The need for the use of labour statistics

 The need for the use of labour statistics

Trade unions can play a pivotal role in producing labour statistics

Social dialogue 

is an important procedural institutional process to debate and arrive at consensual conclusions which could be used for legal and other policy-oriented actions.

 In the post-reform period, the government uses social dialogue agency, viz., the Indian Labour Conference (ILC), to push the reforms agenda. 

Labour statistics, unlike economic and industrial data, are not rigorous

 For example, the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) and the National Sample Survey Office produce excellent statistics but have limited information relating to the IRS-LM. 

The Labour Bureau provides statistics on a range of industrial relations (strikes and trade unions) and labour statistics (contract labour, absenteeism, labour turnover, labour inspections).

Reform arguments

three reform arguments

Employers have criticised the labour inspection system as a case of “Inspector-Raj” and called for its reforms.

 This criticism stems probably from their “limited experience”. They have complained that State governments hardly sanction applications for retrenchment / selection or the closure of establishments.

 curb on the right to strike  

They also demand a curb on the right to strike and prefer non-union workplaces. 

 study by Besley and Burgess (B&B) 

on the impact of labour regulation in 2004 has been widely used by employers and others to push hire and fire reforms, among others.

To counter the reform arguments mentioned above, trade unions should have 

to collected the relevant information/statistics on inspection (such as the number of sanctioned and actually employed inspectors, the universe of inspection and actual inspection, the frequency of inspections) and studied them to make informed arguments to support labour inspection — even strengthening them.

 poor quality of data on inspections 

It is then that social partners and the government would have realised the poor quality of data on inspections. 

They would realise that labour inspectors are much fewer in number than the inspection universe. Research has shown that there is no all-India data on labour inspections.

Closure reform

Again, on firing/closure reform

trade unions have not collected data on the retrenchment/closure applications under Chapter V-B submitted to the labour department, permissions granted/refused by the labour department. 

These are not published in most States except in Maharashtra for a limited period. The denial of permissions was surely prevalent during the command economy, but is this prevalent in the post-reform period? 

My study on retrenchments/closures under Chapter V-B in 2001-05 showed that Maharashtra was more liberal in granting permissions for retrenchments/closures (Impact of Labour Regulations … in Maharashtra, Bookwell, 2008).

On strikes

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 Code on Industrial Relations (CIR) 

has made legal strikes well-nigh / close  impossible. Illegal strikes carry a heavy penalty. 

Trade unions could have used the data on strikes and lockouts published by the Labour Bureau which would show that lockouts / hadtal are more frequent and account for more workdays lost than strikes during the post-reform period. 

India has ratified the Labour Statistics Convention (No.160), 1985 and Labour Inspection Convention (081), 1947. India must generate statistics that are valid, comprehensive and reliable on IRS-LM. 

 Imagine a massive strike demanding good labour statistics! The larger society and the government are bound to stand up and seek reform labour statistics. For once, strikes would enjoy public legitimacy.

This May Day, in 2024, trade unions must resolve to carry out these measures. If nothing, statistical agencies such as the Labour Bureau will be reformed as a result of these pursuits.

source the hindu