Labour Bureau inks agreement with BECIL for conducting all-India surveys

PTI, Mar 19, 2021, 3:57 PM IST

New Delhi: The Labour Bureau has signed a service level agreement with Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) for providing technical and manpower support for conducting all India surveys, including on migrant workers.

​The signing of the agreement marks the beginning of a new era in the field of IT-enabled surveys, a labour ministry statement said.

The Labour Bureau is an attached office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment.

The surveys to be undertaken by Bureau will be integrated with the technology provided by the BECIL, which will substantially reduce the time taken for completion of surveys by at least 30-40 per cent.

The ministry in order to implement the newly introduced category of ‘Fixed Term Employment’ (FTE) has decided that the manpower engaged through the IT partner for supporting these surveys will be offered Fixed Term Employment.

The Fixed Term Employment is a historic provision in the recent labour codes that will bestow various benefits on the workers engaged for a fixed term by treating them at par with permanent workers.

”These surveys will prove highly useful and game-changer in providing the government with crucial data on migrant workers and the employment situation in formal and informal establishments,” Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said.

”The utility of any database lies in its accuracy and timeliness, I am sure that with the use of technology, the Bureau will achieve both greater accuracy and timeliness in the data generated under these surveys,” Labour Secretary Apurva Chandra said.

George Kuruvilla, CMD, BECIL (a mini Ratna Company of I&B Ministry) on this occasion, assured that his organisation will leave no stone unturned to complete surveys assigned to them on time with expected quality.

Labour Bureau Director-General D P S Negi said that it is for the first time that such IT-enabled surveys will be undertaken by an organization on such a large scale.

This year the Bureau will launch and complete five All India Surveys on migrant workers, domestic workers, AQEES, employment generated by professionals and employment generated in the transport sector. These surveys will generate enormous data for devising the right policies for employment and welfare of labour, Negi stated.