PRESS RELEASE
ICCI
SEMINAR ON LABOUR ISSUES WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON PRODUCTIVITY
IMPROVEMENT AND ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR
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New Delhi, Feb. 18, 2012: Mr. R. P. Swami Secretary General, Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (ICCI) New Delhi greeted the participants, Mr. R. A. Poddar, Chief
Mentor, Godfrey Phillips India Limited, Mrs. SudhaPillai, member Secretary, Planning
Commission, Mr. Anup Chandra Pandey, Jt. Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment,
Govt. of India, Mr. LalitBhasin, Senior Advocate, and Mr. SarthakBehuria, Former Chairman,
Indian Oil Corporation.Mr. R. P. Swami briefly said that Despite important progress over
the last decade, the number of children in child labour worldwide – and particularly in
hazardous work – remains high", Governments, employers and workers must act together
to give strong leadership in shaping and implementing the policies and action that can end
child labour. Mr. R. P. Swami further said that in August 1987, the Indian Government had
launched National Child Labour Project to identify working children, withdraw them from
work, put them in special schools and to mainstream them into formal education. In
addition, the Constitution of India prohibits employment of children younger than 14 years
in 18 hazardous occupations and 65 hazardous processes.Thus they are deprived of basic
education and personal development, thereby rendering them permanently poor and
underdeveloped. The worst form of child labour is the bonded labour where families bond
or sell their children to pay off their debts.Mr. R. P. Swami, Secretary General, (ICCI), New
Delhi invited Mr. R. A. Poddar to deliver his Welcome Address and read out Concept Note
on LABOUR ISSUES WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR AND
PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT.Mr. R. A. Poddar Welcomed – Mrs. SudhaPillai, Mr. Anup
Chandra Pandey and Mr. LalitBhasin and said that Child Labour is pervasive problem
throughout the world, especially in developing countries. India is known to be having the
highest number of child labour. According to the NSSO Report of 2009-10, there are 49.84
lakh working children under the age of fourteen years in India.
Child labour is a legal challenge, a social stigma and a disrespect of a child’s right to his/her
physical and mental development. Indian Employers in the organized sector have taken a
sensitive approach in supporting initiatives for eliminating child labour. The incidence of
child labour confines primarily to unorganized sector, farm and home sectors, who
incidentally are the largest employers. Mr. LalitBhasin, Eminent Senior Advocate, Supreme
Court of India, New Delhi read out the Key Note addresses and he said that the he obvious
reasons for this malady are the illiteracy, utter poverty and lack of facilities for skill
development. Children are forced to work to earn their bread and supplement the financial
resource of their families.Therefore, in order to achieve a rapid and inclusive growth the
industry, unions and regulators, all have to work together to address the issues of:
a- Availability and creation of new job opportunities
b- Employability and skill development and
c- Eradication of child labour and social exploitation
Among others one of the key issues which ails our economy is the low growth in the
national industrial productivity levels channelized by a combination of restrictive trade
laws, a highly compliance oriented approach of the regulatory authorities and
inappropriate role played by the trade unions towards the upliftment of the labour.The
current state can be best described by the fact that a country like China is able to sustain
double digit growth and garner higher level of FDI than India. It is of extreme importance
to India that the way the International industry looks at us for investments, undergoes a
major change, in perception, compared to the present. While it has been quite apparent
that the legal scenario controlling the industry needs to soften its stand towards labour
management, it is the enforcement agencies who need to facilitate this process.
Regulators must trust on the industry allowing the flexibility to use the available skill and
manpower in more productive manner.
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Continuous training and retraining of the enforcement agencies to look at labour
issues from a facilitative perspective rather than simply policing and regulating.
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The trade unions need to change their mind set from just being protective of
employment and number of jobs to focus on growth and economic viability of the
organization.
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The onus also falls on the employers to help build mutual trust by using a
participative approach, educating and training the workforce by partnering with the
trade union to enhance not only the quality of life/working conditions but also the
skill and economic condition of their work force.
Shri Anup Chandra Pandey, Jt. Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of
India said the first Session of the Indian Labour Conference, known at that time as the
Tripartite National Labour Conference was held way back in 1942. Since then the
Conference has met 43 times to discuss topical issues concerning industrial relation, labour
welfare and related issues.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), New Delhi and Ministry of Labour &
Employment has embarked upon the task of establishing 1500 New Industrial Training
Institutes and 5000 Skill Development Centres in the country during the next three years.
The private sector would need to engage itself much more vigorously in these efforts if we
are to overcome this massive challenge.
Our Government is fully committed to strengthening labour laws and ensuring their
compliance for securing the welfare of our working class. Illustratively, the Factories Act,
1948 which is one of the most important Central legislation designed to regulate the
working conditions in our factories as well as health, safety and welfare of our workers.
The Indian labour policies unduly protect the interests of the currently employed labour
and act against the expansion of employment in the organized sector. However, this view
has lost its importance in recent years as more and more State governments more flexible
in their approach to labour restructuring and rationalization. We must periodically take a
critical look whether our regulatory framework has some parts which unnecessarily
hamper the growth of employment, enterprise and industry without really contributing
significantly to labour welfare.
Ms. SudhaPillai, Member Secretary, Planning Commission, Govt. of India stressed that we
need to achieve our goals of fast and inclusive growth and of building a modern,
industrializing economy without having sound industrial relations in our country. The
industry, our workers and the government must work harmoniously and in partnership
with each other.
There has been a major reduction in the number of child workers in the last few years. The
India Human Development Report 2011 reported that the proportion of 6 to 14 year old
children who are working has fallen from 6.2% in 1994 to 2% in the year 2010.
I suggest that Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), New Delhi and we all must
work together for Eradication of Child Labour and Social Exploitation to focus on
productivity improvement.
Mr. SarthakBehuria extended heartiest thanks to Mrs. SudhaPillai and Mr. Anup Chandra
Pandey and urged all to work together.
He added that Government had launched National Child Labour Project to identify working
children, withdraw them from work, put them in special schools and to mainstream them
into formal education. The scheme has been sanctioned in 271 districts and operational in
266 districts. At present 7311 schools are in operation in 20 states with the coverage of 3.2
lakh children. As on date 8.52 lakh children have been mainstreamed to formal education
through NCLP Scheme.
-ICCI 'Woman of the Year'
New Delhi, October 18, 2008: Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)has conferred on
Shahnaz Husain the “Woman of the Year Award” today in recognition of her achievements in
innovative healthcare practices and for path-breaking marketing techniques for popularizing
ayurvedic products, world-wide.Mr. K. K. Modi, Founder President of ICCI and Chairman, Modi
Enterprises, presented the coveted award to Mrs. Husain at a ceremony held at Ego Desi at New
Friends Colony, New Delhi. Present at the function were Ambassadors/ High Commissioners of
various countries, men of public life etc. Mr. K.K. Modi, who is also a former President of Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers
of Commerce and industry (CACCI) said, “we are proud to present the first ‘Woman of the Year’
award to Mrs. Husain, whose trailblazing innovative concepts and visionary leadership have left
deep imprints in the business world, creating new avenues for successful occupation of thousands
of people in beauty care and related avocations. Our aim is to recognize the outstanding individuals
whose pioneering spirit and demonstrated innovation have improved the quality of life and a
source of inspiration to others. These role models can motivate and inspire others to excel.”Mrs.
Husain has introduced the concept of Ayurvedic Care, which has gained universal appeal and
application. In a world ridden with environmental degradation, she has created a powerful natural
brand popularizing the Indian herbal heritage globally with an unparalleled zeal and commitment.
Quality was Mrs. Husain's watchword and her ayurvedic products speak for themselves. She
believed in the customer satisfaction and popularizing the products through word of mouth and
shunned commercial advertisements. “I sold a 5000-year old civilization in a jar,” says Mrs. Husain
ICCI –Enterprise Asia award for 2010-11 announced
ICCI-Enterprise Asia Regional Awards for India were announced at a glittering
function organized today 20th Novemer’2010 Saturday at Hyatt Regency in
New Delhi amidst a galaxy of celebrities, men of public life, representatives
from Industry etc.The prestigious Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) and
AREA is a world-class Awards recognizing and honoring business leaders who have shown
outstanding performance and tenacity in developing successful businesses within the
region.Organized by Enterprise Asia and supported by Indian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (ICCI), New Delhi, the Awards aim to brand leading entrepreneurs across the
region to spur greater innovation, fair practices and growth in entrepreneurship. It hopes
to be a platform to encourage continued leadership towards sustainable economic
development for the region.Significantly, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(ICCI),New Delhi has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2009 with
Enterprise Asia to promote and value add to the prestigious award and make it relevant to
the Indian context and since then the awards are given away after considerable scrutiny of
the nominations by an illustrious jury. The scope and range of Awards have considerably
enhanced in the recent days. Apart from India, these Awards are given in Malaysia,
Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and China.As a partner
organization, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), New Delhi endeavours to
enlist quality nomination among Indians, who have excelled in their sphere of activity by
combing their entrepreneurial talents with social responsibility.
The categories of awards are:-Outstanding Entrepreneur Awards
-Most Promising Entrepreneurs Awards
-Special Achievement Awards
-Entrepreneur of the Year
-Woman Entrepreneur of the Year
-Young Entrepreneur of the Year
-Lifetime Achievement Award
PRESS RELEASE
Senator Philip Ozouf, Minister Treasury & Resources, States of Jersey signs MOU with ICCI, New Delhi
New Delhi 26th November 2009 A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Indian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and States of Jersey, situated in Channel Islands with a view
to enhance bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. MOU was signed on behalf of
ICCI by its Secretary General Mr. R. P. Swami and on behalf of States of Jersey by Senator Philip Ozouf,
Minister Treasury & Resources at a recent meeting held in Delhi in the presence of large number of ICCI
Members and Mr. Wayne Gallichan, Director of International Trade and Inward Investment, Jersey
Enterprise.While addressing the Indian businessmen on the occasion of the signing ceremony of the
MOU, Senator Ozouf said that the State of Jersey offered immense opportunities to Indian companies
for investment. Jersey can be reached within an hour from over thirty UK and EuropeanCities. He invited
Indian companies to partake in the emerging business opportunities in his country in sectors like IT,
telecom, power etc. The highly skilled labor and abundant availability of land in his country can combine
with fiscal incentives to help Indian companies penetrate into other parts of the Channel Islands. “You
can take advantage of the low taxes and pro-business rules and regulations in the State of Jersey to
make forays into other European countries,” he added. He mentioned that his State has close links with
City of London and has over 30 thirty flights operating to UK and other European countries. He also
highlighted the tourism potential of his Sate and said that it could be an excellent outbound destination
for discerning Indian tourists. Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Swami observed that Indian economy
had grown by modest figures despite the global recession. There are many Indian companies, which are
focusing on investment abroad and assured that ICCI would play an important role in disseminating
information among Indian businessmen and corporations about the investment potential of the State of
Jersey. He hoped that the just concluded MOU will be a stepping stone for further accelerating trade
and investment between the two countries. The State of Jersey delegation included delegates from
major corporations and the government departments there.