THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an effort to regulate exorbitant charges levied by labour unions while shifting household articles and to bring in more transparency, the draft of the government’s new labour policy envisages unified labour charges which would be put on the public domain. Releasing the draft of the Labour Policy 2011 here on Tuesday, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John said one of the main grievances of the common man was about the fleecing and harassment by labourers during the time of shifting of household goods. “To address this issue, the draft of the labour policy proposes a unified rate card. This will be published online with facility for online registration and payment for the public. The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner covering five Corporations in the first phase, which will be extended to all corporations later. For registering and taking quick action on the public complaints, a dedicated helpline will be set up under the Labour Department. A separate helpline for taking up the complaints directly with the Labour Minister has also been established,’’ the Minister said. The new draft also moots creation of district-level committees to stop labour strikes which are organised without prior notice by labour unions.“The main role of these committees will be the redressal of grievances of the public. The committee will swiftly act on the complaints and will interfere to solve the labour problems. “The committees, to be chaired by the District Collector, will have district labour officer as convenor and District Superintendent of Police and trade union leaders as members,’’ the draft said. Shibu Baby John said that to ensure safety and welfare of the migrant labourers, the draft proposes identity cards for construction workers. “The draft also proposes to bring in all migrant labourers under the health insurance cover. Safety audit will be made mandatory for all multi-storeyed building and, at the time of registration, a separate safety plan would also have to be submitted by the builder,’’ he said. The Minister said that to ensure job placements abroad, Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants Limited (ODEPC) would be given more powers, which would also streamline the overseas recruitment scenario. “The ODEPC will be made a major recruiter to the Gulf and ASEAN regions for creating better job opportunity and toDraft labour policy moots unified labour charges .
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