Southern States
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Kerala
'Investor-friendly' labour policy unveiled
By Our Special Correspondent
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 6. The Kerala Government today unveiled an `investor- friendly' labour policy that seeks to push employment generation through higher investment and promises a new social security scheme for workers in the unorganised sector and labour law reforms `in tune with the times'.
Announcing the new policy in the Assembly today, the Labour Minister, Mr. Babu Divakaran, said the Government hoped to erase the `largely-misplaced' image of Kerala as an `investor- unfriendly' State and to generate 15 lakh jobs in the coming five years through enhanced private and public investment.
``We need a new industrial culture and a work culture for which we must be ready to assimilate the changes taking place at the global level,'' he said.
The Opposition did raise its voice against the general contours of the new policy, but Mr. Divakaran and the Chief Minister, Mr. A.K. Antony, assured them that the Government has an open mind on the subject.
The policy also promises special conciliation mechanism for projects with investments of Rs. 150 crores and more, amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act, long-term settlements based on productivity, declaration of vital industries and establishments as `public utilities', rejection of `sons of the soil' claims from persons displaced from land acquired for setting up industrial units and declaration of restrictive labour practices such as intimidation, gherao, harassment of managers and their families and extortion of any kind as criminal offences.
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