January March 2013 Quarterly E-Newsletter...E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s...
Transcript of January March 2013 Quarterly E-Newsletter...E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s...
Mr. Uramoto complimented India for its steady economic growth and its positive role at the global
level, such as in the G20 and other international fora. Mr. Kharge acknowledged that ILO‘s tripartite
structure has helped shape India‘s tripartite institutional mechanisms at national and state levels,
He also spoke about the exemplary ILO-MOLE collaboration in India. Mr. Kharge mentioned that a
number of GOI flagship programmes are directed to address problems of the unorganized sector
workers and issues of informality.
Mr. Kharge made reference to recent updates and the steps being taken by MOLE towards
ratification of the 4 non-ratified ILO Core Conventions (C 138, C 182, C 87 and C. 89). Mr. Uramoto
expressed his appreciation for India‘s practices to ensure that legal and operational frameworks are
in place before ratification of ILO Conventions. Continued on page 2
Meetings with employers‘ (above) and workers‘ (below) representatives
Volume 2, Issue 1
January—March 2013 Quarterly E-Newsletter
From the ILO’s Office in India
Inside this issue:
ILO Regional Director visits
India
Post-MDG Development Agenda
1
2
Social Partners write:
AIOE
CITU
3
4
GET Report 2013—India launch
Workshop on Female Labour
Force Participation
5
5
MoU to Promote Migrant
Workers’ Rights
Canadian Labour Minister visits
ILO
6
6
Trade Unions in Tamil Nadu
observe Women’s Day
ILO-Media Partnership Against
Child Labour
7
7
News, views and analysis from
the world of work 8
Sexual Harassment at
W o r k p l a c e B i l l
passed by Parliament
on 26 February 2013;
awaits President’s
assent.
The Crimilan Law
[Amendment] Act,
2013 comes into force
prescribing stricter
p u n i s h m e n t f o r
c r i m e s a g a i n s t
women.
Latest Developments
ILO Regional Director‘s First Visit To India
Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok, visited
India from 13 to 15 February 2013. This was Mr. Uramoto‘s first visit to India after taking-over as
Regional Director for Asia and Pacific in mid-October 2012.
Accompanied by Ms. Tine Staermose, Director of the ILO Country Office for India and Decent Work
Team for South Asia, Mr. Uramoto paid a courtesy call on Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister of Labour
& Employment (MoLE), Government of India on 13 February 2013. Dr. Mrutyunjay Sarangi,
Secretary; Mr. A.C. Pandey, Joint Secretary, and other senior officials of MoLE were present during
the meeting.
Meeting with the Hon‘le Labour Minister, Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
Page 2
Mr. Uramoto mentioned the ILO‘s global role on jobs and employment
and offered technical support on issues currently under discussion with
the social partners. He indicated that the ILO was committed to support
India‘s efforts to advance sustainable development.
Among several other issues discussed were the need to explore potential
for regional collaboration as a follow up to the MoU between the ILO
International Training Centre,Turin and the VV Giri National Labour
Institute; engage in discussion on collaboration between KOSHA and
DGFASLI on occupational safety and health; and further promote South-
South collaboration though the SAARC conference on child labour in May
2013 and the international social security conference scheduled for
August 2013.
Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto held meetings with the representatives of Indian
employers and leaders of workers‘ organizations on 14 February 2013.
Top officials from the All India Organization of Employers, Employers
Federation of India, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises,
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, PHD Chamber of
Commerce & Industry, Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry and
the Confederation of Indian Industry participated in the employers‘
meeting.
The employers‘ representatives shared their views about the current
industrial and labour situation in India and the challenges they were
facing. Talking about the challenges faced by the Indian employers,
among other things, they highlighted the labour law reforms to promote
sustainable enterprises. The employers‘ representatives sought ILO
support in the areas of employment, skills development and
entrepreneurship development as well as knowledge sharing with
experience from other countries.
Mr. Uramoto, showing his keen interests on various issues raised by the
Indian Employers, thanked them for the meeting and said that the ILO
would be happy to share the international experience. He also
emphasized the importance of international labour standards as well as
social dialogue. Mr. Uramoto mentioned that India is an important
country and what the Indian employers do affect the ILO.
Mr. Uramoto met the senior leaders of the five Central Trade Union
Organizations viz. Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), Indian National Trade
Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Centre for Indian
Trade Unions (CITU) and All India Trade Union Centre (AITUC).
During the meeting all the senior leaders from the above trade unions
were unanimous in reiterating the need for the ILO‘s continued support in
promoting the ratification of Core Conventions - more specifically
Conventions on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining .
Mr. Uramoto‘s First Visit to India continued from page 1
Mr. Uramoto had opportunities to interact with Dr.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning
Commission and Dr. Abhijit Sen and Dr. Narendra Jadhav,
Members of the Planning Commission, Government of India,
on issues of mutual concern. In addition, he met officials of
a number of Ministries, policy planners, academia, the United
Nations Resident Coordinator and other UN officials,
International Financial Institutions, the diplomatic community
and the media. He also made a field visit to Faridabad to see
the Government of India‘s National Child Labour Programme
and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana Programme in action.
Various issues such as hurdles in registration of trade unions,
payment of fair wages, increasing contractualization of jobs
where the employers engage contract workers in perennial
work, lack of retraining and skills training, social security for
the unorganized workers, violation of labour laws by
employers, weak enforcement of labour laws, workers‘ income
disparities and conditions of women workers were highlighted.
Post - 2015 Development Agenda
The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the Millennium
Declaration in 2000, reflecting the member states‘ commitment to a
global platform promoting peace and security, the reduction of
poverty, illiteracy and disease, and the protection of the environment,
all requiring strengthened democracy, good governance and
protection of human rights. In support of the Declaration, eight
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted in 2002. These
Goals have served as a global development framework for the
international community during the past decade and have influenced
national policies.
With the deadline for the MDG targets to end in 2015, the United
Nations (UN) and its Member States have embarked on a process to
define a future development agenda. In India, nine national
organizations/institutions have been chosen to convene constituency
-based consultations involving the Government of India, civil society,
elected representatives, trade unions, industries, women's
organizations, farmers associations, research institutions and
youth organizations. The UN is also facilitating an open forum
website where interested individuals can share their views on the
post-2015 agenda. This can be accessed at: http://
www.worldwewant2015.org/india2015
The ILO - New Delhi facilitated the conduct of consultations with
all the trade unions both at zonal and national levels through the
Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC). Four Zonal
consultations were organized in Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur and
Kolkata during January-February 2013. In total, 10 central trade
unions - BMS, INTUC, HMS, AITUC, CITU, TUCC, AIUTUC, UTUC,
LPF and AICCTU - participated in the zonal consultations. The
four zonal consultations were followed by a "National
Consultation of Trade Unions on Post-2015 Development
Agenda" in New Delhi on 25 - 26 February 2013. The National
Consultation finalized a set of recommendations and presented
it at a validation Workshop of the UN on 19 March 2013.
ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training: a success story
SIYB Training in Sonebhadra district of U.P.
In a bid to promote employment opportunities
in informal sector, the All India Organization
of Employers, has started Start and Improve
Your Business (SIYB) training in Sonebhadra
district of Uttar Pradesh. Sonebhadra is
characterized by an overwhelming majority of
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
population (around 47% of the total
population), widespread unemployment,
poverty and low levels of Human
Development Indicators.
The latest round of Generate Your Business
Idea (GYB) and Start Your Business (SYB)
training courses were completed in March
2013, wherein 45 youth learnt the skills of
business management. The training helped
participants in identifying a bankable
business idea, studying the market, making a
business plan and managing business
expenses.
It is noteworthy that since the launching of
ILO‘s flagship SIYB training in Sonebhadra in
November 2012 with funding support from
FVTRS, Bangalore, the business management
training has been imparted to around 225
youth till date. The training implementing
organizations (SIR, Lucknow; CTED, Lucknow
and SVSS, Mirjapur) are now engaged in
providing follow up support to the participants
and documenting success stories.
Contributions from our Social Partners
Trainees with the two SIYB Trainers—Mr. Mukesh Pandey
and Mr. Anshuman Chaturvedi in the March 2013 training
programme held in Sonebhadra.
The views expressed above are those of the contributor.
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
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Rani Devi, 30, was not so special to write about until January 2013 when she
underwent a life-changing training on enterprise development-SIYB. She was like any
other typical village woman whose dawns begin with cleaning cow-dung and dusks end
with washing utensils. She was married to a physically challenged and unemployed
youth in 2005, with whom she had a dream of living a decent and respectable life.
However, the dream came to an end even before her wedding henna (Mehndi) started
to fade and she found herself into a day-to-day bread-butter-battle. It was a tough time
for her, but she was not one to give up.
She started as an agricultural labourer to support her family but a mere 50 rupees
after 10 hours of strenuous work could barely feed her husband, in-laws and 4
children. The situation improved a little with revision of minimum wages in the state
and enactment of MG NREGA, but spiraling prices and unforeseen expenses soon
negated the positive effect. Her children were growing up and she was worried for their
better upbringing.
She then started a Baati-Chokha shop in the village with her small savings.
Unfortunately, the business failed terribly due to her lack of experience, skills and
understanding of the market. She also made an attempt to secure a bank loan to
invest in the business, but the Bank Manager was not convinced enough to approve
her loan application. Once again, she found herself left stranded in the battle of life.
It was only in January 2013 when she was approached to undergo ILO‘s flagship
enterprise development training program ‗Start and Improve Your Business‘ (SIYB),
being organized by FICCI and implemented by CTED in Ghorawal block of Sonebhadra
district of Uttar Pradesh. After much counseling and motivation, she reluctantly agreed
to attend the course. Unaware of the fact that this was going to be a life-changing
experience for her, she half-heartedly reached the training venue with her small baby
in the arm. The experienced trainers soon realized her situation and ensured her
active participation in various group assignments. Their efforts succeeded as Rani
Devi started showing interest in the training. Horrified with bitter experience of a failed
business in the past, she took extra interest in learning how to evolve a business idea,
study the market, make a business plan and manage various expenses of the
business.
Expert guidance of the trainers and the lessons of the past motivated her to set up a
fruit thela (hand cart) in Ghorawal market. She was advised to mobilize the required
startup capital from relatives only and not to wait for the bank loan. She was also
helped in selecting the place for her thela and networking with bulk suppliers of fruits.
Having confidence in her capabilities and seeing her charged enough to re-write her
life story, Rani Devi‘s family also offered their best to support her efforts.
Rani Devi finally managed to borrow an interest free loan of Rs. 20,000 from relatives
and started her business in Ghorawal town which is around 6 KM away from her
home. The business started doing well after some teething troubles. She has also
involved her husband in the business.
Anshuman Chaturvedi
Assistant Director- Labor and Employment
AIOE/FICCI, New Delhi
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
Page 4
Contributions from our Social Partners
Despite the respectable GDP growth of 8.5% anually during the
entire 11th Five Year Plan period, the rate of employment
generation has collapsed to mere 0.5% exposing a totally jobless
growth phenomenon. Employment generation is one of the
mechanisms for distribution, and with such insignificant
employment growth, the gains of GDP growth have been entirely
expropriated by the capitalist class.
In fact, along with the development of technology, productivity per
worker has increased enormously during the two decades. In this
background, even if production gets substantially increased, it
cannot generate proportionately similar employment. Moreover
there is a limit to growth of production given the recessionary trend
in the world market affecting the country's export market in a big
way. Added to this is the phenomenon of 12 hour work prevalent in
most of the private sector entities. Such a situation has led to
galloping rise in unemployment with the reserve army of
unemployed swelling high to put downward pressure on wage of
those who are in employment.
Trade union movement has to address this phenomenon with the
seriousness it deserves. In consideration of the tremendous rise in
workers‘ productivity owing to development of technology, we must
raise the demand of 35 hours‘ work per week and a four shift
working day to address the problem of jobless growth
phenomenon. We must unleash a serious campaign on this
demand from our independent platform to sensitise the mass of
the workers as well as people at large on the issue to create
ground for joint country wide struggle in the days to come. This may
not be a slogan for agitation on immediate term but it must find a
serious place in all our independent campaigns on economic policy
and social issues. The campaign must continue side by side with
our ongoing workplace level struggles against violation of the
statute on eight-hour working as well as forcible unpaid extra hours
of work. The World Federation of Trade Unions has already raised
this demand for worldwide campaign in the context of the alarming
rise in youth unemployment all the world over.
The Report of General Secretary calls for unleashing independent
and widespread campaigns and struggles demanding: 1) Same
wage for same work; 2) 35 hours week and 4 shift working day; 3)
Social security for all; and 4) no employment below statutory
minimum wages and social security.
CITU calls for 35 hours work-week and other measures for promoting employment
The views expressed above are entirely those of the respective contributors.
We invite brief contributions from Social Partners on their activities and issues of their concern.
Resolution on Safety in Workplace and Occupational Health
The 14th Conference of CITU held on 4-8 April 2013 at Kannur
expresses grave concern on alarming increase in incidences of
accidents in workplaces throughout the country leading to death of
workers and also permanent as well as temporary disablement due
to injuries in numerous cases. In addition, continuous neglect by
both government and employers in the area of occupational
hazards are also affecting lakhs of workers life and livelihood. …
The demand to management should be for stringent preventive
safety measures and stringent observations. The demand to
Government must be for proper legislation having wider coverage
and a strong inspection and enforcement machinery to monitor
implementation and stringent punishment for violation.
For occupational health hazards, pressure must be built upon the
Government for ratification of all safety related Conventions of ILO
including Convention no 176 on occupational safety and health. We
must demand to widen the list of notifiable occupational diseases
to include all lung related diseases including Tuberculosis and also
diseases related to exposure to toxic chemicals, gas, particulates,
heat and dust. We must demand appropriate statutes on
prohibitive, protective and preventive measures against dust, heat,
toxic chemicals and gas and also against stress and strain
prevalent particularly in the IT sector to be stringently followed in all
the workplaces along with a strong enforcement machinery. We
must also simultaneously demand for adoption of appropriate
alternative technology in the production/operational process to
minimize the exposure to such hazards, if not fully eliminate. We
should also demand banning of use of asbestos and rehabilitation
of the workers working in the asbestos factories. Such an approach
would be instrumental in integrating the struggle on workplace
safety and occupational health with the larger problem of
environmental pollution confronted by the society as a whole.
The Conference calls upon the trade union movement in general
and the CITU unions in particular to make the issues relating to
safety and occupational health as one of the priority agendas for
struggle against the neoliberal policy regime and take initiative to
equip themselves appropriately to discharge this crucial
responsibility.
Mr. Amitava Guha, CITU, New Delhi
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
Page 5
Ms. Amarjeet Kaur, representing workers‘ organizations, indicated that the
trade unions have emphasized that the planning process has made economic
growth a jobless one. Mr. Ravi Wig, speaking on behalf of employers, pushed
for renewed emphasis on skills development and supporting women to move
out from low-pay and low-skills sectors.
As the next steps, it was agreed by the Government of India representatives
that the recommendations from this workshop would be taken into
consideration in planning future interventions. ILO will update the studies
based on recommendations from the workshop. In addition, new research will
be explored to address knowledge gaps, while further consultations will be
organized with policy-makers to go deeper into a number of important issues,
which have been raised.
India Launch of ILO‘S Global Employment Trends Report 2013
Technical Workshop on Women‘s Labour Force Participation
The ILO and Ministry of Labour and Employment,
Government of India, joined hands to host a technical
workshop on ―Women‘s labour force participation in
India and South Asia: Have Women benefited from an
Era of Globalization and Growth?‖ in New Delhi on 14-
15 February 2013.
The event brought together representatives of
government departments, workers‘ and employers‘
organizations, policy planners, United Nations
representatives, academia and other experts from
India as well as SAARC countries. The participants
discussed trends in female labour force participation,
the situation of the work done by women, and various
factors affecting women in the world of work in India
and South Asia.
In his keynote address, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, emphasized
on the quality dimensions of employment, which are
difficult to quantify. Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, Union
Minister of Labour and Employment, stated that India
is at a critical stage where women face challenges
from different quarters, which need to be collectively
addressed to ensure enhanced participation on
women in the labour market with dignity and social
justice. Moreover, the 12th Plan vision of inclusive
economic growth can be fulfilled only when women
are equal partners. The ILO Regional Director for Asia
and the Pacific, Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto, stressed that
gender equality is a top priority for the ILO.
Ms. Lise Grande stated that growth, employment and Decent
Work should be at the centre of the global development
agenda and the situation in India demands that Decent Work
has to be at the centre of the Post-2015 Development
Agenda. She complimented the ILO for bringing the focus on
the need for a National Social Protection Floor.
Mr. Uramoto emphasized the importance of decent work for
all, and the need to ensure the quality of employment in the
context of recent trends of the contractualization of
workforce in India. He indicated that skills development and
social protection are important for increased productivity and
long-term sustainable development.
Dr. Sasikumar said that, in the beginning of the decade,
around 33% of workers were casual workers in the organized
sector and now the figure has increased to more than 50%.
Another interesting fact, according to him, is that 21% of
youth are not employed, but are neither in school nor looking
for employment, and it is important to target them for
facilitating smooth transition to work to take advantage of
the demographic dividend to contribute to economic growth.
Dr. Rana Hasan spoke about the National Manufacturing
Policy and the proposed National Manufacturing Zones
which have potential for introduction of flexicurity
approaches. He further mentioned about the need to
explore ways to support manufacturing firms and industry in
India so that they can grow to be more productive and then
be able to pay higher wages to workers.
Workers‘ and employers representatives also spoke from the
floor on about Decent Work and the informal economy.
The India launch of the ILO‘s flagship report ―Global Employment
Trends 2013‖ took place in New Delhi on 13 February 2013 to an
audience of about 160 people from ILO‘s tripartite partners, academic
community, UN family, international organizations, media and others
in the presence of Dr. Abhjit Sen, Member, Planning Commission; Mr.
Yoshiteru Uramoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia & the Pacific and Ms.
Lise Grande, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for India. The
highlights of the report were presented by Mr. Steven Kapsos, Senior
Economist and Dr. Sher Verick, Senior Employment Specialist from the
ILO, with Dr. S.K. Sasikumar from the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute
and Dr. Rana Hasan, Principal Economist from the Asian Development
Bank as discussants.
The central theme of Dr. Abhijit Sen‘s remarks was the need for
globally coordinated approaches to overcome the effects of the
ongoing economic crisis. He lamented that this approach, initiated by
G20 at the beginning of the crisis, has not continued. With reference
to India, he mentioned that structural adjustments needed for shift of
employment from agriculture to other sectors should be closely
analysed, and noted the importance of providing appropriate skills
development support to women workers.
Page 6
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
On 21 February 2013, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh and Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE),
Government of India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on
inter-state coordination for migrant workers in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
Every year thousands of workers move across states in search of
seasonal work. Many of these migrant workers, such as those
working in brick kilns, stone quarries etc, end up into a situation
of bondage because of the huge advance wages they take prior to
migration. A strong need for such inter-state coordination was felt
by the states to promote rights of migrant workers and to enable
access to services and schemes in source and destination states.
The MoU lays down the roles and responsibilities of sending and
receiving states of migrant workers.
Mr. Anil Swarup, Addl. Secretary and Director General, Labour
Welfare, Government of India, who signed the MoU said that this
MoU sets a framework for coordination and communication
between the Centre and the States, enabling them to work
together for migrant workers, especially those who work in most
precarious situations. Mr. A.K. Garg, Registrar (Law) from National
Human Rights Commission, who was also present at the meeting,
expressed the hope that the articles of the MoU will be
implemented by the States in the true spirit and they would take
proactive steps to eliminate bonded labour.
Speaking at the occasion, Ms. Panudda Boonpala, Deputy
Director, ILO DWT and CO for India, said that the MoU is a crucial
first step towards promoting rights of migrant workers, especially
those who are vulnerable and get into bondage situation. Mr. J.C.
Sharma, Principal Secretary (Labour), Andhra Pradesh and the
Odisha officials shared the progress made post signing of the
MoU in June 2012. To help facilitate the work on inter-state
migration, a Central Level Migrant Workers Cell has been
constituted at MoLE. The Cell looks into the issues of inter-state
migration, provides technical assistance to the states, and offers
a communication channel to help facilitate resolution of
grievances, if any.
The MoUs have been facilitated by the ILO under the MoLE - ILO
project on ―Reducing Vulnerability to bondage in India through the
promotion of decent work‖. The current project is targeted at
migrant workers and their children, working mainly but not
exclusively in the brick kilns sector, who often enter into ‗neo-
bondage‖ situations. The project is supporting inter-state
coordination mechanisms for such migrant workers, with a focus
on work place improvements, organization and unionization of
workers, linking them to social security schemes and improving
wages and recruitment practices.
Four States and Centre sign MoU to Promote Rights of Migrant Workers
The MoUs aim to promote rights of workers (including the right to
safe and informed migration, organization and unionization, collective bargaining, right to minimum wages, regular payment
of wages etc.) as well as enable access to services (such as
health, education for children, financial inclusion), and schemes
(social security, health insurance, and skills developments etc.).
First Row (L to R): Dr. Gurdeep Singh, LC, Uttar Pradesh; Mr. Vishnu Kumar, PS (L), Jharkhand; Mr. Anil Swarup, Addl. Sec. and DGLW, MOLE, GoI; Mr. Amar Kanth, DLC, Bihar; Ms Panudda Boonpala, ILO; Mr. A.K. Garg, Registrar, NHRC; Second Row (L to R): Mr. J.C. Sharma PS(L), Andhra Pradesh; Mr. Sunil Kumar, LC, Jharkhand; Mr. Vijay Kumar, Advisor to the Governor of Jharkhand.
MoU Implementation With the signing of the MoU the Governments of Jharkhand, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are keen to start the activities listed in the MoU.
An action plan template was created based on the discussions, with inputs from the stakeholders including Trade Unions, Employers Organizations, Government officials from different states and departments, Civil Society, Academia and Media. The action plan template lists the key items which the sending and receiving states will be implementing in a progressive manner to operationalize the key articles of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The key actions will be first piloted in the project districts selected for each of the 4 states, with focus on the brick kiln sector. The action may be expanded to other districts as well.
The Action Plan Template will be circulated to all 4 states by the ILO. The states will fill in the template with realistic timelines for implementation and send it back to MoLE and ILO.
The states to notify the setting up of the Intra State/Inter-State Coordination Cell as per Article 4 and District Migrant Workers Facilitation Cells as per Article 5 and 6 of the MoU in source and destination districts (this can start with the pilot districts for the Project and later expanded to other districts). The states may also explore setting up of the Tripartite+ Committees to assist the State and District Level Cells as done in Andhra Pradesh.
A review meeting will be called in next 2-3 months to review the progress of the MoU implementation.
Canadian Delegation led by Federal Deputy Minister of Labour Visits ILO
Canadian Federal Deputy Minister of Labour, Ms Hélène Gosselin, along with a three member delegation
comprising Ms Debra Young, Director General, International and Intergovernmental Labour Affairs of the
Canadian Labour Program; Mr. Pierre Bouchard, Director, Bilateral and Regional Labour Affairs, Canada;
and Mr. Gideon Lundholm from Embassy of Canada in India, visited ILO DWT and CO for India on March
18, 2013. The purpose of the visit was to understand the work of ILO in India.
On 14 March 2013, Mr. Pierre Bouchard visited a Canadian funded ILO Project on ―Reducing
Vulnerability to Bondage in India through Promotion of Decent Work‖ in Renga Reddy district, Andhra
Pradesh. He had discussions with the Principal Secretary (Labour), Mr. J.C. Sharma and Labour
Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh. He also interacted with the brick kiln workers and their children,
employers, and the state government officials.
Ms Hélène Gosselin
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
Page 7
Trade Unions in Tamil Nadu Observe International Women‘s Day
The Tamil Nadu Trade Unions Joint Action Forum (JAF) conducted a
large public meeting to commemorate International Women‘s Day at
Madurai on 8 March 2013. More than 850 members comprising a
majority of rural women workers and domestic workers actively
participated in this meeting from six national trade unions AITUC, BMS,
CITU, INTUC, HMS and LPF. The ILO - ACTRAV / Norway Project ―Trade
Unions for Social Justice‖ supported this activity.
Each year, JAF observes the International Women‘s Day highlighting
women workers issues, rights and safety in general. This year, the JAF
conducted this public meeting highlighting the ILO‘s Message: ―Stop
violence at work‖. The meeting discussed women‘s rights and safety at
work place and created awareness on the need for ratification of C. No.
189 to ensure decent work for domestic workers.
Mr. G. Kalan, President, INTUC - Tamil Nadu Branch addressed the
gathering. He highlighted the issues of rights and safety of women
workers both in organized and unorganized sectors. He appreciated
the efforts of ILO in bringing all the national trade unions together to
work on various issues related to workers in general and women
workers in particular. The JAF reaffirmed its commitment and
cooperation to take forward the ILO activities.
Mr. Ariel B. Castro, Senior Specialist on Workers Activities, ILO-New
Delhi and Mr. Magnus Berge, Chief Technical Advisor, ACTRAV, ILO -
Geneva, also addressed the gathering.
Forging ILO - Media Partnership on Elimination of Child Labour
To pilot test a Media Kit on Child Labour, prepared under the Convergence Project against Child
Labour, an ILO-Media interaction was held at Manesar, Haryana on 25-26 March 2013. Twenty
one media persons from leading national newspapers as well as representatives of the regional
media from Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat, the five states where the
Convergence Project is being implemented, participated in the discussions. The participants
also included representatives from institutes of communication / schools of journalism.
Various aspects of child labour were shared by Ms Tine Staermose, Director, ILO Decent Work
Team for South Asia and Country Office for India, New Delhi; Dr Shantha Sinha, Chairperson of
the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Mr Y P Yajurvedi, Director-General of
the VV Giri National Labour Institute. Two young people, rescued from child labour and doing
well professionally, brought a positive note to the discussions. Ms Staermose said with the help
of the India‘s free and powerful media, ILO was looking to see how the movement against child
labour in India could be invigorated. ILO, she said, wanted to partner with the media to ensure
that the Media Kit was useful and widely disseminated. Dr Shantha Sinha said child labour was
a deeply contentious issue and trying to eliminate it sometimes disturbed a deep-seated
economic-political–social nexus.
The impact of education in ending
child labour cannot be over-
emphasised. In Kerala, in the
absence of child labour the wages of
adults went up by more than five
times. Dr Sinha described the
Convergence Project and its strategy
as ―a very effective pilot that now
needs to be taken forward by the
government and brought to scale‖.
Mr YP Yajurvedi spoke of the various
laws and the challenges of
enforcement. Ms Preet Verma,
National Project manager, ILO, spoke
on the Project interventions and the
processes that went into the
delineation and operationalization of
major Project
interventions.
E-Newsletter January—March 2013 From the ILO’s Office in India
Page 8
News, views and analysis from the world of work
―Full and productive employment and decent work should be a
central goal of the post-2015 development agenda.‖
- Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO
.~*~*~
9th European Regional Meeting of ILO opened in Oslo, Norway, on 8
April 2013 with an urgent call for effective employment and social
policies in reaction to stark figures that show at least one million
Europeans lost their jobs in the past six months alone. 51
countries from Europe and Central Asia are participating in the
meeting.
~*~*~
A constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for Brazil‘s
six and half million domestic workers comes into force on 2 April.
Several countries have now passed legislation protecting domestic
workers – evidence that the momentum sparked by the ILO
Convention 189 on domestic workers is growing.
~*~*~
Lebanon‘s long awaited pension reform within reach. For many
workers in the Lebanese private sector, reaching retirement age
means facing an uncertain future with little access to social
protection. But that‘s about to change thanks to the collaborative
work of the government, its social partners, the ILO and the World
Bank.
The right of workers and employers to create and join
organisations of their own choice freely and without fear of
reprisal or interference - to freely associate with whomever they
choose - is a fundamental right that the ILO's Declaration of
Philadelphia calls 'essential for sustained progress of societies
worldwide'. For over 60 years, the ILO Committee on Freedom of
Association (CFA) – the ILO supervisory body - has examined more
than 3,000 complaints about violations of this right. CFA‘s work is
―confidential, concreate and in consensus‖ says Paul van der
Heijden, Chair of the CFA since 2002.
~*~*~
The ILO marked International Women‘s Day with calls for action to
combat violence against women in the workplace. In a speech
delivered at the ILO‘s headquarters in Geneva on 8 March 2013,
Mr. Guy Ryder described gender-based violence as ―exceptionally
dehumanizing, pervasive and oppressive.‖
~*~*~
Economic crisis, social injustice and youth unemployment
threatens democracy in Europe, says Mr. Martin Schulz, President
of the European Parliament (EP). He noted that the ILO and the
EP were among "the first to oppose austerity measures" as a
response to the economic downturn and stressed the need for a
balance between fiscal discipline and growth.
~*~*~
A Safe Workplace is No Accident .
For more information and details regarding the snippets given above and a lot more, please
visit the ILO website: http://www.ilo.org
We welcome your suggestions and contributions. Please write to us.
Editorial Management & Advice: Ms. Tine Staermose, Director and Ms. Panudda Boonpala, Deputy Director.
Editor: Mr. Anandan P. Menon
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ILO New Delhi Office staff with the visiting Regional Director, Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto