Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Smt. Sumita Dawra chaired a Senior Officers meeting, in hybrid mode, to review the issues, programmes, schemes and future plan of the Ministry and its attached/subordinate/ autonomous offices in New Delhi today. The meeting was attended by Senior Officers of the Ministry and head of organisations under the Ministry.

The meeting focused on reviewing the budgetary allocation, third party evaluation of schemes and portals of the Ministry, employment generation, and issues related to social security, and future of work. Secretary, L&E also reviewed the preparedness of launching of Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme.

During the meeting, Smt. Dawra informed that an ISSA Technical Seminar for Asia and the Pacific Region will be organized on 20-21 January, 2025 at New Delhi, in collaboration with ESIC, on “Formalization and social security coverage for workers in the informal Sector: challenges and innovations”.  Around 50 organisations of Asia and Pacific along with domestic participants, Industry bodies/associations/ Employer Association, Trade Unions, representatives of States/UTs, Aggregators etc.are expected to participate in the seminar.

The seminar will focus on social security of workers, sharing of national & international experiences and practices, role of emerging technology, comprehensive approach aligning a conducive policy and legal environment etc.  The event will be used as an opportunity to showcase India’s best practices with respect to social security, the flagship scheme of Employment Linked Incentives (ELI), digital solutions to social protection such as e-Shram, National Career Portal (NCS).

The Ministry also plans to hold a National Consultative Workshop on the “Future of Work and Automation” in December 2024 with industry, which was discussed.  This high-impact event will bring together prominent industry leaders, academic scholars, and representatives from labour organizations to discuss the transformative impact of technology on the Indian labour market. The workshop will offer important insights into the future of work trends and assist in shaping policies that support fair and sustainable growth of Indian workforce through a series of sessions and panels of experts.  Concerned Ministries / Departments related to skill, labor intensive, manufacturing, social sector, representatives of State Government / UTs, Industry / Employee Association / and Trade Unions will participate in the workshop.  Representatives of multilateral bodies will also be invited.

Meeting also discussed organizing a webinar on safety aspects at workplace to sensitize the employers and workers, in collaboration with VV Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI).

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Himanshu Pathak