The Narendra Modi government is looking to put labour law reform on the fast track by getting states and trade unions on board. The Prime Minister is expected to stress the need to tweak archaic rules that deter investmentand job creation at the 46th Indian Labour Conference likely to be held on July 20-21. Last week, senior functionaries in the Prime Minister's Office spoke directly to chief secretaries of several states, including non-BJP ruled ones such as Odisha, in order to assess their views and actionable ideas on reforming labour laws. 

Separately, members of the standing labour committee--which includes state labour ministers, employers and trade union leaders— have been asked to convene on July 10 to review the agenda for the Indian Labour Conference. The Indian Labour Conference, usually an annual affair, hasn't been held since May 2013 and the agenda for its next meeting had already been finalised by the standing labour committee at its 46th meeting on January 31, 2014. This agenda includes amendments to the Factories Act to exempt small and micro units from compliance, social security for workers, changes to thePayment of Bonus Act and a status check on earlier decisions with a focus on contract labour, minimum wages and the tripartite negotiation mechanism. 

"The government has invited suggestions on what could be added to the existing agenda. However, it's too short a notice for us to provide any meaningful input," said an industry representative invited to the July 10 meet requesting anonymity. "This suggests that the government itself could spring something new to be discussed across the table." 

Minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattatreya will chair the standing labour committee meet on Friday and official sources said the agenda item regarding the Payment of Bonus Act may be replaced with something more substantive on revisiting several difficult labour laws such as the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947. Since labour is on the concurrent list of subjects under the constitution, the government's strategy was initially to encourage states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to take the lead in reforming the Industrial Disputes Act and other contentious items of legislation. The Centre is now looking to take on a lead role rather than wait for more states to follow suit. 

The labour ministry has been fleshing out a plan to merge the Industrial Disputes Act, Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act and the Trade Unions Act into a single code for industrial relations. Trade union leaders said this was the first time that the standing labour committee had been asked to consider revisions to an agenda already agreed upon. Virjesh Upadhyay, general secretary of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, part of the Sangh Parivar, said the existing agenda was still relevant and must be taken up.