A full-day HR Conclave with the theme ‘Work, Employment and Industrial Relations’ held at FTCCI

The HR Committee of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI), the 107-year-old Trade and Commerce body on Saturday organised a full-day HR Conclave at Federation House in Red Hills in the city.

The conference with the theme ‘Work, Employment and Industrial Relations’ was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Sri Chandrasekharam, Joint Commissioner of Labour, Govt. of Telangana and Guest of Honour Rajesh Khosla, CEO, AGI, Greenpac.

Addressing the 100-plus gathering, Sri Chandrasekharam, Joint Commissioner of Labour, Govt. of Telangana said things are changing, technology is changing, so also the HR Laws to keep pace with the developments. 

The labour departments across the country are gearing up for the implementation of new Labour Codes in India. The four new labour codes proposed are the Code on Social Security 2020, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, Industrial Relations Code 2020, and Code on Wages 2019.  These were proposed with a motto of ease of doing business. The union government consolidated 29 central labour laws (out of 44 existing central laws) into four labour codes, he said.

The Government has to be the facilitator.  We need to ensure a conducive environment.  When foreign companies come to invest here, they should not get culture shock. We need to create a friendly environment, he said.  The way forward to the future is maximum governance and minimum Government. 

While delivering the keynote address, the guest of honour Rajesh Khosla said India is the youngest nation in the world.  The mean age of India is 28 years, China 38, USA 40, Europe 45 and Japan 50.  This means 70 to 80 crore population of the 140-crore population of our country is in the pipeline of employment.  It is a big challenge for HR (Human Resources) to engage these youth. 

The global economy is 93 trillion US $.  China’s economy is 18 trillion, which constitutes 20 to 22% of the global economy.  All the countries across the globe are eyeing to buy products from India as a manufacturing base is shifting to India.  Is India prepared in terms of offering the quality of products, and good behaviour?  We are buying the best of the best machines and processes.  But where are the people to run them? he asked.

India is experiencing a very peculiar situation.  On the one hand, we have a lot of unemployed people.  Our youth is jobless. On the other hand, companies are crying for employees.  The problem lies in the skill gap.  It is the job of the HR professionals to train the unemployed youth and make them job-ready, he said.

Another big challenge which will loom large soon Rajesh Khosla said is the dependence of the workforce/labour from UP and Bihar.  In the recent union budget, a lot of sops were announced for Bihar.  If Bihar grows industrially because of these sops,  it will generate employment for local people.  And the labourers who were coming to Telangana to work will find employment in their state.  This will result in a shortage of the labour force and poses a major challenge for the HR Fraternity. 

Speaking of HR challenges, Rajesh Khosla said that manufacturing is shifting to India.  HR needs to prepare the workforce for the same as well.  The Western population is getting old and Indians are young. The Indian young population has a Western outlook. We must make employment interesting and attractive to them. Otherwise, the cream of the talent will go to the west for greener pastures. 

China, after losing many companies’ manufacturing bases, is pumping a lot of money into India to create industrial unrest.  It may be a politically sensitive matter, but it is the ground reality… 

The African continent can throw a big challenge to India in future.  It is a younger continent than India and more laborious than us.  They are rich in minerals.  The only drawback they have is the ecosystem. This can pose the biggest threat to the Indian economy.

The resources required in a business constitute 4 Ms: – Manpower, Money, Material and Method. Managing these 4 Ms efficiently can give you a competitive advantage.  And they are under your fold,  Rajesh Khosla told the HR Professionals. 

Meela Sanjay, Chairperson of the HR committee of FTCCI in his introductory address said the labour codes have received the approval of both houses of the parliament as well as Hon. President’s assent. The final notification of making these codes effective is something which has been on the anvil for some time now. Now that the elections are over and the new government is in place, the implementation of the labour codes may take centre very soon.

Countries across the globe are competing to get investments, vying with each other to make doing business simpler and easier for investors by way of removing the stringent restrictions on businesses.   Employees play a key role in this area.

The full-day conclave had technical sessions such as Industrial Relations Code and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code by Sri Niranjan Rao; Salient features of EPF Act by Sri J. Srinivas, Asst P.F Commissioner; Code on Wages and Code on Social Security by Sri S.V. Ramachandra Rao, Managing Director, HR Chambers; Highlights of New Indian Criminal Laws 2024 by G.V. Subramanyam, Hon’ble Chairman (Retd.), Industrial Tribunal 1, Hyderabad and HR Technology – AI Impact and HR Analytics by Sri K.J.A. Swarup, General Manager, HR (retd), ITC Ltd.

Ravi Kumar, Senior Vice President while proposing a vote of thanks said that HR must be the first department in any business set-up and should be accorded due credit because it manages people.  It is the people who make or mar any organization, he added.