A historic labour bill for labour rights in the unroganised sector was passed in Parliament on Wednesday. For the first time, over 800 million people will get health benefits and life insurance now.The bill was passed, but not without its share of drama. The Left MPs wanted some more amendments, but the Labour Ministry declined. Neither side would budge. So the speaker called for a vote. It was to be a routine bill, but with a vote on it, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) knew that it better have the numbers. Senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram were rushed into to manage the floor. In the end, the government managed to get the bill passed.The new labour law will give social security to many workers in the unorganised sector. "The government has introduced this scheme, but the benefits have to come to us first. Only then will our lives change," said Ravinder Pratap, migrant worker.The bill lays the onus on the government to provide workers with life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, education for children, skills upgradation and provident fund assistance."What they have done is they have divided a number of issues relevant to the workers under the central and state domain। Maybe they could have left this open as many states wouldn't be able to pull of the responsibility," said Anil Bhardwaj, General Secretary, Federation of Indian Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.The new labour bill is seen as historic, as it gurantees rights to 94 per cent of Indian workers in the unorganised sector. But whether the government will deliver on its hefty promises will have to be seen.
Source : NDTV.com
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080076892&ch=12/17/2008%2011:22:00%20PM
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