With a view to re-energising the country’s large labour workforce, the Union Labour Ministry is set to initiate discussions with State Labour Ministers on strategies for greater participation of women, new needs of the digital and gig economy, as well as transitioning towards green jobs.
The issue will be a key agenda at the upcoming National Labour Conference of Labour Ministers’ and Secretaries of States and UTs that will be held on August 25 and 26 in Tirupati.
The move comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the next 25 years in preparation for India @100. Accordingly, this session of the National Labour Conference has been named Vision Shramev Jayate @2047.
Agenda papers
The agenda papers for the conference have listed key focus areas of the Ministry of Labour and Employment for this, including gender equality and better job opportunities for women; improving labour force participation rate at par with developed nations; decent work for all, including migrant workers; transition from informal to formal economy; social protection for gig and platform workers; skill gap planning and facilitating planned migration and mobility; and providing universal and comprehensive social security and pension to all.
The agenda also highlights the significant changes in demographics, including the expanding youth population as well as Artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), automation, robotics, the emergence of gig and platform work, and other new forms of work that are changing the world of work.
It has flagged challenges such as access to internet services and digital technology that can be a restrictive factor for workers willing to take up jobs in the gig and platform sectors, as well as lack of job security, irregularity of wages, and uncertain employment status for workers that are significant problems in the sector.
Women-friendly workplaces
To increase the participation of women in the workforce, the Ministry has highlighted the need to leverage flexible workplaces and the digital economy, assigning value to unpaid care work as well as improving workplace safety.
It has also noted the need for the creation of millions of jobs as sustainable practices and clean technologies are adopted, which can lead to many traditional jobs disappearing as carbon-intensive industries shut down.
The labour ministry is also conducting three surveys on an all-India basis, including the All India Survey on Migrant Workers, the All India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey, and the All India Survey on Domestic Workers, which it hopes will help it make policies and strategies aimed at these focus areas.