New Delhi, Feb 18 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the 42nd session of Indian Labour Conference on Friday.

The session is being organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The two-day Conference to be held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes, will deliberate upon several topical and critical issues which include issues connected with contractualisation of labour, issues related to migrant workers, role of social partners in appropriate skill development for employability and also the effects of global financial crisis
- viz. large scale downsizing, layoffs, and wage cut and job losses.

The "National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at Workplace" formulated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment will also be released on the occasion.

The policy, amongst other things, brings out national objectives into focus towards improvement in safety, health and environment at workplace by such methods as continuous reduction in injuries, disease and associated costs and continuous enhancement of awareness.

The conference will be attended by senior representatives of workers and employers organisations, the state labour ministers and the officers from various central ministries and departments.

Some Central Ministers have also been invited to attend the Conference. Some fruitful results are likely to emerge from the brain-storming sessions on issues before the conference.

This process will definitely strengthen the institutions of social dialogue already, in place and will result in better understanding of each others perspective and convergence of varied ideas and approaches amongst social partners.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has the unique mechanism of tripartite consultation amongst social partners - workers, employers and government, at various levels - sectoral as well as national - on issues relating to labour.

The Indian Labour Conference - the apex tripartite consultative body at national level has been aptly described as the "Labour Parliament of India", a confluence of creative forces and energies and the testing ground of tripartite consensus in decision making.

The first such tripartite consultation at national level was held in 1942 as Tripartite National Labour Conference - subsequently renamed as Indian Labour Conference since 1944.

So far, 41 Sessions of Indian Labour Conference have been held to discuss prominent labour related issues. (ANI)