and employment of workers. The State Governments are also competent to enact legislations, as labour is a subject in the concurrent list under the Constitution of India.
• At present, there are 44 labour related statutes enacted by the Central Government dealing with minimum wages, accidental and social security benefits, occupational safety and health, conditions of employment, disciplinary action, formation of trade unions, industrail relations, etc.  The list of Central Acts is annexed.

Vision

• Decent working conditions and improved quality of life of workers, ensuring India without child labor in hazardous sectors and enhancing employability through employment services and skill development on a sustainable basis.

Mission

• Improving the working conditions and the quality of life of workers through laying down and implementing policies / programmes / schemes / projects for providing social security and welfare measures, regulating conditions of work, occupational health and safety of workers, eliminating child labour from hazardous occupations and processes, strengthening enforcement of labour laws and promoting skill development and employment services.

Welfare measures

The Ministry of Labour and Employment in order to ensure the welfare of workers in the unorganised sector which, inter-alia, includes weavers, handloom workers, fishermen and fisherwomen, toddy tappers, leather workers, plantation labourers, beedi workers, has enacted the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008. The Act provides for a constitution of the National Social Security Board which shall recommend the formulation of social security schemes, viz. life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection and any other benefits as may be determined by the Government for the unorganised workers. Accordingly, the Ministry has constituted a National Social Security Board.

Shram Suvidha Portal

The objective of the unified web portal is to consolidate information of Labour Inspection and its enforcement, which will lead to transparency and accountability in inspections. The compliances would be reportable in Single Harmonized Form which will make it simple and easy for those filing such forms. The performance will be monitored using key indicators thus making the evaluation process objective. The portal also has an effective grievance redressal System. It promotes the use of a common Labour Identification Number (LIN) by all implementing agencies.

The 4 main features of the portal are:

1. Unique labour identification number (LIN) will be allotted to Units to facilitate online registration.
2. Filing of self-certified and simplified Single Online Return by the industry. Now Units will only file a single consolidated Return online instead of filing 16 separate Returns.
3. Mandatory uploading of inspection Reports within 72 hours by the Labour inspectors.
4. Timely redressal of grievances will be ensured with the help of the portal.

The above will bring in the necessary ease in compliance of provisions related to labour and will be a step forward in promoting the ease of doing business. The complete database available centrally at unified portal will also add to the informed policy process. The portal will be operative in 4 central organizations namely Chief Labour Commissioner, Directorate General of Mines Safety, Employee Provident Fund and Employees’ State insurance Corporation. In this endeavour of the Ministry, complete information of all 11 lakh units for these organizations has been collected, digitized and de-duplicated reducing the total number to 6-7 lakh. It is proposed to allot LIN to all these 6-7 lakh units.

For more information, visit http://efilelabourreturn.gov.in/uwp/home#

Source: Ministry of Labour and Employment