Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - India (Ratification: 1998)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the extent to which the measures implemented under the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007–12) had managed to improve the quality of the employment generated and alleviate unemployment and underemployment. The Government indicates in its report that it has been implementing various employment generation and poverty alleviation programmes across the country, with particular emphasis on programmes targeting young persons and workers in the unorganized sector. Budget allocations under these programmes, including the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme, have increased substantially. It is expected that higher investment will generate a greater number of employment opportunities for the benefit of people from all segments of society. The Committee notes that the “Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana” scheme, included in the 2016–17 Budget, aims to promote employment in the formal economy. Under this scheme to promote the creation of new formal sector jobs, the Government will pay the Employee Pension Scheme contribution of 8.33 per cent for all new employees enrolling in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) during the first three years of their employment. In order to target semi-skilled and unskilled workers, the scheme will apply only to those workers receiving a salary of up to Indian rupees (INR) 15,000 per month. The Committee further notes that the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012–17) contemplated the creation of 50 million new employment opportunities in the non-farm sector, and skill certification for an equivalent number of persons. In addition, the Government has introduced “Make in India”, a new national programme designed to facilitate foreign investment, foster innovation and enhance skills development. The National Manufacturing Policy aims to create an additional 100 million jobs by 2022. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour and Employment is in the process of formulating a National Employment Policy. To this end, an Inter-Ministerial Committee has been constituted and consultations with different stakeholders are ongoing. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the development of the National Employment Policy in consultation with the social partners and to provide a copy of the policy once it is adopted. It also requests the Government to provide further information on the impact of the increased budgetary allocations on employment creation, as well as detailed information, including statistical information, disaggregated by age, sex and disadvantaged group, such as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, on the impact of employment programmes targeting workers in the informal economy. In this respect, the Government may consider it useful to consult the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204).

Labour market trends. The Committee notes that the workforce increased from 459 million in 2004–05 to 474 million in 2011–12. In comparison, the increase in employment from 2004–05 to 2009–10 was just 1.1 million. The total workforce was estimated at 487 million in 2016, of which approximately 57 per cent were employed in the non-farm sector. The Committee further notes the statistical information provided by the Government on the labour force participation rate and unemployment rate. Unemployment increased to 4.9 per cent in 2013–14, up from 3.8 per cent in 2011–12. The Committee notes in this regard that the statistics indicate that the labour force participation rate was highest among the scheduled tribes, followed by the scheduled castes, and “other backward classes”, as these terms are referred to in the Constitution of India and national legislation. It also observes the continued significant differences in labour force participation between women and men. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated statistical data, disaggregated as much as possible by age, sex, skills, disadvantaged group, such as scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, state and sector, on the situation and trends of labour force participation, employment, unemployment and underemployment, in both the formal and informal economies. It also requests the Government to provide information on its labour market information system and how it plans to produce timely employment data to help design more effective employment policies.

Employment programmes. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act programme (MGNREGA), a demand-driven wage employment programme, and other employment schemes. The Government indicates that it developed and launched a “Project for Livelihoods in Full Employment” (Project LIFE-MGNREGA) in the framework of the MGNREGA programme in April 2015. The Project seeks to promote self-reliance and improve the skills of MGNREGA workers, helping them to develop skills to enable them to move from being dependent on Government support into accessing full employment and better incomes. The Government adds that implementation of the MGNREGA has: (i) reduced distress migration among the rural poor; (ii) smoothened rural consumption in the lean season; (iii) set high standards of transparency; (iv) addressed underemployment; (v) created assets that improved livelihoods; (vi) boosted financial inclusion; (vii) strengthened Gram Panchayats; (viii) improved wage levels in rural areas, increasing the income levels of the poorest of the poor; (ix) set standards for decent working conditions; and (x) brought fallow lands into cultivation. The Committee notes that the MGNREGA programme generated 2.2 billion total person-days in 2013–14 and 2.35 billion total person-days in 2015–16. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of employment programmes adopted, including the MGNREGA, in enhancing job growth and sustainable employment. It also requests the Government to provide further information on employment programmes aimed at increasing the labour force participation of women as well as those aimed at increasing the labour force participation of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities and those belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

Article 3. Consultation with the social partners. The Government indicates that the social partners are actively involved in the implementation of the major employment generation programmes through tripartite consultation. It adds that tripartite consultations are held at regular intervals in the Indian Labour Conference. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the consultations held with the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations concerning the formulation and implementation of an active employment policy and employment programmes. It also requests the Government to provide information on the scope and frequency of the consultations held within the Indian Labour Conference on the matters covered by the Convention.