Govt mulls amending Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act

NEW DELHI: Government plans to amend the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 in order to make it gender-neutral, Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said today.

"Though at present there is no proposal to revamp the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, there is a proposal under consideration of the government to amend the Act with a view to making it gender neutral," he said in Rajya Sabha.

The government had enacted the Act to regulate employment of inter-state migrant workmen and to provide for their service conditions.

Replying to a supplementary during Question Hour, Kharge said government's effort has been to prevent distress migration.

In this connection, he said introduction of the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Act ( MNREGA) has helped in reducing the number of migration of workers in the country.

"Because of MNREGA, (number of) migrant workers going from one state to another has reduced," Kharge said.