At a time when a debate is raging over rising contract labour in the country, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) feels ‘specific guidelines’ for use by industry may help build positive industry-wide practices.
Admitting that contractual labour is here to stay, CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee in his remarks on a policy watch paper on industrial relations, said, “Contract labour is required to impart flexibility to operations, particularly in seasonal goods or non-core areas.”
The industry body has, therefore, suggested certain measures that could be considered to get industry-wide consensus on engaging contract labour.
For one, CII has proposed a ‘flexibility premium’ over and above the minimum wages for contract labour.
“The formula for which may be developed in relation to the equivalence of the job in which permanent workers are engaged, the level of skills and years of experience,” it said.
Another concept proposed by CII is ‘fixed term employment’. Under this, employment could be for a pre-determined period and wages, allowances and statutory benefits could be similar to regular workers, with such workers not having any right to regularisation after completion of his/her term.
CII also suggested that the proposed guidelines could include skill and career upgradation for contract workers.
It said the regulatory framework needed to ensure that minimum wages and statutory benefits actually reach contract workers.
“Contractors will need to be mandated to make payments directly into the bank accounts of the contract workers which should be regularly audited,” it said.
Unions’ role
In the backdrop of recent incidents of industrial violence, the CII paper, interestingly, regards trade unions as “important partners in progress”.
Admitting that unions can play the role of ‘safety valves’ in times of strife, it advocates against multiple unions and suggests looking at “one recognised union per plant/company”.
As regards external affiliations of trade unions, the CII paper feels that this has both positive and negative effects.
“The trick is to find the right balance in developing internal leadership and recourse to reach out to external advice,” it adds.