Bank unions on Friday deferred their two-day nationwide strike beginning Monday after they received positive assurance from both the finance ministry and the IBA on their demands, including a five-day work week and adequate recruitment in all cadres. The strike call for March 24 and 25 was given by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine bank employees' association.
Retirement fund body EPFO recorded a net addition of 19.94 lakh members in July this year, the labour ministry said on Monday. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said at a press conference that 10.52 lakh new or first-time workers subscribed to social security schemes run by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The minister said almost 20 lakh net new members addition (19.94 lakh) was recorded in July this year.
'If you don't fulfil whatever they ask, you are in trouble.'
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
By June 2025, financial freedom will be just an ATM away. Pleasantly surprised? But there's more, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
After complaints that the new law may impact employment of women, the government has framed a scheme to provide monetary incentive to companies, reports Somesh Jha.
On the 83rd anniversary of the Quit India movement, Utkarsh Mishra recalls the conditions under which the Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, launched the final struggle for independence.
Retirement fund body EPFO added 16.05 lakh net new members in December, which is 9.69 per cent higher compared to November 2024, as per the payroll data released on Tuesday. Further, a labour ministry statement said there was a growth of 2.74 per cent in net payroll additions compared to December 2023.
An Indian commerce ministry team will soon visit Washington for another round of talks on the proposed trade agreement with the US to iron out differences in sectors, like agriculture and automobiles, a government official said on Thursday.
The Ministry of Labour & Employment is investigating alleged "unsafe and exploitative work environment" days after the tragic demise of Anna Sebastian Perayil who worked with S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global. Perayil was a 26-year-old chartered accountant (CA) who died allegedly due to extreme work pressure at the firm. "Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil.
The number of monthly fresh formal hirings saw a slowdown in August, signalling a downturn in the formal labour market. In August, the number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) decreased by nearly 11 per cent to 930,000. This is a four-month low from 1.05 million in July, according to the latest monthly payroll data released by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Sunday.
In a double-dose bid to boost growth and employment prospects, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 2.07 trillion outlay for a research development and innovation (RDI) Scheme to fund private sector innovations, and an employment-linked incentive (ELI) to create over 35 million new jobs over the next two years.
Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav has exuded confidence that four labour codes, which would bring another wave of reforms, will soon be implemented as around 90 per cent of states have already come out with draft rules. In 2019 and 2020, 29 central labour laws were amalgamated, rationalised and simplified into four labour codes, viz, the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020, noted the Survey. During an interaction, Yadav told reporters that around 90 per cent of the states have already published draft rules on four labour codes and he expects the four legislations would become operational soon.
The prospect of protracted uncertainties in the global economic landscape not only pose a risk for India's growth outlook in 2025-26, but are also likely to dent the private sector's capital raising and investment plans, the finance ministry averred on Tuesday, cautioning the country's corporates that the era of 'easy pickings' was over.
As the Centre faces multiple hurdles, BJP-governed states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have swiftly moved in to usher in radical reforms as they aim to take a larger share of the FDI pie.
The Indian government has assured citizens that the country has ample food stocks to meet domestic demand, despite escalating tensions with Pakistan. The government has also warned traders against hoarding essential food items and creating artificial shortages, emphasizing that there is no need for panic buying. The food ministry detailed the country's current stock levels, showcasing a surplus over required buffer norms for rice, wheat, and pulses. Additionally, India holds substantial edible oil and sugar stocks, ensuring a strong food security position.
The four labour codes are unlikely to be implemented this fiscal in view of slow progress on the drafting of rules by the states and also for political reasons like elections in Uttar Pradesh, a source said. The implementation of these laws assumes significance because once these are implemented there would be reduction in take-home pay of employees and firms have to bear higher provident fund liability. "The ministry of labour is ready with the rules under the four labour codes. But the states have been slow in drafting and finalising those under new codes.
Geopolitical tensions, trade policy uncertainties, volatility in international commodity prices and financial market uncertainties pose considerable risks to India's economic growth in the coming year, the finance ministry cautioned on Wednesday. "Global trade continues to be affected by uncertainty in the policy environment... tariff-related developments in multiple countries have heightened trade-related risks, affecting investment and trade flows globally.
'This agreement will help the Indian workforce to move to non-traditional sectors of employment like teaching, nursing, and manufacturing.'
Retirement fund body EPFO has registered 13.41 lakh net new members addition in October 2024, according to showed latest payroll data. This signifies increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO's effective outreach initiatives, a labour ministry statement said on Wednesday.
Unemployment rate in urban areas during the third quarter (October-December) of FY25 remained unchanged at 6.4 per cent compared to the preceding quarter, according to the latest quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Tuesday. While the unemployment rate for men worsened marginally to 5.8 per cent in Q3 from 5.7 per cent in Q2, for women, it improved to 8.1 per cent from 8.4 per cent.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
IT services company Infosys has laid off over 300 freshers who underwent foundational training at its Mysuru campus but could not clear internal assessments after three attempts, according to sources. IT employee union NITES, however, said the number of freshers affected by the move was much higher, and threatened to lodge an official complaint with the Ministry of Labour and Employment, seeking urgent intervention and strict action against the company.
The labour ministry notification banning employing children below 14 years as domestic helps or at eateries, came into force even as the children had little to cheer about in the absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation package.
During Operation Kagar, 350 Naxalites have been killed so far, including some of the movement's top leaders.
As per the recommendations of the 2nd National Commission on Labour, the ministry is codifying existing 44 central labour laws into four codes by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalising the relevant provisions of the legislations.
'Efforts are on to make the data readily available so that it proves useful for policymakers.'
EPFO manages a corpus of about Rs 257,000 crore with subscribers' base of over 4.5 crore.
The Union finance ministry has rejected a proposal sent by the labour ministry to double the monthly minimum pension amount to Rs 2,000 under the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS). The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), was apprised of the proposal's rejection during a meeting on Saturday. "According to the recommendations made by a highly-empowered monitoring committee constituted by the government, a proposal to increase the minimum pension under EPS from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month, by providing additional budgetary support, was sent to the ministry of finance.
All four labour codes are likely to be implemented in one go from April 1, the beginning of the next fiscal year, labour secretary Apurva Chandra said on Wednesday. The parliament in its just concluded session passed three labour code bills: the Industrial Relations (IR) Code, the Social Security Code, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSH). The Wage Code Bill, 2019 was passed by the parliament last year.
The four labour codes will not come into effect from April 1 as states are yet to finalise the relevant rules, which means that there will be no change in take home pay of employees and provident fund liability of companies for now. Once the wages code comes into force, there will be significant changes in the way basic pay and provident fund of employees are calculated. The labour ministry had envisaged implementing the four codes on industrial relations, wages, social security and occupational health safety & working conditions from April 1, 2021. The ministry had even finalised the rules under the four codes.
Car restoration service provider Super Car Club Garage (SCCG), backed by Raymond chairman and managing director Gautam Singhania, has sought the Centre's green light for a licence to import foreign vehicles for restoration and subsequent re-export.
According to the railway ministry, this non-lethal yet effective tool will help women RPF personnel tackle challenging situations swiftly, particularly while safeguarding female passengers travelling alone or with children to ensure their safer train journeys.
Ushering in a big wave of reforms by implementing the four labour codes, setting up the national social security fund to cover over 38 crore informal sector workers and improving the ease of doing business will top the agenda of the labour ministry in the New Year. In a major move, the ministry launched the e-Shram portal on August 26, 2021 for creating a national database of over 38 crore informal sector workers. It will help the government to ensure last-mile delivery of benefits of various social security schemes to the informal-sector workers.
E-retailer Flipkart has signed a memorandum of understanding with the labour ministry for short-term training of its new employees.
According to new proposal for amendements in the labour law, a worker will be allowed to object to being laid off within three years, against no clear period specified in the law now.
States are mandated to develop and implement 'heat HAPs' for prevention of heat-induced diseases. But most do not go beyond standard advisory on heat prevention.
Cabinet may take up amendments to 3 laws on Wednesday; but no relaxed retrenchment norms yet.
The Supreme Court of India directed the government to establish a legal framework to protect domestic workers and address their exploitation.
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