Labor and excise minister T.P. Ramakrishnan says the government is working on a comprehensive labor policy that will stress on the need of cordial relations between employees and employers. The Excise Department is in a modernization drive to intensify enforcement. The minister talks to Onmanorama on the journey so far and the road ahead.
How did the Labor Department fare when the Left Democratic Front came to power a year ago?
The Left Democratic Front government took charge when the labor situation in the state was very disturbed. The public sector was deep in the red, the traditional sector had neither jobs nor wages, the plantation sector was in crisis and social security and welfare fund pensions had not been paid for months. That was the situation when we assumed office.
What were the changes you have brought about in the labor and excise departments?
We created 138 vacancies in the Excise Department for women civil excise officers, one for each range, to fulfill the promise in the election manifesto. We are in the process of installing scanners in all major check posts to curb the flow of spurious liquor and drugs.
The LDF government could bring about remarkable changes in the labor sectors in the last one year. The government is working on a comprehensive labor policy that will foster employee-employer relations and transform Kerala into an investor-friendly state.
The government restructured the advisory committee for minimum wages and fast-tracked efforts to revise minimum wages in various sectors. Minimum wages have been revised in 18 sectors in this short period. Revision of minimum wages in the light motor vehicle and private financial sectors are in the final stage. Various welfare fund pensions have been raised from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 and to Rs 1,100 from April 2017. The LDF government aims to amend labor laws from the perspective of laborers, in contrast to the policies followed by the central government.
What are the plans for the next four years?
A comprehensive liquor policy is in the works. A toddy board will be formed. The Excise Department will install a wireless system. Excise check posts will be modernized. Excise range offices will be computerized. Basic facilities will be provided to women civil excise officers, including dressing rooms.
The government will announce a comprehensive labor policy. The government will take measures to increase the benefits the various welfare boards offer to their members.