Speaking at a seminar titled `Industrial Relations and Productivity' on Tuesday, Nohria said, ``While the private sector takes care of compensations, the Government should do its part in framing flexible laws and do away with draconian legislations that hinder healthy competitions and enhanced production through modernisation. We are now not just competing with the industrialised nations where wages are high but also countries like China where the labour costs are comparable to India.''

The Union Government's labour secretary L Mishra, while agreeing that legislations were a bane on the progress of Indian industry, added, ``The transnational companies operating in India should not work in isolation of the concerns of society. They should take the community into confidence while initiating reforms and make efforts to train workers for multi-skills. Industry, at large, should ensure employment security which is to create new kind of jobs and not provide job security.''

Senior advocate & additional solicitor general DY Chandrachud said: ``The endless labour legislation ensures that there are tremendous restrains on industry.''

Chandrachud cited the example of how certain sections of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1940, restrains employers from terminating work, improving plant or machinery prohibits, closure of industries whereby entry into industry is controlled but exit is impossible.

Section 9A of the IDA prevents the employer from effecting any change which includes a compensatory allowance or even a productivity allowance without the mandatory 21 days notice.

``Our legislations effectively throttles any rationalisation, improvement in plant or machinery all in the guise of protecting the labourers,'' Chandrachud said.

Internal disorganisation of priorities also result in crisis in various companies. ACC vice-president RP Mohanty said, ``Crisis in many of our organisations are due to the shocking waste of resources resulting from our inability to measure, evaluate and manage these resources.''