New Course by Labour Department Will Help Ease Burden on Courts – Labour Minister Adv. Akash Fundkar

Certificate Course in ‘Legal Framework and Discipline Management’ launched at Na. Me. Lokhande Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies

Mumbai : The Labour Department has introduced a new certificate course in Legal Framework and Discipline Management through the Na. Me. Lokhande Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies, the state’s only educational institute under the department. This course, designed for officers and employees in industries and establishments, aims to develop skilled manpower in legal compliance and discipline management. Labour Minister Adv. Akash Fundkar expressed confidence that this initiative would help resolve most disciplinary matters at the establishment level itself, thereby reducing the burden on the courts.

The course was inaugurated by Minister Fundkar at Nariman Bhavan. Also present were Principal Secretary of the Labour Department I.A. Kundan, Deputy Secretary and Institute Director Roshni Kadam-Patil, Deputy Secretaries Deepak Pokale and Swapnil Kapadnis, Administrative Officer Dipali Jape, and Deputy Director Dr. Atul Naobde.

The Institute operates in Mumbai and Nagpur and offers postgraduate degrees, diplomas, and PhD programs in Labour Studies. As per the new education policy, the existing postgraduate programs have been revised and renamed to focus on Human Capital and Personnel Management. The revamped course, now affiliated with Mumbai University and Nagpur University, has been running since the 2023–24 academic year, according to Director Roshni Kadam-Patil.

The National Education Policy 2020 recommends skill-based short-term courses. Currently, industries and factories face a shortage of trained personnel to handle disciplinary matters, leading to many cases going directly to court. To address this, the new course is designed to train in-house officers to resolve issues internally.

Course Highlights:

• Duration: 4 months
• Structure: 4 modules
• Class Schedule: Saturdays or Sundays
• Eligibility: Graduates from any stream
• Mode: Focus on hands-on, in-person training (no online classes)
• Certification: Credit-bearing course recognized by the university; successful candidates will receive a certificate from the department.