Presiding over the 90th Anniversary Celebrations of International Labour Organization (ILO) here today, Shri Kharge said that the National Child Labour Projects are converging their efforts with various social sector schemes being run by other Central Ministries. He said that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is a significant measure taken by the Union Government to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years.

Lauding the achievements of ILO during last nine decades, the Labour Minister said that it played a significant role in the world of work and achieved several milestones and now has been able to gear itself to meet the new challenges and work towards bringing stability in the global economy. The Minister recalled that India has been one of the founder members of ILO and over the years, the mutual relationship has been very meaningful. He pointed out that the philosophy of ILO and the fundamentals of Indian Constitution have much in common - as both strive for the progress of society based on equity and justice.

Shri Kharge said that the legislative enactments in India have gained a lot from the concepts of ILO and similarly, the thoughts shared by Indian Statesmen and Delegates at the International Labour Conference over the years have contributed a lot in giving direction to the programmes of ILO.

Making a mention of the schemes and programmes being run by his Ministry, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said that the work under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) is progressing at a good pace and till date more than a crore of Smart Cards have been issued. He said that various wings of the Ministry of Labour & Employment are working tirelessly for bringing about improvement in the workplace and protect the rights of the workers.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State Shri Harish Rawat said that India and ILO have an enduring and vibrant relationship- marked by close and dynamic cooperation over the years. He said that in active association with ILO, India has declared a National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at Workplace on 20th February 2009. Government has also announced National Policy on HIV/AIDS and World of Work and National Skill Development Policy (NSDP).

Shri Rawat said that India has a number of Central and State legislations, primarily activity based - aimed to cover a limited group of population in the organized and unorganized sectors. Similarly, we have a number of Social Sector schemes for urban and rural areas, he added.

On this occasion, a “Special Cover” was also released by the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. A compilation of Speeches by Worker, Employer & Government Delegates at International Labour Conference of I.L.O. (1995-2009) was also released on this occasion.

Shri P.C. Chaturvedi, Secretary (L&E), Ms. Alka Jha Mishra, Post Master General, Department of Posts, Shri N.M. Adyanthaya, Member, Governing Body of ILO (Worker Group), Shri Yogendra Kr. Modi, Member, Governing Body of ILO (Employer Group), Ms. Leyla Tegmo Reddy, Director, SRO-ILO also spoke on the occasion.#