Centre, states to discuss new labour policy on Nov 11, 12

In a bid to expedite and finalise the national policy on labour and employment, the Union labour ministry will hold a two-day meeting with state labour ministers starting November 11 in the national capital, official sources told Business Standard.

"The two-day meet will see participation from all states and Union Territories. Our focus will be on the recently released draft Shram Niti (labour policy). We aim to build consensus with states, as labour is as much a state subject as it is a central one. A lot of public comments have already been received, and they will be discussed at the meeting as well," one of the sources said.

On October 8, the Union labour ministry released the draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 -- the first-ever attempt to formulate a national policy on labour and employment for public consultation. The policy seeks to make a paradigm shift in Indias labour governance framework by reimagining the ministrys role as an 'employment facilitator' rather than the chiefly regulatory body it has traditionally been.

The meeting will also review the expansion of social security coverage across both the organised and unorganised sectors and take stock of progress in integrating the eShram database with other schemes and programmes. So far, 12 schemes have been integrated on the portal.

"India's social security coverage has increased from 19 per cent in 2015 to 64.3 per cent in 2025, something that the International Labour Organization has also taken note of. We will urge states to expand social security coverage further so more workers come within its ambit," the sources said.

Regarding the labour codes, the sources indicated they do not feature on the meetings agenda. 

"Labour code implementation is not part of the formal deliberations. However, if states wish to raise any aspect of the codes, they can be discussed. Weve already held a meeting on the codes earlier," one source added.

This is the second time the Union labour ministry is convening a conference of state labour ministers this year.

Earlier in January, a two-day meeting with state labour ministers discussed the road map for implementing the four new labour codes.

'It was noted that over 18 states and UTs have already implemented most of the reforms, while more than 32 states and UTs have pre-published draft rules under the four labour codes. The remaining states and UTs have also made satisfactory progress,' Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said after that meeting.

-- Shiv Rajora, Business Standard