Indian delegation highlights country’s labour reforms at ILO meet

Geneva, June 10 (IANS) The Indian delegation participating in the ongoing conference organised by the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted the Government of India’s labour reforms, social security provisions and other new initiatives on the anvil.

Addressing the plenary session of the International Labour Conference, the head of the Indian delegation, Sumita Dawra, Secretary (Labour & Employment), mentioned that the government was providing social security to all, particularly informal sector workers, promoting female labour force participation and making efforts towards identifying and promoting new employment opportunities.

She also held bilateral meetings with the Director General (DG) of ILO, Gilbert F. Houngbo, and Deputy Director General (DDG), Celeste Drake, to discuss the issues of further collaboration with the ILO.

The focus areas of global skills gap mapping, including feasibility study by ILO and OECD on international reference classification of occupations based on skills and qualifications, universal social security, future of work including green jobs, orderly international migration of skilled workers, opportunities for employment generation etc. were discussed. India will continue to strengthen its work with ILO in view of emerging technologies and digitalization in the future of work, Sumita Dawra said.

The Indian delegation is actively participating in the ongoing deliberations in the Committees of the ILC on key issues of discussions such as social justice, care economy, biological hazards, fundamental principles and rights at work, among others.

The Indian delegation highlighted the Government’s initiatives taken in the care sector, in the form of access to clean cooking fuel under ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)’ to reduce the daily care burden of women, maternity benefits, health care including geriatric care, skilling programs and initiatives in care-work, social security benefits etc.

During the discussion in the session on ‘Fundamental Principles and Rights at work’, the Indian delegation highlighted the path-breaking labour reforms and the initiatives of the government to promote fundamental principles and rights at work in terms of elimination of discrimination at workplace, elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, effective abolition of child labour, adequate safety and health protection to all workers, enhanced social security coverage etc.

India’s commitment towards ensuring social well-being of its citizens and providing them with essential safety nets through a diverse range of in-kind social protection measures such as free housing, food security, subsidized cooking gas, cash transfers through ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’, agricultural crop insurance scheme etc. were also highlighted.

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