Two key labour reform bills to come up in Parliament, says Bandaru Dattatreya

New Delhi [India], Feb 9 (ANI): As a part of Labour reforms, the government would introduce two important bills relating to wages and industrial relations in Parliament in March for simplification and rationalisation of the Labour Laws, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said at an ASSOCHAM Annual Event today. "Next week at the inter-ministerial meeting under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, we will take the final decision and after that we will go to the Cabinet. In the March (leg of Budget Session) both the bills would be introduced and I am hopeful it would be passed," said Dattatreya. The Labour Minster said the Central Board of Trustees would consider the proposal to increase the EPFO portfolio in the share market from existing 10 percent to 15 percent from the total corpus. At present as much as Rs. 17000 crore from the EPFO corpus of Rs. 8.70 Lakh crore has already been invested in the stock market. The minister said the returns on EPFO investment into equities amounted to 8.7 to nine percent annually. Dattatreya said with the codification of Labour Laws the industry would see an end to the red tape and inspector Raj while the welfare of the workers would also be ensured. In response to queries from the ASSOCHAM members, the minister said the minimum wages of skilled and unskilled workers have been fixed keeping in view the rising cost of living. He also listed initiatives for women work force for whom the maternity leave is being extended from 12 to 23 weeks. The bonus limit for workers has also been increased along with the health benefits being extended by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). In his remarks ASSOCHAM President Sunil Kanoria said that a fine balance was required between welfare of the workforce and industrial productivity. He complimented the government for taking a number of steps in this direction. (ANI)