Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

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

Socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Response and recovery measures. The Committee notes the devastating effects the pandemic has had on health, lives and livelihoods in India. In this context, the Committee recalls the broad guidance provided by international labour standards. It draws the Government’s attention to the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), which is a useful guide for the formulation and implementation, in consultation with the most representative organizations of employers and workers, of inclusive measures to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment opportunities and decent work as an effective response to the deep-rooted socio-economic effects of the crisis.  The Committee invites the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of the employment policies and programmes adopted with a view to guaranteeing the objectives of the Convention, especially in relation to the most vulnerable population groups. It requests the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market, statistical information, disaggregated by age, sex and occupational sector, on the size and distribution of the labour force, rates of employment, unemployment and under employment and the size of the informal economy.

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of a National Employment Policy. Consultation with the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee requested information on the development of the National Employment Policy (NEP) in consultation with the social partners, as well as disaggregated data on the impact of increased budgetary allocations on employment creation. The Government reports that the drafting process for the National Employment Policy, initiated in 2013, is still under way, in consultation with stakeholders. The Government adds that discussions have been held with key stakeholders in respect of the draft NEP, as well as with the ILO Office. It indicates that a revised draft NEP is being prepared and will be shared with stakeholders before being finalized. With respect to consultations with the tripartite partners, including consultations within the Indian Labour Conference, the Government indicates that the latter is the highest-level tripartite consultative committee to advise the Government on labour-related issues. The Indian Labour Conference has held 46 sessions since its establishment in 1942, with the most recent session having taken place in 2015. The Government indicates that, during its 45th session in 2013, following consultations among the representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations and Central and State governments, the Committee on Measures to Improve Employment and Employability recommended that the National Employment Policy be finalized as a matter of priority. Noting that no session of the Indian Labour Conference has been held since 2015, the Committee hopes that the National Employment Policy will be adopted in the near future and reiterates its request that the Government provide a copy once it is adopted. The Committee also requests the Government to provide concrete, updated information on the nature, content and outcome of consultations held with representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations concerning the formulation, updating and implementation of the National Employment Policy, as well as other active employment policies and programmes at the central and state level. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the manner in which the perspectives of persons affected by the employment-related measures implemented are taken into account in the development and implementation of active employment policy measures.

Labour market trends. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide updated disaggregated statistical data on trends in labour force participation, employment, unemployment and underemployment, as well as information on the national labour market information system and the production of timely employment data to help design more effective employment policies.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in respect of the annual Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) carried out by the National Sample Survey Office. It notes the detailed labour market statistics information provided by the Government in the PLFS reports on the situation and trends of labour force participation, employment and unemployment, in both the formal and informal economies, disaggregated by age, sex, skills, disadvantaged group, state and economic sector. In particular, the Committee notes that the 2018–19 PLFS report shows that the labour participation rate increased slightly from 36.9 per cent in 2017–18 to 37.7 per cent in 2018–19, while the unemployment rate decreased from 6.1 per cent to 5.8 per cent during the same period. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the situation and trends of labour force participation, employment, unemployment and underemployment. The Government is further requested to indicate the manner in which the information compiled from the PLFS reports is utilized in the design and implementation of employment policies at national and provincial level.

Article 2. Implementation of employment programmes and employment services. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government regarding the implementation of various programmes as well as their impact during the reporting period, targeting young persons and workers in the informal sector. The Government reports that during the reporting period (2017–19), the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) generated 309,043 jobs. Moreover, the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) provided assistance to 295,406 beneficiaries to establish micro enterprises. In addition, the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU–GKY), which is part of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and focuses on the employment of rural youth between the ages of 15 and 35 from poor families, placed a total of 271,316 participants in employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the impact of the employment programmes being implemented throughout the country, in both urban and rural areas, including statistical information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the number of jobs generated and the number of beneficiaries placed.

Specific groups. The Government reports on the implementation of the National Career Service (NCS) project, which provides a variety of employment related services to groups in vulnerable situations, such as career counselling, vocational guidance, as well as information on skills development courses, apprenticeships, internships and other opportunities. As of July 2019, more than 10.3 million jobseekers were registered in the NCS Portal. There are 25 NCS centres for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (ST/SC) operating in the different states and union territories. These centres provide persons belonging to the ST/SC with services to enhance their employability through coaching, counselling and training programmes, including one year of computer training and of computer hardware maintenance training for interested ST/SC candidates. The Committee notes that there are 21 NCS centres that provide services to persons with disabilities, including informal skills training. In addition, a stipend is available from the NCS centres to encourage persons with disabilities to participate in training and reduce their commuting and other expenses. However, the Committee notes that, according to the concluding observations on the initial report of India by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in October 2019, only 37 per cent of persons with disabilities have access to employment, and the employment quota of 4 per cent of persons with disabilities is not sufficiently implemented (CRPD/C/IND/CO/1, paragraph 56(a) and (c)). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the nature and impact of services provided by NCS centres and other measures taken to promote sustainable employment and decent work for disadvantaged groups, including the number of persons placed in employment through such services and the type of employment in which they are placed.

Employment of women. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on legislative reform and policy initiatives undertaken to increase the participation of women in the labour market. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act adopted in 2017 extended paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and provides for mandatory crèche facilities in establishments with 50 or more employees. The 2019 Code on Wages prohibits gender discrimination in matters related to wages and recruitment of employees for the same work or work of a similar nature. Moreover, to enhance the employability of women, trainings are provided through a network of Women Industrial Training Institutes, National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes. As of July 2019, 3.1 million female jobseekers were registered in the NCS portal, with one NCS centre exclusively providing services to women with disabilities. In addition, a number of measures are being undertaken to promote women’s entrepreneurship, such as the provision of collateral-free concessional loans, the formation of cooperatives through self-help groups and the creation of online marketing platform. However, the Committee notes that a significant gap persists in labour participation rates between men (50.3 per cent) and women (15.0 per cent), as reflected in the 2018–19 PLFS report. Moreover, about four times more women work as helpers in household businesses (30.9 per cent) compared with men (7.6 per cent). The Committee further notes that, in its 2019 concluding observations in relation to India, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) expressed concern about the multiple and intersecting discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities and those living in rural areas (doc. CRPD/C/IND/CO/1, October 2019, paragraph 14(a)). The CRPD observed with concern that only 1.8 per cent of women with disabilities have access to employment (doc.CRPD/C/IND/CO/1, paragraph 56(a) and (c)). The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to increase the active participation of women in the labour market and their access to sustainable employment, particularly for those facing multiple and intersecting discrimination. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken to raise awareness of the need for men and women to share family responsibilities, with a view to facilitating women’s access to the labour market. In this respect, the Government is requested to provide updated comprehensive information, including disaggregated statistical data, on the nature and impact of measures taken to promote women’s access to full, productive, freely chosen and lasting employment.

Formalization of informal workers. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana Programme (PMRPY), launched in August 2016. The PMRPY provides incentives to employers for job creation and seeks to bring a large number of informal workers to the formal workforce. The PMRPY targets workers earning up to Rs. 15,000 per month. Under this scheme, the Government pays the employers’ full contribution of 12 per cent of new employees’ salary to the Employees’ Provident Fund and the Employee’s Pension Fund for a period of three years. As of 31 March 2019 (the deadline for registration of beneficiaries), 162,268 establishments and 12,753,284 employees had received benefits under this scheme. The Committee also notes that, according to the 2018–19 PLFS report, regular wage workers account for 23.8 per cent of the total working population compared to 22.8 per cent in 2017–18. However, it observes that there are still large numbers of workers engaged in non-regular work, including 48.2 per cent as own account workers, 9.2 per cent as helpers in family businesses and 28.3 in casual labour. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the PMRPY has continued to operate after 31 March 2019 and, if so, to provide updated information on its activities and impact. It also requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on other measures taken or envisaged in this context and their impact on reducing informal employment.

Employment programmes targeting rural areas. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in enhancing job growth and sustainable employment in rural areas. The Government indicates that the MGNREGA provides more than one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment every financial year to each rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. MGNREGA thereby provides livelihood security through a fall-back option for rural households when no better employment opportunities are available. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the MGNREGA programme generated 2.34 billion total person-days in 2017–18 and 2.68 billion total person-days in 2018–19. The Committee also notes that, according to the 2018–19 PLFS report, only 13.4 per cent of workers in rural areas are engaged in regular employment, whereas 41.8 per cent are own account workers, 16.7 per cent are helpers in household businesses and 28.6 per cent are engaged in casual labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the implementation of the MGNREGA and its impact. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged in order to provide full, productive and sustainable employment for rural households, including through vocational education and skills development as well as other employment services.