The Hindu : Pro-investment climate in State: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 30, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Pro-investment climate in State: Minister

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM May 29. The Labour Minister, Babu Divakaran, has said that the labour policy introduced by the UDF Government has started to bear fruit in that it has led to the generation of a pro-investment line of thinking in the State.

Talking to `The Hindu' here recently, Mr. Divakaran said trade unions and employees were now taking care to act only after comprehending the real situation and this was a positive signal.

He said an important aspect achieved by the Government's labour policy was that the trend to resort to strikes had come to a close.

Trade unions and employees by and large had realised that proper discussions could settle issues in a better manner rather than resorting to wanton strikes.

As a result, the two Onam seasons during the UDF rule saw no real labour problems plaguing the State on the bonus issue.

On the other hand, there are a few employers who wait for labour problems to crop up so as to close down a concern under that excuse. Strikes, in fact, act to facilitate such a calculation of a section of the employers and it is the plantation sector that is worst affected by this.

However, employees have now understood the game plan and are careful not to fall into such traps, he said.

He said there was also awareness on the fact that the public sector could no longer take the lead in investment.

So, investment can come in only through the private, joint or cooperative sectors.

For this, the labour community and the trade unions have begun to understand the importance of their contributions in creating an investment-friendly atmosphere in the State.

The Global Investor Meet had sent out the message that the State has to change in the interests of investment. On its part, the Government is committed to giving priority to that agenda.

The Headload Workers Act 2002 enacted by the UDF Government was a "message that whoever trying to create unjustifiable problems would be dealt with strictly because investment is a must for the overall development of the State''.

On the approach of the Labour Department towards contributing to an investment-friendly atmosphere, the Minister said labour officers had been instructed not to wait for disputes to be reported to the labour office, but take the initiative to go to the site and settle the issue.

He said that such an approach had helped in speedy resolution of several labour disputes.

Mr. Divakaran said the UDF Government was taking steps to settle the pension dues to be disbursed through various welfare fund boards.

After the dues have been settled, the Government plans to disburse the pension on a monthly basis.

The Government is also exploring the possibility of distributing the pension through the branches of various cooperative sector banks.

The Minister said the Government proposed to introduce a Bill to curb the `extortion spree' resorted to by a `construction labour supply mafia' under trade union labels at major work sites in the State. While the activities of the mafia would appear to be labour welfare oriented, it was not the reality. Most trade unions are involved with the mafia and its operations are mainly centred around Kochi city. As a result, construction activities are getting stumped, affecting the development process in the State.

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Pro-investment climate in State: Minister