Sahib Singh takes over as labour minister

NEW DELHI: Sahib Singh Verma, who took over as Labour Minister on Tuesday, promised to curb corruption and infuse work culture and said his priority would be to remove dissatisfaction among the workers as well as the employers.
The former Delhi Chief Minister told reporters shortly after taking up his new assignment that those found indulging in corrupt practices would be dealt with sternly.
Verma said if India has to compete with the rest of the world, "we need workers who are satisfied."
The functioning of the Provident Fund department and the Employees State Insurance Fund would be toned up, he said, adding steps would be taken to ensure that the workers did not suffer.
To a question on the implementation of the 2nd Labour Comission report submitted to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last week, Verma said he had not seen the report as yet. "I will have to see it first," he added.