Date:22/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/22/stories/2006122203971400.htm

National

Unemployment rate has gone up marginally: Oscar

Special Correspondent

The primary cause is the dearth of a skilled workforce

NEW DELHI: The Government on Thursday admitted that the unemployment rate in the country had marginally gone up, primarily due to the dearth of a skilled workforce and not because of shortage of jobs.

Speaking at the State Labour Ministers Conference here, Minister of State for Labour and Employment (independent charge) Oscar Fernandes said while the Government had, on an average provided jobs to about 12.4 million people annually between 2000 to 2005, unemployment had gone up from 2.2 million in 2000 to 2.3 million in 2005. He called upon the industry and the State Governments to open skill development institutions and Indian Training Institutes (ITIs) to meet the pressing demand for newer skills.

"We have already taken upon ourselves to upgrade 500 Government ITIs into centres of excellence. However, we need to undertake a similar exercise for upgradation of training institutes in the private sector as well," he said while calling upon the State Governments to consider opening of training institutes and modernising the existing one according to the latest technology and requirement of the States.

Mr. Fernandes said the Government had undertaken a skill development initiative to train a million workers during the next five years and then one million every year by giving them modular employment. He said with 12.8 million people entering the labour market every year, the training programme could not be handled by the Government alone.

Pointing out that both the Central and the State Governments always endeavoured to take full measures to protect and safeguard the interests of the working class, the bulk of the responsibility of implementing the labour laws was with the State Governments. "Labour being a subject on the Concurrent List, the States enjoy full power in enforcement of labour laws that fall within their spheres," he said.

Reiterating that the Centre was firmly committed to ensuring the welfare of the workers, particularly those in the unorganised sector, Mr. Fernandes said these should also be brought under the social security net through different schemes. He said the Government was in the process of formulating schemes for a comprehensive coverage and was also finalising a legislation to provide statutory backing to these schemes.

Expressing concern over the existence of child labour in the country, the Minister said there was a need for immediate proactive action on the part of the States for elimination of child labour. Since poverty is the root cause of child labour, educational rehabilitation of children needs to be supplemented by focussed efforts towards economic rehabilitation of their families, by covering them under various developmental schemes of the Government.