The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Call for Lok Adalat to deal with labour disputes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 10, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Call for Lok Adalat to deal with labour disputes

By Our Staff Reporter

Justice Bilal Nazki addressing a workshop on Labour Court Administration in Hyderabad on Friday. Also seen (from left) are P. Nageswara Rao of All-India Trade Union Congress, the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour, J. P. Pati, and Principal Secret ary, Labour, Priyadarshi Dash.

HYDERABAD, JULY 9 . The Executive Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority and judge in the High Court, Bilal Nazki, has called for a permanent Lok Adalat to deal with labour disputes.

Addressing the inaugural of a national workshop on `Strengthening Labour Court Administration in India' here on Friday, Justice Nazki said with the judicial system in the country being burdened, alternative dispute redress machinery was the only option to ensure speedy justice to workers involved in labour disputes.

He called on stakeholders of labour courts to attempt to quicken justice delivery.

He said the main challenge was to reduce the time taken to resolve these cases.

At present, there were over 5 lakh cases pending in 310 Labour Courts and Central Industrial Tribunals in different States, he said, adding that of these, about 30,000 have been pending for over 10 years.

The workshop, organised by the International Labour Organisation and the Union Ministry of Labour, is being attended by over 45 participants, including presiding officers of Central Government Industrial Tribunals, Labour Court judges from five southern States, regional labour commissioners and others.

They are expected to examine strategies for speedy disposal of industrial disputes and study mediation as an alternative.

The Union Labour Secretary, P. D. Shenoy, the General Secretary of the All-India Trade Union Congress, Potluri Nageswara Rao, the Secretary General of the Employers' Federation of India, Sharad Patil, and the Principal Secretary Labour, State Government, Priyadarshi Dash, spoke.

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