The inaugural ceremony of 2-day National Conference on Contemporary Themes and Challenges in Labour and Industrial Laws was held today at the Institute of Law, Nirma University. Hon. Mr. Justice. B. C. Patel, Former Chief Justice-High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Dr. Anup K. Singh, Director General, Nirma University, Shri Ajay Kumar Tomar, Retired Director General of Police, Prof. (Dr.) Dharmang C Baxi, Professor and Prof. (Dr.) Madhuri Parikh, Director and Dean (I/c), Institute of Law – Nirma University were the other dignitaries at the event.
Hon. Mr. Justice. B. C. Patel congratulated the Institute of Law for organising the conference on a very pertinent theme. He highlighted the changing dimensions of labour. He talked about the technological unemployment in the contemporary times. Robots and automation have replaced human beings in jobs to a great extent. While technology has its advantages; it lacks empathy and social intelligence. Therefore, human intervention will always be needed at some stage. It is imperative that labour laws maintain the balance between interests of various stakeholders in the society.
Dr. Anup K. Singh presided over the event. He stated that India is on the verge of becoming a developed nation. He traced the journey from Industry 1.0 to Industry 4.0. He highlighted that business leaders try to stay competitive when the rules of the game keep changing. That’s the challenge of industrial revolutions. Each phase shifts how we make products and manage teams. Shri Ajay Kumar Tomar talked about India’s contribution to the labour laws. He expressed concern at India’s rank at the global Human Development Index (HDI). The advent of globalization, liberalization, and technological advancements, including AI and robotics, has brought new challenges. Prof. (Dr.) Dharmang C Baxi stated that the main thrust of this 2 days Conference is to identify the contemporary legal issues involved in the area of labour and industrial laws to explore legal solutions for the same and chart out a roadmap of legal steps in resolving the various issues and challenges
Earlier Prof. (Dr.) Madhuri Parikh delivered the welcome address. She stated that labour law is a crucial area with wide-reaching impacts on employers, employees, consumers, and the national economy. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues, severely affecting migrant workers and daily wagers, with unemployment rates rising sharply. In response, India passed four new labour codes in 2019-2020 to simplify and rationalize existing laws. Dr. Gururaj Devarhubli- Assistant Professor at the Institute delivered the vote of thanks.