Mandaviya Urges Industry-Worker Dialogue as AI Reshapes Jobs

Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday made the case for closer engagement between industry and workers, noting that artificial intelligence, digital technology and evolving work arrangements are altering the country's labour landscape.

Speaking at the CII-EFI National Conference on Industrial Relations and Labour Awards, he said industries, workers, trade unions and governments are all stakeholders in India's development. He emphasised that the four labour codes need to be implemented with clarity and consultation.

"The industry should have clarity, the officers should have clarity, when you dialogue, the solution comes out," Mandaviya said, suggesting that government teams should engage with industries, lawyers and chartered accountants to resolve questions tied to the codes.

He observed that labour rules must evolve alongside shifts in manufacturing, the IT sector, digital technology and work-from-home arrangements. On artificial intelligence, he said the technology brings both challenges and opportunities, and that workers would need to adapt.

"We will not be able to stop time now. Time will keep doing its work. We will have to get along with time," he said, adding that those who adapt and turn changing circumstances into opportunities would succeed.

Mandaviya framed industrial growth and worker welfare as complementary rather than conflicting goals. "We want to move the industries forward. And we want to sustain the welfare of the workers," he said, describing the approach as part of sustainable development.

He also linked economic growth to employment generation, citing figures suggesting that employment generation has risen to 1.118 per cent for every 1 per cent of economic growth, compared with 0.08 per cent earlier. He noted that India's 7.8 per cent economic growth reflected a broader policy effort and stressed the importance of putting purchasing power into people's hands to support demand, manufacturing and employment.

According to the minister, the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047 would require participation from industries, industrialists, workers and governments, with all sectors acting as stakeholders in the development process.