New Delhi, May 17
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced that his government was considering a proposal to have a national social security fund for workers in both the organised and unorganised sectors and a national floor-level minimum wage. He conceded that there cannot be disagreement on issues flagged by the trade unions.

The Prime Minister conceded that the two-day nationwide general strike in February did have an impact. He said the government paid serious attention to the issues raised by the trade unions related not just to those of the working class but also the people at large.

Inaugurating the 45th Indian Labour Conference here, he said, “These include demands on which there can be no disagreement. For example, demands for concrete measures for containing inflation, for generation of employment opportunities, for strict implementation of labour laws are unexceptionable.

“There can, however, be differences on the best ways of fulfilling these demands and we are willing to engage constructively with the trade unions in this regard.”

Referring to other demands, he said that besides the national social security fund and floor for minimum wage, which were at an advanced stage of consideration, the government was also looking at the provision of minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month under the Employees Pension Scheme.

The Union Cabinet, he said, has already approved amendments to the Minimum Wages Act to provide for a statutory national floor-level minimum wage.

While the government had set up a Group of Ministers, including AK Antony, Sharad Pawar and P Chidambaram, on the eve of the general strike that was unsuccessful in persuading the trade unions to go back on their decision to strike work, the Prime Minister said the ministers’ panel will look into the charter of demands. He hoped that when it meets on May 22, there could be some forward movement.

Injecting a personal note, Dr Manmohan Singh said that since 2005, he has addressed all national labour conferences expect the one in 2009 and said the demands of the trade unions reflect the concern that the country's growth and progress should be inclusive and particularly benefit the under-privileged sections of society.