Labour Bureau signs service level agreement with BECIL for conducting all India surveys on Migrant Workers

Labour Bureau on Friday, March 19, 2021, signed a service level agreement with Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) for conducting all India surveys on Migrant Workers and All India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES).

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 agreement was signed between Director General, Labour Bureau, DPS Negi and CMD, BECIL George Kuruvilla in the presence of Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Gangwar said, 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. The Minister expressed happiness that the Bureau is integrating the survey work with the latest available technology to achieve timely and faster results.

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 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, which will bestow various benefits on the workers engaged for a fixed term by treating them at par with permanent workers.

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.