LABOUR LAW - PROJECT

SUBJECT – Labour law

TOPIC: - Labour Law Reforms

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Ms. Nishtha Agarwal Vedant Vyas

Section - A
Semester - 5

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 Declaration

The project on “Labour Law”, is do hereby submitted to the Law faculty of United World School of Law
Karnavati University.

And it is purposely consecrated to the respected professor Ms. Nishtha Agarwal and honorable dean of
the faculty Mr. Malay Patel. I have tried out best not to fall into lapses of the subject matter and the
language but errors the habit of creeping in inadvertently. I hope that you and my fellow classmates,
friends will help me in making the project more useful.

Vedant Vyas.

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................3
CURRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO LABOUR FORC IN INDIAN
ECONOMY...............................................................................................................4
BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW.....................................................................5
LABOUR AND ECONOMIC PLANNING..........................................................7
LABOUR FORCE IN INDIA: STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION.................8
TRADE UNION SITUATION............................................................................11
INCIDENCE OF INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT.....................................................12
LABOUR LAW REFORMS...................................................................................13
LINK BETWEEN PARLIAMENT, JUDICIARY AND THE EXECUTIVE........17
CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................19
BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................21

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INTRODUCTION

In spite of labour laws been widely studied for almost a decade and various recommendations to
re-invent/evolve labour laws in the current leg of globalization, the issues pertaining to welfare
of labour and flexibility of the firms to grow in sync with market conditions for better industrial
relations, persists even today. For the past six to seven years it has been argued (especially by
employers) that labour laws in India are excessively pro-worker in the organized sector and this
has led to serious rigidities that has resulted in adverse consequences in terms of performance of
this sector as well as the operation of the labour markets. There have been recommendations by
the government to reform labour laws in India by highlighting the need for flexibility in Indian
labour laws that would give appropriate flexibility to the industry that is essential to compete in
international markets. But the attitude has mainly been towards skill enhancement and focus on
flexible labour markets rather than assessment of proper enforcement of the laws, assessment of
the situation of different categories of employers and coverage of the social protection system.
This project makes an attempt to present an overview of existing literature pertaining to this
issue and brings forth some major concerns that ought to need attention before any alternate
framing of labour laws.

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CURRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO LABOUR FORC IN
INDIAN ECONOMY

BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

A study of the Indian economy and its labour force can be divided into three phases: (i) the
colonial era (till 1947), (ii) the import substitution era – post-independence (1947 to 1991), and
(iii) the era of economic liberalization (1991- to date).

At the time of independence, India had a significant industrial base, which was substantially
diversified under the government’s heavy industrialization strategy during the plan era,
particularly from the mid-1950s to the end of the 1960s. This period saw the public sector being
accorded the dominant role in the growth of the economy. During the 1970s and the 1980s, the
government followed the policy of self-reliance and import substitution. In this period several
East Asian (Taiwan and Korea) and Southeast Asian (Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia)
countries pursued export-oriented industrialization strategies. Domestic industry was protected in
product markets and labour in labour markets. India, therefore, did not grow as fast as the rest of
Asia and its economic, industrial and political significance in the region and in the world
declined1.

Post-1991, the measures of economic liberalization, privatization and globalization have resulted
in a drastic change in the mind set of labour, management and government. Organised labour
became defensive as both state and central governments became investor friendly. Though
labour laws themselves have not changed, the attitude of the bureaucracy and the judiciary has
changed. Government has resorted to phased withdrawal of subsidy and selective, but slow
privatization through, mostly, disinvestment route. Faced with global competition, employers
have tried to tighten belt and cut costs, including, particular, labour. Cost plus economy became
price minus cost as profit economy. Table 1 tries to capture some of the paradigm shifts in
government’s policy. The rate of economic growth, particularly in the industrial and service
sectors has picked up though employment in the organized sector has stagnated in relative
terms2. With economic liberalization both labour and capital now feel less protected or
unprotected.

1
Dulbridge Magiche, A historical travel through economy
2
www.skillingindia.com

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The change in government policies is reflected in the difference between the terms of reference
of the First National Commission on labour and the Second National Commission on Labour
appointed in 1966 and 1999 respectively3. While the former was asked to recommend measures
to improve the conditions of labour, the latter was asked to suggest labour law reforms to align
labour policies with the requirements of product market as also recommend an umbrella
legislation for unorganized labour.

Table 1: Changes in the Scenario, Before and After Economic Liberalization4

Before Liberalization After Liberalization

State-sponsored and state-mediated Market led and private enterprise

development dominated

Protected domestic market

Budgetary and directed institutional
resource allocation
Subsidies and administered price
regime
Competitive market
Competitive capital market-led resource
allocation
Rational pricing, including user charges

Welfare state active in labour market Labour-neutral and invest-friendly state

policies

Systematic de-casualization of jobs Fast re-casualization and contractualization

of jobs

Largely government-funded social Crisis of sustainability of social security

security and welfare programmes for welfare programmes, and pressure for
a few security measures for all
3
www.preservearticles.com
4
C.P Thakur,2001

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 Stable governing structure and policy Crisis of governance and fear of political
regime and economic instability

Stable, though obsolete, labour- Micro-electronics-led new-generation

intensive technologies capital and skill-intensive technologies

Dominant status of manufacturing Threat of deindustrialization and rapid

growth of the service sector

The Indian economy is still characterized by a sharing rural urban divide in terms of its structure
and composition of both industries and workforce.

LABOUR AND ECONOMIC PLANNING

The objectives of labour policy in economic planning in India in the post-independence period
can be classified into two categories: the plan era and the transition-to-market era.
In the plan era, the first seven Five Year Plans (1951- 91, with some breaks in between) focused
on the following objectives vis-à-vis labour5:

- improving the conditions of labour and their welfare

- prevention and settlement of industrial disputes and maintenance of industrial peace and
harmony to avoid disruption of industrial activity which could adversely affect the realization
of plan goals
- controlling industrial growth to prevent concentration of economic power in the hands of a
few income disparities among individuals and regions
- workers’ education
- workers’ participation in management
With the transition to a market economy (1991 to date), the need has arisen for aligning industrial
relations policies with industrialization strategies. This calls for 6:

5
www.planningcommission.gov.in
6
www.epw.in

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- facilitating the growth of enterprise and entrepreneurship and aligning labour policies with
economic policies
- a policy focus 7 per cent organized labour to 93 per cent unorganized labour (Ninth Five Year Plan,
1997 – 2002, Working Group Report)
- reform of labour laws and labour policies in the wake of globalization (terms of reference of the
Second National Commission on Labour appointed in 1999)
- a shift in emphasis from job security to income security and social safety measures
- concern for skills development, productivity and competitiveness
- reforming of pension
- a shift in government role from control to facilitation
Unemployment and underemployment have been major concerns, but it is mainly in the Tenth Plan
(2002-07) document that a strong plea has been made for bringing about a qualitative change in the
structure and pattern of employment to promote growth of good quality work opportunities. The
growth process alone will not be able to provide adequate work opportunities for the emerging
workforce, let alone reduce the backlog of unemployment. Further, the Tenth Plan document recognizes
the need for transforming an agrarian economy into a modern, multidimensional economic powerhouse
and an egalitarian society7.

The Tenth Plan specifically has as its targets 8 per cent annual economic growth, reduction in poverty
from 26 per cent in 2002 to 21 per cent by 2007 and a decrease in population growth from 21.3 per cent
in the 1990s to 16.27 per cent during the decade 2001 - 2011. It also aims to provide gainful, high quality
employment to at least new entrants in the labour force, improve literacy to 75 per cent and reduce
unemployment to 5.3 per cent by 2006-07. Further, the Tenth Plan envisaged to reduce gender gaps in
literacy and wages by 50 per cent8.

LABOUR FORCE IN INDIA: STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION

The diversity of the Indian industrial workforce makes it difficult to generalize its profile. Only
13 per cent of the labour force is in regular wage employment and barely 7 per cent is in the
organized sector and 4 per cent unionized 9. The growing tertiarisation of the economy – where
the service sector dominates in terms of share of employment and GDP – is accompanied by
7
The tenth plan for the period 2002-2007
8
The tenth plan for the period 2002-07
9
Economic Times, 23rd June, The Times Of India

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casualization. Forty-two per cent of the population is not literate 10. As a result a substantial
proportion of the labour force, even in the organized sector, is illiterate.

Ninety-three per cent of India’s labour force is in the unorganized sector; 55 per cent is self-
employed; 13 per cent is in regular wage employment. About a third of the labour force is in
casual employment (Table 4). Casualization of labour is growing due to economic liberalization,
changes in ownership and technology, cost-cutting competitive strategies of employers and the
government’s investor-friendly disposition towards the organized sector.

Over one-fourth of the population of the country is below the poverty line. Unemployment is
growing. In the absence of unemployment insurance, open unemployment is relatively less in
India. The real problem is of underemployment and disguised unemployment. The really poor
cannot remain without jobs. Therefore while the vast majority accept whatever job comes their
way and work below subsistence level, the few who can afford to, wait for a better job.
Therefore, it is little wonder that the incidence of poverty is higher among the employed than
among the unemployed.

Table 4: Labour Force Profile, 200111

2001

Population >1 billion

Labour force/workforce <400 million

Organized sector/Formal sector 7%

10
Literacy Check, The Hindu, 17th December, 2012
11
Source: Govt. Of India, Preserve Articles

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 Unorganized sector/Informal sector 93%

Self-employed 55%

Regular workforce 13%

Casual workforce 32%

Employment in government and public sector >18 million

Employment in private sector >9 million

Unionized workforce/Union density 4%

Workforce covered by collective bargaining 2%

Self-employment and regular salaried employment declined between 1977 and 2000 in rural
areas (Table 5). Consequently there was a significant rise in casual employment in rural areas. In
contrast, in urban areas, the situation was relatively stable though there was a 2 per cent increase
in casual employment in urban areas during the corresponding period. Though employment in
the organized sector grew in absolute numbers between 1977 and 2000, it declined marginally
between 1994 and 2000. Overall, the trend points to a worsening of the quality of employment
during the period 1997 – 2000 (Table 6).

Only 5 per cent of the Indian labour force in the age bracket 20-24 years has obtained vocational
training Low literacy, vocational bias against technical skills, occupational preference for non-
production jobs, mismatch between skills acquired and skills required, dearth of
adequately/appropriately trained technical personnel, low competitiveness of labour vis-à-vis
developed nations and employability and retraining of labour are among the major weaknesses
that characterize the macro level situation of labour in India There is a need to forecast
marketable skills through labour market intelligence system with focus on linking job seekers
with job providers. Competencies for different jobs should be assessed systematically both in the
organized and the unorganized sectors.

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TRADE UNION SITUATION
Today there are over a dozen ‘national centres’ of trade unions in the country with five of hem
having a membership of over 500,000 in at least four states and four industries/ sectors. Though
the official number of registered unions is around 50,000 the actual number may well exceed
100,000. There is a serious problem with regard to the data base on trade unions, their
membership and finances.

In the non-farm sector trade union density is very high. While only 4 to 6 per cent of the total
labour force in the country may be unionized, in public sector undertakings it could be well over
80 per cent. Trade unions main problem is inter union rivalry due to multiplicity. While there is
usually broad cooperation on wider issues concerning wages and working conditions, on specific
issues at the work place level such cooperation is rare.

Collective bargaining takes place at national, sectoral and enterprise level. In banks, coal, steel
and ports and docks there is good coordination among the unions at the national level and
centralized bargaining is the rule. In these sectors, at least till recently, government has been the
sole or the major employer. In sectors like jute and textiles where private sector is the main
employer region-cum-industry wide collective bargaining is common. In other industries
collective bargaining is usually at the enterprise level. National legislation in India provides for
trade union registration, not recognition. Some state laws provide for recognition through law
(Maharashtra for example) or through administrative notifications (Orissa and West Bengal).
Workers’ participation is provided in Factories Act in the form of mandatory works committees,
joint management councils, etc. Their formation and working varies across enterprises and the
over all situation with regard to representative forms of participation is not encouraging. In
several cases, mostly banks and several public sector companies there is worker representation
even at the board level. A law on the subject is pending since 1990. Through an amendment to
the constitution of India in 1976, the Government of India has included workers’ participation in
management as a directive principle of state policy. The second national labour commission
(2002) recommended statutory provision for the purpose. Several professionally managed
companies, including some of those which follow Japanese management principles and practices

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have been resorting to greater use of direct forms of worker participation and involvement
thorugh 5S, Kaizen, Quality circles, Suggestion schemes, etc12.

INCIDENCE OF INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT

As seen from Table 7, the incidence of strikes and lock-outs is generally on the decline in the
post-liberalisation period (1991-to date) as compared to 1980s in terms of number of disputes,
number of workers involved and number of mandays lost13. Significantly, in recent years roughly
two-thirds of the mandays lost is due to lockouts. Some of the lockouts may have taken place in
the aftermath of a strike and the resultant law and order situation which provokes management to
declare lockout in the interest of protecting people, premises and products from possible acts of
vandalism, arson and sabotage. Whatever be the truth in it, usually that is the reason that several
employers give for declaring lockout. There are several plausible explanations, including the
following:

1) Increased used of advanced technologies is making control over work shift from workers
to machines and managers thereby blunting the power of strike to disrupt work Evidence
of this can be seen in printing, banking and many other industries.
2) Declining membership and union power
3) When most of the allowances, etc., are linked to wages and the courts ruling ‘no work no
wage’ principle, workers are not usually prepared to lose earnings due to strikes. This
particularly so because it is usually difficult to go on a legal strike due to restrictions on
strikes in the form of notice and prohibition during the pendency of conciliation,
adjudication, etc.
4) Growing fear among workers about the futility of strikes and the possibility of job loss in
view of growing competition, industrial sickness, government’s reluctance to support
strikes any longer because of the need to woo investors, etc.
5) A vast majority of the stagnant organized/unionized workers moving from working class
to middle class are less prepared to take to streets and support unions during direct action

12
The Second National Labour Commission
13
Labour and Industrial Laws, S.N.Mishra

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State-wise analysis of strikes and lockouts reveal that five states – West Bengal, Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra – account for over half the mandays lost in India over the
past several years. In most years over 90 per cent of the mandays were lost every year in the past
decade due to lockouts and less than 10 per cent due to strikes14.

It is believed that in India more mandays are lost due to poor work ethic than due to industrial
strife. Workers in the organized sector, work usually 5 hours in a shift of 8 hours in most
establishments. Thus every day the 28 million strong organized sector workforce account for a
loss of one million mandays a day as against about 20 million mandays lost every year on
average due to industrial strife during the past 14 years or so.

LABOUR LAW REFORMS

In a global economy labour law as an autonomous subject stands at a crossroads. Some judges
feel compelled to interpret law not on the basis of the text of the clauses, but in the light of the
preamble to that particular piece of legislation and more importantly the Indian Constitution
itself. Therefore, they might sometimes question the ‘new economic policies’ as inconsistent
with the Indian Constitution. Elsewhere in the world, there is another view gaining ground: The
14
The Unhappy Workers, Swaminomics, The Sunday Times, Times of India, 28th August.

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social vision of labour law, which went with the old-established institutions and practices has
come under challenge to change or risk irrelevance. The current scenario requires striking a
balance between these two extreme viewpoints.

There is a perception that the existing laws give virtual veto power to unions in the organized
sector to block changes like improvement in plant and machinery, rationalization of manpower,
and growth of productivity. Further, there is a perception that labour legislation has paved the
way for multiplicity of unions, growth of intra- and inter-union rivalry, exacerbation of industrial
strife and excessive intervention by the state in industrial relations.

There are as many as 165 legislations --- both central and state --- that address aspects relating to
labour. But more laws mean less when implementation is thinly spread out. Even minimum wage
laws have meant little when the wages fixed are too low and implementation too lax. Study
groups of the National Commission on Labour and the National Labour Law Association
(NLLA) prepared draft labour codes in 1969 and 1994 respectively. The Commission on Labour
Standards appointed by the Government of India, in its report submitted in 1995, almost entirely
endorsed the NLLA’s Draft Labour Code. It suggested a few changes: initiate a national debate
or wider consultation on the Draft Labour Code through Project LARGE and simplify the law
without further delay15.

Labour law reform is not easy. The Korean experience confirms this. When the economy was
doing well organized labour organized bitter struggles against the new Korean law which was
enacted to make, among other things, workforce adjustment easy. In the wake of the Korean
economic crisis, however, a tripartite agreement provided for the very changes that were opposed
just a year before. Several economies in transition (notably China and Vietnam) and those
undertaking structural adjustment (many in Africa and Latin America) have been able to rewrite
labour law without much friction.

The Government of India has appointed the Second National Commission on Labour (1999) to
address the issue of aligning labour policy and labour laws with the contemporary concerns of
product markets. The contrast between the terms of reference of the first and the second national
15
Labour Legislations and their effectiveness on the Indian Labour market and economy, Debraj Khar

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commissions on labour (Annexure 1) points to the stark shift in emphasis from labour market
(First National Commission on Labour) to product market (Second National Commission on
Labour) and a palpable concern for a separate simplified approach (one umbrella legislation) for
the unorganized sector.

The major thrust of changes in labour laws should be along the following lines:

 Have fewer laws but ensure better enforcement. It would be still more expedient and
equitable to have one labour code instead of numerous legislations, as China and Vietnam
did in the mid-1990s. The nature and extent of protection for labour has little to do with the
number of laws.
 Multiple definitions should be eliminated across different legislations. Wages, for instance,
are defined in a dozen ways in as many legislations, or the legal distinction between worker,
workman and other worker is exclusionary. Unless otherwise defined perpetrates and
perpetuates discriminatory practices and confusion dictionary meanings should be considered
adequate. The Labour Code can cover all working people rather than have variations in
limitation of numbers employed, amount of wages/salaries drawn, etc.
 There should be have one national minimum wage act for all occupations rather than separate
ones for select notified industries/occupations. It should be made easy to understand, be
simple to administer and effective in enforcement.
 Several amendments to the Trade Union Act suggested earlier bipartite committees and
subsequently incorporated in the bill prepared by the Ministry of Labour do not serve any
useful purpose; they do, however, perpetrate distrust among unions and create strife. Japan
and Denmark do not have trade union acts. In Japan, the union movement is consolidated and
multiplicity reduced without legal intervention. Denmark is one of the countries with the
highest rate of unionization.
 Almost all political parties and many unions favour secret ballot. But it would be prudent to
review the experiences of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal before taking any action,
since the experience so far suggests that the present conditions are not conducive to secret

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 ballot. They have led to anti-establishment vote and destabilising recognised unions, causing
strife in industrial relations and resultant litigation.
 The provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act should be reviewed while preparing the Labour
Code. Legislations in some Southeast Asian countries as well as China and Vietnam offer
valuable insights. In the wake of structural changes and liberalization, more than 100
developing countries and transitional economies have reformed their labour law. The three
most important changes in legislation which are necessary in the Indian context also well are
as follows: (a) Employment can be secure only so long as the enterprise where they are
employed is secure and viable. According to ILO Convention No.168, termination of
employment at the initiative of employer can be valid if structural, technical, economic and
other changes so require. Workforce adjustment as per business needs is imperative. Notice,
consultation, and compensation provisions can be and should be tightened. The requirement
of prior permission of the government should be dispensed with in matters concerning lay-
off, retrenchment and closure; (b) Section 9-A, concerning notice of change, should be
amended. Notice is required, consultation is to be encouraged, but the employer should have
the responsibility, if not the right, to make changes necessary to maintain and improve
competitiveness; (c) As in Malaysian legislation, which forbids bargaining in respect of
recruitment, transfer, promotion, work assignment and workforce adjustment, in India also
collective bargaining should be encouraged on aspects other than the above16.
 Industrial relations machinery should be made independent as recommended by the National
Commission on Labour.
 Some studies point out that job protection laws impede job creation. Increase in the price of
labour and its relative inflexibility have also been found responsible for the stagnation of job
opportunities. These studies have also found that job loss was less with adjustment than
without it. It is necessary to investigate the technological determinedness of employment
decisions, employment effects of adjustment vis-a-vis non-adjustment and consequences of
job creation on further job creation and the claims of the unemployed and fresh entrants to
the job market. The cost of job protection and its effects on job creation require careful
analysis. The ILO-South Asian Multidisciplinary Team’s study drew attention to the need to
shift the focus from job protection to income protection.

16
Paving the way for development in labour market, D.Bhatacharjee,2003

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 Set up a skills development fund and a tripartite national wages council.

LINK BETWEEN PARLIAMENT, JUDICIARY AND THE

EXECUTIVE

The process of integration of the Indian economy with the global economy started seven years
ago. Some say it started much before that. Political manifestoes, however, do not realise the need

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for a linkage between industrialization strategy and industrial relations strategy. The apparent
contradiction with the preamble to the Indian Constitution --- which still retains the magic
phrase, ‘socialist democracy’ --- leaves the field wide open for a variety of interpretations by the
judiciary. There is a need to reassess the roles of parliament, the judiciary and the bureaucracy.

Since Justice Krishna Iyer gave his interpretation of the definition of industry in the Bangalore
Sewerage Company case, there have been couple of other landmark judgments on the subject
which have reversed and re-reversed the Bengal Sewerage judgment. When the Supreme Court
declared P&T as not an industry, but a sovereign activity under the state, P&T officials refused
to appear before the conciliation machinery of the central government with regard to the disposal
of certain grievances of P&T employees17.

Some judgments of the Supreme Court have the effect of prescribing legislation. For instance, in
the case of the Food Corporation of India concerning representative union, the Supreme Court
ordered that the matter be settled through secret ballot and even prescribed the procedure for
conducting it. Similarly, in many cases relating to child labour, environment and sexual
harassment the judgments prescribed dos and don’ts.

There have been judgments in recent years that have upset organized labour while those
concerning unorganized labour including contract labour have generally gladdened the hearts of
the workers.

Our labour bureaucracy is caught between these two extremes. `Labour policy in future would be
market friendly’, a high-ranking official of the labour ministry assured the audience at a
conference on globalisation. The labour leader present on the podium demurred, `If labour policy
is not labour friendly what kind of a labour policy is it’.

`I am the labour commissioner, not the management commissioner’, was the stern reply of a
labour commissioner to an industrialist who was pleading his case about the rigidities in the
labour market of the country.

The labour bureaucracy has, however, enormous powers. It can stall the will of Parliament
through delays or notification in the gazette. For instance, the amendment to Section 9c of the

17
AIR, National Labour Tribunal Reports

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Industrial Disputes Act in 1982 has not been notified to date. In another case, though electronics
is not notified for the purposes of the Minimum Wages Act in one state, a labour inspector who
found a lathe machine in a unit chose to classify the unit as an engineering industry and applied
Minimum Wages Act to it also18.

It is important that all these three wings --- Parliament, the judiciary and the bureaucracy ---
should function in harmony and unison without compromising on the rationale of their respective
roles.

CONCLUSION

In India about seven per cent of the labour force is in the organized sector and the rest in the unorganized
sector. Union density is low if agricultural labour is included and high in the organized sector.
Globalization and technology have reduced labour intensity. To promote employment, it should stress on

18
10th World Congress of International Industrial Relations Associations, 1995

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improving thee quality and expanding the base for basic education and skills training. Agro
industrialization, service sector and self employment will be the main providers of employment. India
should focus on few sectors where there is competitive advantage.

India has ratified four of the eight core labour standards and 39 out of 184 international labour standards.
Though convention No.s 87 and 98 were not ratified, freedom of association is guaranteed under
Consitution and India’s record of freedom of association and right to collective bargaining has been far
better than that in countries which ratified these convention. There is a series effort to bring unified
legislation defining and banning child labour. Labour being being in the concurrent list of Constituioin of
India the government needs to consult with and make the state governments to work in tandem. All the
three major partners – government, employers and workers organizations are generally one in their
opposition to linking international labour standards with international trade.

Unlike in the past, the current thinking of Government of India is that labour policy should concern itself
with the entire labour force. Till not too long ago the labour policy in India has addressed itself mostly to
the eight per cent labour force in the organized sector. Even salaried workers constitute only a fraction
(about 15 per cent) of the total labour force in the country. It is time it paid greater attention to the issues
confronting the workforce in the unorganized sector. A credible mechanism for providing literacy and
vocational skills training to all aspirants in the labour market together with a support mechanism for basic
health and social security are imperative. Further, workplace industrial relations systems should be put in
place that facilitate change, promote flexibility and prepare the workforce to be able, adaptive and atuned
to respond to the challenges of the changes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

For a thorough study and analysis of the research topic, several primary and secondary sources of data,
both printed and electronic, were extensively used. Following is a list of all such sources of information:

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 1. Labour and Industrial Laws, S.N.Mishra
2. Labour and Industrial Manual
3. www.skillingindia.com
4. www.planningcommission.gov.in
5. Flexibility, employment and Labour Market reforms in India, www.epw.in
6. An intelligent person’s guide to liberalisation, A. Bhaduri, & D.Nayyan
7. The new left, Indian Journal of Labour Economics, D.Bhattacharjee
8. Labour Market Reforms, B.Debroy

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