Labour reforms essentially mean taking steps in increasing production, productivity, and employment opportunities in the economy in such a manner that the interests of the workers are not compromised. “Essentially, it means skill development, retraining, redeployment, updating knowledge base of workers-teachers, promotion of leadership qualities, etc. The recommendation of NITI aayog are:
- Codification of labour laws: he government should quickly finish codifying India’s labour laws, while simplifying or modifying those that apply to the formal sector.
The National Policy for Domestic Workers should also be brought in at the earliest.
- Ensure women force participation in the labour force. The government should ensure that employers adhere to the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act.
- Employment data should be more robust. Data collection for the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PFLS) of households must be completed on schedule and data is disseminated by 2019.
- Social security and working conditions – There must be a compulsory registration of all establishments to ensure better monitoring of occupational safety.
- Labour Market Information System(LMIS) is important for identifying skill shortages, training needs and new employment opportunities.