The workshop is being conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the Government of India and the VV Giri National Labor Institute.
It is the first time labor inspectors from so many states have come together to discuss how to strengthen our work. If it wasn’t for the support from the Norwegian government, this would not have happened, says Piyush Sharma, National Project Coordinator for the Project on Strengthening Labour Inspection Services.
The workshop is within the framework of the Global Project on Strengthening Labor Inspection Service funded by the Norwegian Government. The project, that covers five countries, Angola, Brazil, China, India and South Africa, aims to strengthen and modernize labor inspections systems and empower the staff in performing inspections. One of the objectives for the workshop is to draft a training strategy for the whole country, so that all inspectors get the same training.
It has been really inspiring to come here and discuss challenges, because many of our challenges are similar, even if the different states are so different, says Mr. R. Choudhary, a Joint Commissioner of Labor in Bihar. Bihar is one of the poorer states in India.
In the Indian Labor market only 8 percent of the workforce is participating in the formal economy. For the 92% percent who are working in the informal sector, it is harder to do inspection, especially since they are not unionized.
In a discussion during the workshop the officials listed some of their major challenges. Many of the inspectors felt law status of their work made their job more challenging. The lack of strong and consisted laws and the regular training for inspectors were also challenges the inspectors identified. With more than 150 different laws and a changing labor market meeting places both on a regional and national level were acknowledged as one way forward.
We in Karnataka face a big challenge with globalization. In Bangalore, the state capital, many foreign companies are setting up businesses, especially in the IT- sector. How do we deal with foreign constructers and labor? Which laws are to be applied, says A. J. Sreevali Labor Commissioner in Karnataka.
When the participants have completed the workshop in Delhi, are they going to run workshops for their respective institutions and offices. Ten participants will also go to Europe for a one-week training course together with South- African colleges hosted by Spanish and Portuguese labor inspector authorities.