By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAY 26, 2015: MR Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment inaugurated an Exhibition cum Awareness Meeting of the initiatives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment  in the last one year  here yesterday. Addressing the Meeting, the Minister said that  transparency and accountability are two important aspects of governance guiding initiatives  taken by the Ministry. The Minister said that   the government is striving to enhance employment and employability. He appealed to all those present to contribute to Swachch Bharat campaign as cleaner environment will nurture better health  for workers.

He said that Industrial peace and harmony can be achieved only when the goals of employment and employability are in tune with the goals of industrial development and growth. It is the vision of the Government to have an environment which is conducive for inclusive growth and development of the country.

The Ministry of Labour & Employment is committed towards good governance by bringing transparency and  accountability in enforcement of Labour Laws. A number of good governance initiatives have been taken with the help of information technology.  On the other hand Ministry is making important initiatives to establish the dignity and respect for each and every worker in the country through provision of social security and enhancing the avenues and quality of employment through vocational training.

The minister, on this occasion also discussed the major initiatives by the Ministry in last one year.

++ Shram Suvidha Portal for Filing of Unified Online Return by the establishments instead of filing separate Returns under different Acts. Allotment of more than 9.5 lakh Labour Identification Number(LIN) to establishments so far. Ministry of Labour & Employment has started Single Unified Annual Return for 8 Labour Acts on 24.04.2015.

++ Common Registration under 5 Central Labour Acts , by integration with DIPP's E-Biz Portal (WIP). The Acts covered include:

++ The Employees Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952,

++ The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948,

++ The Building & Other Construction Workers (RECS) Act, 1996,

++ The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970, and

++ The Inter-State Migrant Workmen(RECS) Act, 1979

++ Allotment of Universal Account Number (UAN ) to more than 4.54 crore EPF subscribers for the portability of Provident Fund benefits and to make it hassle free and accessible

++ The facility for the establishments to apply online for allotment of PF Code Number was launched on 30 th June 2014. More than 43 thousand establishments across country have already registered and taken its advantage of this service. This includes allotment of 8234 code number in the 20 offices covering vast area, benefitting the employers which in turn benefits the employees .

++ 24x7 Helpdesk for unclaimed Provident Fund Accounts.

++ Online updation of member accounts for Provident Fund. On 01/04/2015, more than   15 crore accounts of the EPF members in respect of 120 offices have been updated for the year 2014-15.

++ Minimum pension of Rs. 1,000 per month has been guaranteed to  all the pensioners  under  the Employee Pension Scheme

++ Wage ceiling for EPF benefits has been raised from Rs 6500/- to Rs. 15000/-

++ Integration of ESIC and EPFO with eBiz portal for registration of the employers for promoting ease of doing business.

++ Online Payment of ESIC Contribution.

++ Improved medical infrastructure for ESIC. ESIC is now providing the entire range of benefits from Primary health care to super specialty .

++ Process initiated for giving UWIN cards (umbrella card) for all workers of the unorganized sector. This is a social security card to cover 1 billion people.

++ NCVT-MIS portal launched for improved environment for vocational training with friendly features like e certification and information loaded for more than 11000 ITIs.

++ IT based National Career Service (NCS) platform for employment services. 100 model career centers to be established in 2015-16.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Mr Shankar Aggarwal, Secretary L&E said  that the Ministry gave priority to the processes part for delivering services  affecting common man's life. He highlighted  various  initiatives  taken for welfare of employees and employers.

 The exhibition highlighted various initiatives by the Ministyry and its various organisations like ESIC, EPFO, CLC(C), DGET, DGLW, Labour Bureau, DGMS, DGFASLI and VVGNLI. The major initiatives included Shram Suvidha Portal, UAN for PF, National Career Service Portal etc. A full-fledged health camp was also put up by the ESIC. The Minister also interacted with media on this occasion. The event was attended by a large number (close to1500) of stakeholders form workers and employers, Senior officers from the Ministry , representatives from ILO Delhi and  media amongst others.

The event was attended by a large number (close to1500) of stakeholders form workers and employers, Senior officers from the Ministry , representatives from ILO Delhi and  media amongst others.