Industry and trade unions should trust and understand each other more: Minister

KOLKATA: Industry and trade unions are interdependent and they need to understand and trust each other better, said Moloy Ghatak, state Labour minister while inaugurating the Industry-Trade Union Dialogue Forum 2017 organised by CII on Friday.

"The Bengal government is ready to welcome enterprising entrepreneurs to our state to partner us in the growth and development process of the state. I assure you of our complete cooperation and support," he said, adding: "We are continuously working towards development of industry in the state."

"Bengal offers a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives for businesses and several measures have been taken to attract greenfield investments," he said, adding: "But all these efforts to attract industries and investments will not bear fruit if there doesn't exist a healthy relationship between industry and trade unions."

Abhinav Chandra, secretary, department of Labour, dwelt upon how the state government has given increased thrust on increasing efficiency through digitisation. Very soon, the government will come up with a mechanism so that factory licences are obtained in seven days and the tout system is done away with.

He also spoke of the state government's intervention in the unorganised sector. The Samajik Mukti Card - an all purpose card – is a great boon for the workers of the unorganised sector. He also pointed out that e-commerce has emerged as the single largest employer. "Things are changing rapidly," he said.

Umesh Chowdhary, Chairman, CII Eastern Region, spoke of how industrial relations in Bengal have "undergone a sea change". According to him, the perception about the state as a business-friendly state will get a further boost if the message is communicated powerfully and widely across the globe. "The number of strikes and bandhs here has been reduced significantly," he said.

He also complimented the state government for rapid industrial growth and development. "The state has strong potential to develop into a vibrant economy with strong growth in agriculture, industry and services sector. One of our major focus has been to promote Bengal across India and across the globe. CII offers all its support for the same," he added.