Apfc2015 Labour Aw Notes Sample Career Quest Delhi 9990840999

7/23/2019 Apfc2015 Labour Aw Notes Sample Career Quest Delhi 9990840999

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CAREER QUEST / 09811299811, 09990840999 STUDY KIT/ Industrial Relations & Labour Laws

Ministry of Labour &

Employment

The Ministry of Labour & Employment is one of

the oldest and important Ministries of the Gov-

ernment of India. The main responsibility of the

Ministry is to protect and safeguard the inter-

ests of workers in general and the poor deprived

and disadvantaged sections of the society, inparticular. Further it aims to creating a healthy

work environment for higher production and pro-

ductivity and to develop and coordinate voca-

tional skill training and employment.

At present, there are 44 labour related statutes

enacted by the Central Government dealing with

minimum wages, accidental and social secu-

rity benefits, occupational safety and health,

conditions of employment, disciplinary action,

formation of trade unions, industrial relations,

etc. Government's attention is also focused onpromotion of welfare and providing social secu-

rity to the labour force both in organized and

unorganized sectors, in tandem with the pro-

cess of liberalization. These objectives are

sought to be achieved through implementation

of various labour laws, which regulate the terms

and conditions of service and employment of

workers. The State Governments are also em-

powered to enact legislations, as labour is a

subject in the concurrent list under the Consti-

tution of India.

LIST OF CENTRAL ACTS

01. The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

02. The Employees Provident Fund and Mis-

cellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

03. The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and

Welfare) Act, 1986

04. The Mines Act, 1952

05. The Iron are Mines, Manganese are Mines

and Chrome are Mines Labour Welfare (Cess)

Act, 1976

06. The Iron are Mines, Manganese are Mines

and Chrome are Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1976

07. The Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act,

1946

08. The Beedi Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1976

09. The Limestone and Dolomite Mines Labour

Welfare Fund Act, 1972

10. The Cine Workers Welfare (Cess) Act, 1981

11. The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976

12. The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981

13. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Heoulatlon)

Act, 1986

14. The Building and Other Constructions Work-ers' ( Regulation of Employment and Conditions

of Service) Act, 1996

15. The Contract Labour (Bequlation and Aboli-

tion) Act, 1970

16. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

17. The I ndustrial Disputes Act, 1947

18. The Industrial Employment (Standinq Or-

ders) Act, 1946

19. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regula-

tion of Employment and Conditions of Service)

Act, 1979

20. The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnish-

ing Retu rns and Maintaining Registers by Cer-

tain

Establishments) Act, 1988 .:

21. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

22. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

23. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

24. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

25. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936

26. The Cine Workers and Cinema Theatre

Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1981

27. The Buildinq and Other Construction Work-

ers Ces s Act, 199628. The Apprentices Act, 1961

29. The Factories Act, 1948

30 The Motor Transport Act, 1961

31. The Personal Injuries (Compensation Insur-

ance) Act, 1963

32. The Personal Injuries (Emerqencv Provi-

sions) Act, 1962

33. The Plantation Labour Act, 1951

34. The Sales Promotion Employees (Condi-

tions of Se rvice) Act, 1976

35. The Trade Unions Act, 1926

36. The Weekly Holidays Act, 194237. The Working Journalists and Other News-

papers Em ployees (Conditions of Service) and

Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955

38. The Children's (Pledqinq of Labour) Act, 1938

39. The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923

(now renamed as the Employees Compensa-

tion

Act, 1923)

40. The Employment Exchange (Compulsory

Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959

41. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act,

1976

42. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditionsof Employment) Act, 1966

43. The Employees Liability Act, 1938

44. The Unorganized Workers Social Security

Act, 2008

As per the survey carried out by the National

Sample Survey Organization in the year 2009-

1 0, the total employment, in both organized

and unorganized sectors in the country was of

the order of 46.5 crore comprising of around 2.8

crore in the organized sector and the balance

43.7 crore workers in the unorganized sector.Out of 43.7 crore workers in the unorganized



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sector, there are 24.6 crore workers employed

in agricultural sector, about 4.4 crore in con-

struction work and remaining in manufacturing

and service.

In order to ensure welfare of workers in the un-

organized sector which, inter-alia, include weav-

ers, handloom workers, f ishermen and

fisherwomen, toddy tappers, leather workers,

plantation labour, beedi workers, the

Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act,

2008' has been enacted. As per the provisions

of the Act, a National Social Security Board has

been constituted for recommending formulation

of' social security schemes viz. life and disabil-

ity cover, health and maternity benefits, old age

protection and any other benefit as may be de-

termined by the Government for unorganized

workers.

Vision

Decent working conditions and improved qual-

ity of life of workers, ensuring India without childlabor in hazardous sectors and enhancing em-

ployability through employment services and

skill development on a sustainable basis.

Mission

Improving the working conditions and the qual-

ity of life of workers through laying down and

implementing policies / programmes / schemes

/ projects for providing social security and wel-

fare measures, regulating conditions of work,

occupational health and safety of workers, elimi-

nating child labour from hazardous occupationsand processes, strengthening enforcement of

labour laws and promoting skill development and

employment services.

FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL SECURITY

DIVISION

List of subjects–

1. Matters concerning framing of social secu-

rity policy especially for the organized sector of

workers.

2. Administration of Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.

3. Administration of the Employees’ Provident

Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952

and three schemes framed there under, namely:-

i. The Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme,

1952

ii. The Employees’ Pension scheme, 1995

iii. The Employees’ Deposit linked Insurance

Scheme, 1976.

4. Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.

5. Maternity Benefits Act, 1961.

6. Payment of Gratuity, Act, 1972

7. Establishment matters relating to the Em-

ployees’ State Insurance Corporation – Consti-

tution of ESI Corporation, Standing Committee

and Medical Benefit Council of ESIC as also

Regional Board.

8. Administrative matters of ESI Corporation

including implementation of ESI Scheme in

New Geographical Areas, opening of Sub-Re-

gional Offices of ESIC and up-gradation of Medi-

cal facilities.

9. Annual report, Budget and accounts, and

matters connected with auditing of accounts of

the ESIC and EPFO

10. Issues relating to International Social Se-

curity Association(ISSA) ; and other interna-

tional Social Security organizations. Process-

ing of ILO Conventions relating to Social Secu-

rity.

11. All Parliamentary matters and MP/VIP Ref-

erences in relation to the above as also legisla-

tive matters/ amendment in respect of the afore-

said Acts.

12. Vigilance matters/ Disciplinary proceed-

ings relating to officers of EPFO and ESIC.

13. Representations from employees of ESIC

and EPFO, and general public grievances on

ESIC/ EPFO/Social Security measures in In-dia.

14. All matters relating to setting up of EPF

Appellate Tribunal – Establishment matters and

appointment of Staff.

15. Constitution of the Central Board of Trust-

ees and Regional Committees, EPFO.

16. All matters relating to :

i. Pattern of investment of provident fund

money;

ii. Declaration of rate of interest on the provi-dent fund;

iii. Enhancement of the rate of provident fund

contributions;

iv. Budget of the EDLI Scheme and EPS;

v. Payment of Central Government contribu-

tion and administrative charges for Family Pen-

sion Scheme, Deposit Linked Insurance under

the EPF Act as well as the Assam Tea Planta-

tion Provident Fund Act.

vi. References relating to recovery of EPF/ESI

dues/Exemptions and Exclusions from the

EPF&MP Act and also the ESI Act.



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Online services:

Recent Initiatives

SHRAM SUVIDHA PORTAL

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has de-

veloped a unified Web Portal 'Shram Suvidha',

catering to four major organisations under its

aegis: Office of Chief Labour Commissioner

(Central); Directorate General of Mines Safety;

Employees' Provident Fund Organization; and

Employees' State Insurance Corporation.

The portal's four main features are:

1. Unique Labour Identification Number (LIN) al-

lotted to Units facilitating online registration.

2. Filing of self-certified, simplified Single Online

Return by industry. Units will only file a single

consolidated Online Return, instead of sepa-

rate Returns. Amendments to 10 Rules already

undertaken.

3. Transparent Labour Inspection Scheme via

computerized system as per risk-based crite-ria and uploading of Inspection Reports within

72 hours by Labour Inspectors.

TRANSPARENT CENTRAL LABOUR INSPEC-

TION SCHEME FOR RANDOM INSPECTION

(a) Computerized list of inspections to be gen-

erated randomly as per risk-based objective

criteria.

(b) Serious matters to be covered under man-

datory inspection list.

(c) Complaints-based inspections to be deter-

mined centrally after examination of data andevidence.

(d) Mandatory uploading of Inspection Reports

within 72 hours.

(e) Since the Labour Inspection Scheme's

launch, 21,552 inspections generated as on 01

January 2015; of these, 18,149 are already up-

loaded.

(f) Ten States have indicated interest in joining

'Shram Suvidha'.

e= EASIER SOCIAL SECURITY (EPFO )

PORTABILITY THROUGH UNIVERSAL AC-

COUNT NUMBER (UAN) FOR EMPLOYEESPROVIDENT FUND

(i) Digitization of complete database of 4.24cr

EPF subscribers and allotment of UAN to each

member.

(ii) UAN is being seeded with Bank Account,

Aadhar Card and other KYC (Know Your Cus-

tomer) details to promote financial inclusion.

(iii) Employees' EPF accounts to be updated

monthly and members informed via SMS.

(iv) Direct access to EPF accounts; will enable

members to access and consolidate previous

accounts.Online pensioners can view their ac-count and disbursement details online

Additionally:

An Online Transfer Claims Portal (OTCP) has

been launched to facilitate transfer of member

accounts after a job change.

Online registration of establishments with

EPFO 26,696 establishments registered online

as on 1.1.2015

Software launched to allow exempt establish-

ments to file Statutory Returns online.

Establishments can remit statutory EPF dues

electronically from any of the 58 banks via which

payments are made; the 58 include all major

banks in India.

All payments (100%) to pensioners and 98% of

other payments to members are made electroni-

cally.

e = EFFICIENT HEALTH AND INSURANCE

(ESIC )

As a social security organization under the Min-

istry of Labour & Employment, the Employees'

State Insurance Corporation provides compre-hensive medical care and cash benefits in con-

tingencies such as Sickness, Maternity Leave,

Disablement, death due to on-duty injury and

loss of jobs of beneficiaries from the organized

sector working class falling in the lower wage

bracket.

Project 'Panchdeep': To digitize internal and

external processes and ensure efficiency in

operations, especially services to Employers

and Insured Persons, ESIC has launched its IT

Project 'Panchdeep'.

Project 'Panchdeep': To digitize internal andexternal processes and ensure efficiency in

operations, especially services to Employers

and Insured Persons, ESIC has launched its IT

Project 'Panchdeep'.

Pehchan Card: On registration, the Insured

Person's (IP) photograph is clicked and finger-

prints of the IP and family members are

scanned. Two sets of Pehchan Card (one for

the IP, another for family members) are provided

for fast and convenient delivery of services.

Employer Portal under 'Panchdeep': The Em-

ployer Portal permits all transactions online

without visiting any ESIC Office, saving time andpreventing the drudgery of routine paperwork.

Employer-Employee Registrations are done

online. The portal enables employers to file

monthly contributions, generate Temporary

Identity Cards and create monthly contribution

challans online.

IP Portal under 'Panchdeep': Through the IP

Portal, Insured Persons can check contributions

paid/payable by employers, family details, en-

titlement to various benefits and status of claims.

e-Biz Platform: Under the Ministry of Labour &

Employment, ESIC is the first entity to inte-grate its services (Registration of Employers via



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e-Biz portal of the Department of Industrial

Policy and Promotion or DIPP) to promote ease

of business and curb transaction costs.

e = EXPERTISE IN TRAINING (DGET)

National Council for Vocational Training-Man-

agement Information System Portal

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has

developed NCVT-MIS portal to streamline the

functioning of ITIs, Apprenticeship Scheme and

assessment/certification of all NCVT training

courses.

All certificates (current academic year onwards)

will be issued online as e-certificates.

The MIS portal will act as a single-window, self-

service platform delivering services to current

and prospective trainees, employers/establish-

ments, ITIs, State Directorates and DGET.

ITI data from 10 states has already been up-

loaded. Hall tickets and mark sheets for the

first semester of the current academic year will

be generated via the portal.

Skill Development Initiative Portal

DGET's Skill Development Initiative (SDI) Por-

tal (https://www.sdi.gov.in) has been upgraded

to make it more user-friendly, improve control

and ensure timely execution of activities. Bio-

metric attendance of trainee and placement

tracking and new features

National Career Service Initiatives in

progress

National Career Service (NCS) is being imple-

mented as a Mission Mode Project by the Min-istry to transform the National Employment

Service and provide various job-related services

such online registration of job seekers and job

vacancies as career counselling, vocational

guidance, information on skills development

courses, internships, apprenticeship, etc.

The NCS will be supported by a national portal

with Call Centre/Helpdesk and a network of

delivery channels. The NCS portal is slated to

be launched by 31 March 2015.

e = EXTRA REACH FOR UNORGANISED

WORKERS (DGLW)1. Initiatives in Progress: Unorganised Work-

ers’ Identity Card

(i) Identification and registration of unorganized

workers by State Governments as per Unorga-

nized Workers Social Security Act, 2008 lead-

ing to creation of unorganized workers’ data-

base.

(ii) Portable Smart Card to unorganized work-

ers linked to Aadhar and bank account num-

bers to be issued by States in 2015-16.

(iii) Convergence of Social Security Schemes

for unorganized workers on a single platform.(iv) Single point of contact for unorganized work-

ers’ Social Security Schemes.

(v) Holistic monitoring of schemes to assess

access to and quality of services for unorga-

nized workers.

LABOUR BUREAU : For collation,collection and

publication of labour statistics and evaluation

of various labour enactments, besides being the

source of important economic indicators.

DGET – DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF EM-

PLOYMENT & TRAINING : The apex organiza-

tion for development and coordination of

programmes relating to Vocational Training and

Employment Services at the National level.

CLC(C) – CHIEF LABOUR COMMISSIONER

(CENTRAL) : Also known as Central Industrial

Relations Machinery, CLC maintains harmoni-

ous industrial relations, mainly in the Central

Government domain.

DGFASLI - DIRECTORATE GENERAL, FAC-TORY ADVICE SERVICE AND LABOUR INSTI-

TUTES : An advisory body to assist the Minis-

try in formulating national policies on occupa-

tional safety and health in factories,docks and

other workplaces.

DGMS – DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF MINES

SAFETY : The Regulatory Agency for safety in

mines and oil fields with the mission to improve

safety and health standards, practices and per-

formance.

DGLW – DIRECTOR GENERAL LABOUR

WELFARE (WELFARE COMMISSIONERS) :

Administers various labour laws for the welfare

of unorganized workers, and schemes relating

to Health, Education,Housing,etc.

ESIC – EMPLOYEES' STATE INSURANCE

CORPORATION : A multidimensional social

security system tailored to provide socio-eco-

nomic protection to workers and their

dependants in the organized sector.

EPFO – EMPLOYEES' PROVIDENT FUNDORGANISATION : The institution of contribu-

tory provident fund, pension scheme and insur-

ance scheme for the organized sector

workforce.

CBWE – CENTRAL BOARD FOR WORKERS

EDUCATION : Works on schemes for Workers'

Education, and aims at increasing awareness

of the workforce for effective participation in the

country's socio-economic development



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Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana'

(RSBY)

Active Smart Cards : 37,191,843 as on date:

30/04/14

What is RSBY?

Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govern-

ment of India has launched a health insurance

scheme for BPL families which is calledRashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).

Who is eligible?

The beneficiary is any Below Poverty Line (BPL)

family, whose information is included in the dis-

trict BPL list prepared by the State government.

The eligible family needs to come to the enroll-

ment station, and the identity of the household

head needs to be confirmed by the authorized

official.

What is the insurance coverage in RSBY?Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana provides cover

for hospitalization expenses upto Rs. 30,000/-

for a family of five on a floater basis. Transpor-

tation charges are also covered upto a maxi-

mum of Rs. 1,000/- with Rs. 100/- per visit.

What is the premium for RSBY?

The premium for RSBY is different in different

set of districts. State Governments select in-

surance companies through open tendering pro-

cess and technically qualified lowest bid is se-

lected.

Who pays the premium for RSBY?

Government pays the premium for RSBY. Cen-

tral Government pays 75% of the total premium

(90% in case of Jammu & Kashmir and North

east States) while State Government pays the

remaining premium.

Will beneficiaries have to pay anything to get

the policy?

Beneficiaries need to pay Rs. 30 per family at

the time of enrollment.

What is the time period for the enrollment and

the policy period for the beneficiaries?

In case of new policy, the Scheme shall com-

mence operation from the 1st of the succeed-

ing month in which the smart card is issued.

Thus, for example, if the initial smart cards are

issued anytime during the month of April in a

particular district the scheme will commence

from 1st of May. The scheme will last for one

year till 30th of April of next year. This would be

the terminal date of the scheme in that particu-

lar district. However, in the same example, if the card is issued in the month of May, June

and July then the insurance will immediately

start from the next day itself for the beneficia-

ries and policy will be over on 30th April of next

year. Thus, all cards issued in the district in

May will also have the Policy start date as 1st

of May (even if issued subsequent to the date)

and terminal date as 30th April of the following

year.

Recently, RSBY has been extended to building

and other construction workers registered un-

der the Building and other Construction Work-

ers (Regulation of Employment and Condition

of Service) Act, 1996, street vendors, beedi

workers, MGNREGA beneficiaries (who have

worked for more than 15 days during the pre-

ceding financial year) and domestic workers.

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EPFO

The Employees' Provident Fund

The Constitution of India under "Directive Prin-

ciples of State Policy" provides that the State

shall within the limits of its economic capacity

make effective provision for securing the right

to work, to education and to public assistance

in cases of unemployment, old-age, sickness

& disablement and undeserved want.

The EPF & MP Act, 1952 was enacted by

Parliament and came into force with effect from

4th March,1952. A series of legislative interven-

tions were made in this direction, including the

Employees' Provident Funds & Miscellaneous

Provisions Act, 1952. Presently, the followingthree schemes are in operation under the Act:

1. Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952

2. Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance

Scheme, 1976

3. Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995 (replac-

ing the Employees' Family Pension Scheme,

1971)

The Employees' Provident Fund

Organisation, India, is one of the largest provi-

dent fund institutions in the world in terms of

members and volume of financial transactionsthat it has been carrying on.

EPFO : Structure

1 Central Provident Fund Commissioner

2 Financial Advisor & Chief Accounts Officer

3 Addl. Central Provident Fund Commissioner

(HR)


(Pension)


(Compliance)




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(Customer Services)

7 Addl. Central Provident Func Commissioner

(Information Services)

8 Chief Vigilance Officer

9 Chief Engineer

10 Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (HR)

11 Regional Provident Fund Commissioner

(Pension)


(Compliance)

13 Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (Re-

coveries)


(Customer Services)


(Headquarters, PQ & Conference)

16 Regional Provident Fund Commissioners

(Administrative Services, Local & Regional)

17 Director (Information Services)

18 Deputy Directors (Information Services)

19 Assistant Directors (Information Services)

20 Assistant Provident Fund Commissioners -

for respective subject matter divisions-------------------------------------------------------------------

ESICEmployees’ State Insurance Corporation

The promulgation of Employees’ State Insurance

Act, 1948(ESI Act), by the Parliament was the

first major legislation on social Security for work-

ers in independent India. It was a time when

the industry was still in a nascent stage and

the country was heavily dependent on an as-

sortment of imported goods from the developedor fast developing countries. The deployment of

manpower in manufacturing processes was lim-

ited to a few select industries such as jute, tex-

tile, chemicals etc. The legislation on creation

and development of a fool proof multi-dimensional

Social Security system, when the country’s

economy was in a very fledgling state was obvi-

ously a remarkable gesture towards the socio

economic amelioration of a workface though lim-

ited in number and geographic distribution. In-

dia, notwithstanding, thus, took the lead in pro-

viding organized social protection to the work-ing class through statutory provisions.

The ESI Act 1948, encompasses certain

health related eventualities that the workers are

generally exposed to; such as sickness, ma-

ternity, temporary or permanent disablement,

Occupational disease or death due to employ-

ment injury, resulting in loss of wages or earn-

ing capacity-total or partial. Social security pro-

vision made in the Act to counterbalance or

negate the resulting physical or financial dis-

tress in such contingencies, are thus, aimed at

upholding human dignity in times of crises

through protection from deprivation, destitution

and social degradation while enabling the soci-

ety the retention and continuity of a socially

useful and productive manpower.

History

The scheme was inaugurated in Kanpur

on 24th February 1952 (ESIC Day) by then

Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. The

venue was the Brijender Swarup Park, Kanpur

and Panditji addressed a 70,000 strong gather-

ing in Hindi in the presence of Pt.Gobind Ballabh

Pant, Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh; Babu

Jagjivan Ram, Union Labour Minister; Raj Kumari

Am rit Kaur, Un ion He al th Mini st er ;

Sh.Chandrabhan Gupt, Union Food Minister and

Dr.C.L.Katial, the first Director General of ESIC.

The scheme was simultaneously launched at

Delhi as well and the initial coverage for both

the centres was 1,20,000 employees. Our first

prime Minister was the first honorary insured

person of the Scheme and the declaration formbearing his signature is a prized possession of

the Corporation.

It is important to mention here that it blos-

somed as the first social security scheme in

1944, when the Govt. of the day was still

British.The first document on social insurance

was “Report on Health Insurance” submitted to

the Tripartite Labour Conference, headed by Prof.

B.P.Adarkar, an eminent scholar and visionary.

The Report was acclaimed as a worthy docu-

ment and forerunner of the social securityscheme in India and Prof. Adarkar was acknowl-

edged as “Chhota Beveridge” by none other than

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Sir, William Beveridge,

as all know, was one of the high priests of so-

cial insurance. The report was accepted and

Prof. Adarkar continued to be actively associ-

ated with it till 1946. On his disassociation he

strongly advocated management of the Scheme

by an expert from ILO. In 1948 Dr. C.L.Katial,

an eminent Indian doctor from London took over

as the 1st Director General of ESIC and he

steered the affairs of the fledgling Scheme till

1953.

Since the red letter day of 24th February

in the annals of social security in India , there

has been no looking back. A lighted lamp which

is the logo of ESIC truly symbolises the spirit

of the Scheme, lighting up lives of innumerable

families of workers by replacing despair with

hope and providing help in times of distress,

both physical and financial.

During the 54 years of its existence, ESIC

has grown from strength to strength and theCorporation owes it, most of all, to the commit-



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ment, dedication and perseverance of persons

like Prof. Adarkar and Dr. Katial.

Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948

The promulgation of Employees’ State Insurance

Act, 1948 envisaged an integrated need based

social insurance scheme that would protect the

interest of workers in contingencies such as

sickness, maternity, temporary or permanent

physical disablement, death due to employment

injury resulting in loss of wages or earning ca-

pacity. the Act also guarantees reasonably good

medical care to workers and their immediate

dependants.

Following the promulgation of the ESI Act

the Central Govt. set up the ESI Corporation to

administer the Scheme. The Scheme, thereaf-

ter was first implemented at Kanpur and Delhi

on 24th February 1952. The Act further absolved

the employers of their obligations under the

Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and Workmen’s

Compensation Act 1923. The benefit providedto the employees under the Act are also in con-

formity with ILO conventions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

CHILD LABOUR

National Child Labour Project

To rehabilitate the children withdrawn from work,

the Government is implementing the National

Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme in 266

districts of the country. The NCLP Scheme

started in 1988. Under the Project, children with-drawn from work are enrolled in special schools,

where they are provided education, vocational

training, nutrition, stipend, health care, etc.

before mainstreaming them into formal educa-

tion system. Under NCLP Scheme, expendi-

ture of Rs. 92.71 crore was incurred against

Revised Estimate of Rs. 92.80 crore for 2010-

11. During 2011-12 the expenditure of Rs. 70

crore has been incurred (upto November 21,

2011) against Budget Estimate of Rs. 373 crore.

A Central Monitoring Committee under the

Chairpersonship of Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment with representation from State

Governments and concerned Ministries/Depart-

ments has been set up for supervision, moni-

toring and evaluation of the National Child Labour

Project. As per available information, 94657

child labour during 2010-11 and 51641 child

labour during 2011-12 (Upto June, 2011) have

been mainstreamed under NCLP Scheme.

This is a major scheme for the rehabilitation

of child labour. Under the scheme, Project

Societies at the district level are fully funded for

opening up of special school/Rehabilitation

Centres for the rehabilitation of child labour.

The special schools/Rehabilitation Centres

provide non-formal education, vocational train-

ing, supplementary nutrition, stipend etc. to

children withdrawn from employment.

The child workers identified in the survey

are put in the special schools and provided the

following facilities- Non-formal/formal education;

Skilled/craft training; Supplementary nutrition @

Rs. 5/- per child per day; Stipend @ Rs. 100/-

per child per month; and Health care facilities

through a doctor appointed for a group of 20

schools.

Labour Jurisdiction

Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a sub-

ject in the Concurrent List where both the Cen-

tral & State Governments are competent to en-

act legislation subject to certain matters being

reserved for the Centre.

Labour Jurisdiction : Constitutional Status:

Union List

Entry No. 55 : Regulation of labour and safetyin mines and oil fields

Entry No. 61: Industrial disputes concerning

Union employees

Entry No.65: Union agencies and institutions

for "Vocational ...training..."

Concurrent List

Entry No. 22 : Trade Unions; industrisl and

labour disputes.

Entry No.23: Social Security and insurance,

employment and unemployment.

Entry No. 24: Welfare of abour including condi-tions of work, provident funds, employers 'inval-

idity and old age pension and maternity ben-

efit.

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Kailash Satyarthi , original name Kailash

Sharma (born January 11, 1954, Vidisha,

Madhya Pradesh, India), Indian social reformer

who campaigned against child labour in India

and elsewhere and advocated the universal right

to education. In 2014 he was the corecipient of

the Nobel Peace Prize, along with teenage

Pakistani education advocate Malala Yousafzai,

“for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of

all children to education.”

Satyarthi established a magazine,

Sangharsh Jaari Rahega (“The Struggle Will

Continue”), which documented the lives of vul-

nerable people. In 1980 founded the nonprofit

Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA; “Save the

Childhood Movement”)

The BBA took a radically confronta-

tional approach, with members descending on

guarded brick and carpet factories and liberat-

ing children who had been forced into servitudeby their parents.



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SOCIAL SECURITY

Introduction

Matters relating to Social Security are

listed in the Directive Principles of State Policy

and the subjects in the Concurrent List. The

following social security issues are mentioned

in the Concurrent List (List III in the Seventh

Schedule of the Constitution of India) –

Item No. 23: Social Security and insurance,

employment and unemployment.

Item No. 24: Welfare of Labour including condi-

tions of work, provident funds, employers’ liabil-

ity, workmen’s compensation, invalidity and old

age pension and maternity benefits.

Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy

Article 41 Right to work, to education and to

public assistance in certain cases

The State shall, within the limits of its eco-nomic capacity and development, make effec-

tive provision for securing the right to work, to

education and to public assistance in cases of

unemployment, old age, sickness and disable-

ment, and in other cases of undeserved want.

Article 42 Provision for just and humane condi-

tions of work and maternity relief

The State shall make provision for secur-

ing just and humane conditions of work and for

maternity relief.

WHY DO WE NEED SOCIAL SECURITYSocial Security protects not just the sub-

scriber but also his/her entire family by giving

benefit packages in financial security and health

care. Social Security schemes are designed to

guarantee at least long-term sustenance to fami-

lies when the earning member retires, dies or

suffers a disability. Thus the main strength of

the Social Security system is that it acts as a

facilitator - it helps people to plan their own fu-

ture through insurance and assistance. The suc-

cess of Social Security schemes however re-

quires the active support and involvement of em-ployees and employers.

As a worker/employee, you are a source

of Social Security protection for yourself and

your family. As an employer you are respon-

sible for providing adequate social security cov-

erage to all your workers.

Background information on Social Security

India has always had a Joint Family sys-

tem that took care of the social security needs

of all the members provided it had access/own-

ership of material assets like land. In keeping

with its cultural traditions, family members and

relatives have always discharged a sense of

shared responsibility towards one another. To

the extent that the family has resources to draw

upon, this is often the best relief for the special

needs and care required by the aged and those

in poor health.

However with increasing migration, urban-

ization and demographic changes there has

been a decrease in large family units. This is

where the formal system of social security gains

importance. However, information and aware-

ness are the vital factors in widening the cover-

age of Social Security schemes.

Social Security Benefits in India are Need-

based i.e. the component of social assistance

is more important in the publicly-managed

schemes-

In the Indian context, Social Security is a

comprehensive approach designed to preventdeprivation, assure the individual of a basic mini-

mum income for himself and his dependents

and to protect the individual from any uncer-

tainties. The State bears the primary responsi-

bility for developing appropriate system for pro-

viding protection and assistance to its

workforce. Social Security is increasingly

viewed as an integral part of the development

process. It helps to create a more positive atti-

tude to the challenge of globalization and the

consequent structural and technological

changes.

WORKFORCE IN INDIA

The dimensions and complexities of the

problem in India can be better appreciated by

taking into consideration the extent of the labour

force in the organized and unorganized sectors.

The latest NSSO survey of 1999-2000 has

brought out the vast dichotomy between these

two sectors into sharp focus. While as per the

1991 census, the total workforce was about 314

million and the organized sector accounted for

only 27 million out of this workforce, the NSSO’s

survey of 1999-2000 has estimated that theworkforce may have increased to about 397 mil-

lion out of which only 28 million were in the or-

ganized sector. Thus, it can be concluded from

these findings that there has been a growth of

only about one million in the organized sector

in comparison the growth of about 55 million in

the unorganized sector.

Organized and Unorganized Sectors

The organized sector includes primarily

those establishments which are covered by the

Factories Act, 1948, the Shops and Commer-cial Establishments Acts of State Governments,



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the Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act,

1946 etc. This sector already has a structure

through which social security benefits are ex-

tended to workers covered under these legisla-

tions.

The unorganized sector on the other hand,

is characterized by the lack of labour law cov-

erage, seasonal and temporary nature of occu-

pations, high labour mobility, dispersed func-

tioning of operations, casualization of labour,

lack of organizational support, low bargaining

power, etc. all of which make it vulnerable to

socio-economic hardships. The nature of work

in the unorganized sector varies between re-

gions and also between the rural areas and the

urban areas, which may include the remote ru-

ral areas as well as sometimes the most in-

hospitable urban concentrations. In the rural

areas it comprises of landless agricultural

labourers, small and marginal farmers, share

croppers, persons engaged in animal hus-

bandry, fishing, horticulture, bee-keeping, toddytapping, forest workers, rural artisans, etc. where

as in the urban areas, it comprises mainly of

manual labourers in construction, carpentry,

trade, transport, communication etc. and also

includes street vendors, hawkers, head load

workers, cobblers, tin smiths, garment makers,

etc.

SYNOPSIS OF SOCIAL SECURITY LAWS

The principal social security laws enacted

in India are the following:(i) The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948

(ESI Act) which covers factories and establish-

ments with 10 or more employees and provides

for comprehensive medical care to the employ-

ees and their families as well as cash benefits

during sickness and maternity, and monthly pay-

ments in case of death or disablement.

(ii) The Employees’ Provident Funds & Mis-

cellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (EPF & MP

Act) which applies to specific scheduled facto-

ries and establishments employing 20 or more

employees and ensures terminal benefits to

provident fund, superannuation pension, and fam-ily pension in case of death during service.

Separate laws exist for similar benefits for the

workers in the coal mines and tea plantations.

(iii) The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923

(WC Act), which requires payment of compen-

sation to the workman or his family in cases of

employment related injuries resulting in death

or disability.

(iv) The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (M.B. Act),

which provides for 12 weeks wages during ma-

ternity as well as paid leave in certain other re-

lated contingencies.(v) The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (P.G.

Act), which provides 15 days wages for each

year of service to employees who have worked

for five years or more in establishments having

a minimum of 10 workers.

Separate Provident fund legislation exists

for workers employed in Coal Mines and Tea

Plantations in the State of Assam and for sea-

men.

NEW INITIATIVES

• The various Central Acts on Social Secu-

rity are being examined in the light of the rec-

ommendations of the 2nd National Commission

on Labour. Relevant amendments are proposed

in the EPF and MP Act as also the ESI Act.

The consultation process is on with reference

to the amendment suggestions received in case

of the Maternity Benefit Act and the Workmen’s

Compensation Act.

• Innovative measures are proposed in the run-

ning of the Social Security Schemes of EPFO

and ESIC. This includes flexible benefitschemes tailored to the specific requirements

of different segments of the population.



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Industrial Disputes

1.What are Industrial Disputes?

Industrial Dispute means any dispute or differ-

ences between employers and employers or

between employers and workmen or between

workmen and workmen which is connected with

the employment or non-employment or the

terms of employment or with the conditions of

labour of any person.

2. What are the different categories of In-

dustrial Disputes?

The Second Schedule of the I.D. Act deals with

matters within the jurisdiction of Labour Courts

which fall under the category of Rights Disputes.

Such disputes are as follows:

1. The propriety or legality of an order passed

by an employer under the standing orders;

2. The application and interpretation of stand-

ing orders which regulate conditions of employ-

ment.3. Discharge or dismissal of workmen includ-

ing reinstatement of, or grant of relief to, work-

men wrongfully dismissed;

4. Withdrawal of any customary concession or

privilege;

5. Illegality or otherwise of a strike or lock-out;

and

6. All matters other than those specified in the

Third Schedule.

The Third Schedule of the I.D. Act deals

with matters within the jurisdiction of Industrial

Tribunals which could be classified as Interest

Disputes. These are as follows:-

1. Wages, including the period and mode of

payment;

2. Compensatory and other allowances;

3.Hours of work and rest intervals;

4. Leave with wages and holidays;

5. Bonus, profit sharing, provident fund and gra-

tuity;

6. Shift working otherwise than in accordance

with standing orders;

7. Classification by grades;

8. Rules of discipline;9.Rationalization;

10. Retrenchment of workmen and closure of

establishment; and

11. Any other matter that may be prescribed.

3. Who can raise an Industrial Dispute?

Any person who is a workman employed in an

industry can raise an industrial dispute. A work-

man includes any person (including an appren-

tice) employed in an industry to do manual,

unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, cleri-

cal or supervisory work for hire or reward. Itexcludes those employed in the Army, Navy,

Air Force and in the police service, in manage-

rial or administrative capacity. Industry means

any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture

or calling of employers and includes any call-

ing, service, employment, handicraft, or indus-

trial occupation or avocation of workmen.

4. How to raise an Industrial Dispute?

A workman can raise a dispute directly before

a Conciliation Officer in the case of discharge,

dismissal, retrenchment or any form of termi-

nation of service. In all other cases listed at 2

above, the dispute has to be raised by a Union

/ Management.

5. Who are Conciliation Officers and what

do they do?

The Organization of the Chief Labour

Commissioner(Central) acts as the primary

conciliatory agency in the Central Government

for industrial disputes. There are the Regional

Labour Commissioners (Central) and Assistant

Labour Commissioners (Central) who on behalf of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) act

as Conciliatory Officers in different parts of the

country.

The Conciliation Officer make efforts to

resolve the dispute through settlement between

the workmen and the management. The duties

of Conciliation Officers have been laid down

under Section 12 of the Industrial Disputes Act.

6. What happens if conciliation fails?

In case of failure of conciliation (FOC) a report

is sent to Government (IR Desks in Ministry of Labour). The Ministry of Labour after consider-

ing the FOC Report exercises the powers avail-

able to it under Section 10 of the Industrial Dis-

putes Act and either refers the dispute for adju-

dication or refuses to do so. Details of func-

tions of IR Desks and reasons for declining may

be seen above.

There are at present 17 Central Govern-

ment Industrial Tribunals-cum-Labour Courts in

different parts of the country to whom industrial

disputes could be referred for adjudication.

These CGTIs-cum-Labour Courts are at New

Delhi, Mumbai (2 CGITs), Bangalore, Kolkata, Asanso l, Dhanbad (2 CGITs), Jabalpur,

Chandigarh, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur,

Hyderabad, Chennai and Bhubaneshwar. Out

of these CGITs, 2 CGITs namely Mumbai-I and

Kolkata have been declared as National Indus-

trial Tribunals.

7. What happens when the dispute is re-

ferred to Labour Court?

After the matter is referred to any of the CGIT-

cum-Labour Court, the adjudication process

begins. At the end of the proceedings an Awardis given by the Presiding Officer.



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The Ministry of Labour under Section 17

of the I.D. Act publishes the Award in the Offi-

cial Gazette within a period of 30 days from the

date of receipt of the Award.

8. How is the Award implemented?

An Award becomes enforceable on the expiry

of 30 days from the date of its publication in the

Official Gazette. The Regional Labour Com-

missioner is the implementing authority of the

Awards.

9. What are the provisions for General Pro-

hibition of Strikes and Lockouts?

No workman who is employed in any industrial

establishment shall go on strike in breach of

contract and no employer of any such work-

man shall declare a lockout:

(a) During the pendency of conciliation proceed-

ings before a Board and seven days after the

conclusion of such proceedings,

(b) During the pendency of such proceedings

before a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tri-

bunal and 2 months after the conclusion of such

proceedings.

(c) During the pendency of arbitration proceed-

ings before an Arbitrator and 2 months after the

conclusion of such proceedings, where a notifi-

cation has been issued.

(d) During any period during in which a settle-

ment or Award is in operation in respect of anyof the matters covered by the settlement of

Award.

10. Does the workman have the Right to

go on strike with proper notice in Public

Utility Services?

No person employed in a Public Utility Service

can go on strike without giving to the employer

notice of strike;

(a) Within 6 weeks before striking.

(b) Within 14 days of giving such notice.

(c) Before the expiry of the date of strike speci-

fied in such notice.(d) During the pendency of any conciliation pro-

ceedings before a Conciliation Officer and 7 days

after the conclusion of such proceedings.

11. Does the Employer have the right to lock

out any Public Utility Service?

No employer carrying on any Public Utility ser-

vice can lockout any of his workman :

(i) Without giving to them notice of lockout pro-

vided within 6 weeks before locking out.

(ii) Within 14 days of giving such notice.(iii) Before expiry of the date of lockout speci-

fied in any such notice.

(iv) During the pendency of any conciliation pro-

ceedings before a Conciliation Officer and 7 days

after the conclusion of such proceedings.

12. What compensation will a workman get

when laid off?

Whenever a workman (other than a badli work-

man or a casual workman) whose name is borne

on the muster rolls of an industrial establish-

ment employing 50 or more workmen on an

average working day and who has completed

not less than one year of continuous service

under an employer laid off, whether continuously

or intermittently, he is to be paid by the em-

ployer for all days during which he is so laid off,

except for such weekly holidays as may inter-

vene, compensation which shall be equal to fifty

per cent of the total of the basic wages and

dearness allowance that would have been pay-

able to him had he not been so laid-off.

13. What are the conditions precedent toretrenchment of workmen?

No workmen employed in any industry who has

been in continuous service for not less than one

year under an employer can be retrenched by

that employer until :

(a) The workman has to be given one month’s

notice in writing indicating the reasons for re-

trenchment or the workman has to be paid in

lieu of such notice, wages for the period of the

notice.

(b) The workman has to be paid, at the time of retrenchment, compensation which is equiva-

lent to fifteen days’ average pay (for every com-

pleted year of continuous service) or any part

thereof in excess of six months; and

(c) Notice in the prescribed manner is to be

served on the appropriate Government (or such

authority as may be specified by the appropri-

ate Government by notification in the Official

Gazette).

14. What compensation will the workman

get when an undertaking closes down?

Where an undertaking is closed down for anyreason whatsoever, every workman who has

been in continuous service for not less than one

year in that undertaking immediately before

such closure is entitled to notice and compen-

sation in accordance with the provisions as if

the workman had been retrenched.

Provided that where the undertaking is

closed down on account of unavoidable circum-

stances beyond the control of the employer, the

compensation to be paid to the workman is not

to exceed his average pay for three months.



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INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947

The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 came into

existence in April 1947. It was enacted to make

provisions for investigation and settlement of

industrial disputes and for providing certain safe-

guards to the workers. The Act contains 40

sections divided into 7 chapters. Chapter – I

deals with the title, definitions, etc. Chapter –

II contains the various authorities under the Act.

These authorities include Conciliation Officers,

Labour Courts and Tribunals. Chapter – III con-

tains the main scheme of the Act such as refer-

ence of disputes to Labour Courts and Indus-

trial Tribunals. Chapter – IV lays down the pro-

cedure, power and duties of the authorities con-

stituted under the Act. Chapter – V contains

provisions to prohibit strikes and lock-outs, dec-

laration of strikes and lock-outs as illegal, and

provisions relating to lay-off and retrenchment

and closure. Chapter-VI contains provisions of

various penalties under the Act. Chapter–VII

contains miscellaneous provisions.

TRADE UNIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2001

The Trade Unions Act, 1926 provides for regis-

tration of trade unions of employers and work-

ers and in certain respects, it defines the law

relating to registered trade unions. It confers

legal and corporate status on registered trade

unions. The Act is administered by the con-

cerned State Governments. Certain provisions

of the Act were amended and given effect to

w.e.f. 9.1.2002.

2. Some of the salient features of the TradeUnions (Amendment) Act, 2001 are:-

(i) No trade union of workmen shall be regis-

tered unless at least 10% or 100, whichever is

less, subject to a minimum of 7 workmen en-

gaged or employed in the establishment or in-

dustry with which it is connected are the mem-

bers of such trade union on the date of making

of application for registration.

(ii) A registered trade union of workmen shall at

all times continue to have not less than 10% or

100 of the workmen, whichever is less, subjectto a minimum of 7 persons engaged or em-

ployed in the establishment or industry with

which it is connected, as its members.

(iii) A provision for filing an appeal before the

Industrial Tribunal / Labour Court in case of non-

registration / restoration of registration has been

provided.

(iv) All office bearers of a registered trade union,

except not more than one-third of the total num-

ber of office bearers or five, whichever is less,shall be persons actually engaged or employed

in the establishment or industry with which the

trade union is connected.

(v) Minimum rate of subscription by members

of the trade union is fixed at one rupee per an-

num for rural workers, three rupees per annum

for workers in other unorganized sectors and

12 rupees per annum in all other cases.

(vi) For the promotion of civil and political inter-

est of its members unions are authorized to set

up separate political funds.

PLANTATION LABOUR ACT, 1951

· The Plantation Labour Act, 1951 provides for

the welfare of plantation labour and regulates

the conditions of work in plantations.

· The Act is administered by the State Govern-

ments and is applied to any land used as plan-

tations which measures 5 hectares or more in

which 15 or more persons are working. The

State Governments are however, free to declareany plantation land less than 5 hectares or less

than 15 persons to be covered by the Act. It

applies to all the plantation workers whose

monthly wages does not exceed Rs.750/- per

month.

· In every Plantation covered under the Act medi-

cal facilities for the workers and their families

are to be made readily available as may be pre-

scribed by the State Government.

· The Act provides for setting up of canteens,creches, recreational facilities suitable accom-

modation and educational facilities for the ben-

efit of plantation workers in and around the work

places in the plantation estate.

· The Act provides that no adult workers and

adolescent or child shall be employed for more

than 48 hours and 27 hours respectively a week,

and every worker is entitled for a day of rest in

every period of 7 days.

SCHEME FOR PARTICIPATION OF WORK-

ERS IN MANAGEMENTIn December 1983, following a review of the

progress of participative schemes in industry, a

new scheme was prepared and notified.

This scheme is applicable to all central Public

Sector enterprises, except those specifically

exempted. It envisaged constitution of bipar-

tite forums at shop and plant levels. In enter-

prises considered suitable, it was also to be

implemented at the Board level. The mode or

representation of workers’ representatives was

to be determined by consultation with the con-cerned unions, any parity in representation be-



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tween the management and unions continued

to be the norm.

The scheme brought within the ambit of the

councils a wider spread of work-related issues.

At the plant level, the council could discuss is-

sues relating to personnel, Welfare, environment

and community development, plant operations

and functioning, and also take up financial mat-

ters relating to profit and loss statements, bal-

ance sheets, operating costs, plant financial

performance, labour and managerial costs, etc.

UNORGANISED WORKERSDEFINITION

The first National Commission on Labour (1966-

69) defined unorganised labour as those who

have not been able to organise themselves in

pursuit of common objectives on account of con-

straints like casual nature of employment, ig-

norance and illiteracy, small and scattered size

of establishments and position of power enjoyed

by employers because of the nature of industry

etc. Nearly 20 years later the National Com-

mission on Rural Labour (NCRL: 1987-91)

visualised the same scenario and the same

contributory factors leading to the present sta-

tus of unorganised rural labour in India.

EXTENT OF UNORGANISED LABOUR

The 1991 Census has classified workers in this

country into two distinct categories as main

workers and marginal workers. The main work-

ers are those workers who work for the major

part of the year (296 days) and marginal work-ers are those who work for less that 6 months

(183 days). Out of a total work force of 314 mil-

lion in India, about 286 million (i.e. about 91%)

were main workers and about 28 million (i.e.9%)

were marginal workers. The data of the Census

of India also shows that the bulk of the working

population is in the unorganised sector (i.e. 91%

of the total population) and this workforce is as

yet not actively unionised. The organised sec-

tor, which is generally extant around urban settle-

ments, accounts for only 9% of the total work

force.

CATEGORIES OF UNORGANISED LABOUR

Unorganised workers can be categorised broadly

under the following four heads, namely -

1. In terms of occupation : Small and marginal

farmers, landless agricultural labourers, share

croppers, fishermen, those engaged in animal

husbandry, in beedi rolling, beedi labelling and

beedi packing, building and other construction

workers, leather workers, weavers, artisans, salt

workers, workers in brick kilns and stone quar-

ries, workers in saw mills, oil mills etc. may

come in this category.

2. In terms of nature of employment

3. Attached agricultural labourers, bonded

labourers, migrant workers, contract and casual

labourers come under this category.

4. In terms of specially distressed categories:

Toddy tappers, scavengers, carriers of head

loads, drivers of animal driven vehicles, loaders

and unloaders, belong to this category.

5. In terms of service categories: Midwives,

domestic workers, fishermen and women, bar-

bers, vegetable and fruit vendors, newspaper

vendors etc. come under this category.

LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION

The Government have taken various initiatives

through enactment of legislations, creation of

welfare funds, spreading workers education and

through supporting non-governmental

organisations to bring this deprived class into

the mainstream of our work force. Some of the

important legislations which help unorganised

workers are as under:-

Minimum Wages Act, 1948.Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.

Maternity Benefit Act,1961

The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act,

1970.

Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of

Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,

1979.

LABOUR : THRUST AREAS

Labour Policy and legislation;Safety, health and welfare of labour;

Social security of labour;

Policy relating to special target groups such as

women and child labour;

Industrial relations and enforcement of labour

laws in the Central sphere;

Adjudication of industrial disputes through Cen-

tral Government Industrial Tribunals cum Labour

Courts and National Industrial Tribunals.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976

BACK GROUND

The Government of India has consistently main-tained a proactive approach to the issue of forced

or bonded labour in the country. It recognises

this evil system as a gross infringement of the

fundamental Human Rights of the affected citi-

zens and is implacably committed to its total

eradication in the shortest possible time.

India has ratified ILO Convention No.29

(Forced Labour Convention 1930) on

30.11.1954. Following the ratification, the

bonded labour system was abolished by law

throughout the country w. e. f. 25th October 1975

by an Ordinance. Subsequently, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act was passed by the Par-



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liament in 1976 but given effect to from 25.10.75,

the date when the Ordinance was promulgated.

The Act provides for the abolition of bonded

labour, bonded labour system and bonded debt.

‘Bonded labour stands abolished and would be

illegal wherever it exists’- this is how the sub-

ject figures as an item in the old 20 Point

Programme for national reconstruction, which

goes to show the primacy and centrality at-

tached to this subject at the national level.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

Institutional mechanisms in the form of Vigilance

Committees at the district and sub-divisional

levels under the Chairmanship of District and

Sub-Divisional Magistrates have been provided

for, in the Statute. Anyone who wants to file a

complaint under the law about existence of

bonded/forced labour in any part of the territory

of India should file it before the Vigilance Com-

mittee under the Act. Executive Magistrates

have been empowered under the Act to con-

duct summary trial of offences, to release thebonded labourers(s) and to issue release cer-

tificates. The Act also lays down stringent pe-

nal provisions against offending employers. The

penalties include imprisonment for a term which

may extend to 3 years and also with fine which

may extend to Rs.2,000/-.

In order to assist the State Governments

in their task of rehabilitation of released bonded

labourers, the Ministry of Labour has launched

a Centrally Sponsored Scheme since May, 78

for rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. Un-

der the scheme, the Government of India ex-tends rehabilitation assistance @Rs. 10,000/-

per freed bonded labourer.

SURVEY AND REHABILITATION

The issue of bonded labour has been discussed

in the Supreme Court/High Court in the form of

several public interest litigations. As per direc-

tions of the Supreme Court in WP No.3922/85,

a survey for identification of bonded labourers

was conducted during October-December 1996.

Under the Centrally sponsored Scheme, expen-

diture up to the end of 8th Five Year Plan

amounted to Rs.40.51 crore. During the 9th FiveYear Plan, expenditure of Rs.24.50 crores has

been incurred. During the 10th Five Year Plan

(2002-07) Central Grants amounting to Rs 97.28

crores have been provided to various State Gov-

ernments/UTs under the said scheme.

CENTRAL ACTION GROUP OF NATIONAL

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

The Supreme Court in its order dated 11.11.97,

in the above writ petition, has requested the

National Human Rights Commission to be in-

volved in dealing with the issue of bonded labour.

International Labour

Organization (ILO)

What is ILO?

Answer: The International Labour Organization

(ILO) is a specialised UN agency,

tripartite in nature with governments, employ-

ers and workers as members. It was

established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles.

Is India a member of ILO?

Answer: India is one of the founder members of

International Labour Organization

which came into existence in 1919 and has been

a permanent member of the ILO

Governing Body since 1922.

How many members are there in ILO?

Answer: At present the ILO has 183 Members.

What are the main functions of the ILO?

Answer: The principal function of the ILO is totake care of the interests of the

workers by means of setting up the international

labour standards in the form of

Conventions and Recommendations.

Which are the main organs of the ILO?

Answer: The ILO is composed of three organs:

1. A general assembly (International Labour

Conference): Meets once every year in the

month of June.

2. An executive council (Governing Body): Meets

three times every year in the months of March,

June and November.

3. A permanent secretariat (International Labour

Office).

What are the main features of International

Labour Conference of the ILO?

Answer: The International Labour Conference

of the ILO is one of the largest

Conferences at the international level and is

characterised by a unique feature of

tripartism i.e., ‘governments’, ‘workers’ and ‘em-

ployers’ representatives participate indepen-

dently. It is the supreme body of the ILO.

What are the functions of the Governing

Body of ILO?

Answer: It is the executive body of the ILO, with

a tripartite composition. It elects the

Director General of the ILO, prepares the

organization’s programmes and budget, sets

the agenda of the Conference, determines the

organization’s standards and its technical co-

operation policy, supervises the implementation

of related programmes and implements the de-

cisions of the Conference.



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Labour Reforms:

Fillip to Ease of Doing

Business

In a significant legislative move to make

industry-running attractive, the Centre is holding

consultative meetings on the draft Small

Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill, 2014 which will

regulate factories employing less than 40

workers. In addition, the Apprentices Act, 1961

was amended last year to make it more

responsive to industry and to youth.

FOR SEVERAL decades now, rigid labour laws

have been the major reason behind India’s slow

employment growth compared to the expansion

of the country’s labour force. Economic analysts

have stressed time and again that labour reforms

were needed not just for industrial growth, but

also to generate adequate employment

opportunities. There was, however, little progress

on the issue as the consensus needed among

the stakeholders remained elusive. Fortunately,

the new Government has realized that this

impasse could not longer be allowed to continue

indefinitely, if India were to continue its pace as

an emerging economic power. Initiative taken

by the Government in its first year of work have

shown that “ease of doing business” and

“Shramev Jayate” (glory of work) could go

together and combine into a mechanism for a

faster and more inclusive growth. Adopting amulti-pronged strategy, the Centre has initiated

steps to rationalize the multiplicity of laws, while

encouraging the States to go ahead with their

labour reform initiatives. Success in these

attempts will come only if workers are convinced

that they are an essential part of the progress

process, and not just an expenditure burden.

Numerous reports and documents have pointed

out that a status quoist approach will not do if

industrial growth is to get a push, or jobs have

to be created for India’s rising young population.The Mid-year Economic Analysis for 2014-15

has stated that reforms of labour laws and

reducing the costs of doing business “will need

to be a joint endeavour of the States and the

Centre.” The Government recognized the need

to work accordingly, duly accepting the

Concurrent List status of the subject. Among

the first reform actions of the Centre was,

therefore, facilitating Presidential Assent for

labour reforming in Rajasthan, thereby setting

an example for further reform initiatives by the

States; while consolidating and making

transparent a number of labour laws at theCentral level.

The Economic Survey, 2014-15 (Vol. 1, Chapter

1), referring to the severity of unemployment,

has stated that regardless of which data source

is used, it seems clear that employment growth

is lagging behind growth in labour force. For

example, according to the Census, between

2001 and 2011, labour force growth was 2.23

per cent. This is higher than most estimates of

employment growth in this decade of closer to

1.4 per cent. Creating more rapid employment

opportunities was clearly a major policy

challenge, it said.

At present, there are 44 labour-related statutes

enacted by the Central Government, and

another 100 by the State Governments.

Underscoring the problem the labour laws were

posing in their present shape, the Twelfth Five

Year Plan (2012-2017) (Vol. 3, Ch. 22) too had

stated “the multiplicity of labour laws

administered both by the Central and State

Governments are not conducive for the congenial

development of the factory sector.” It said 84per cent of the labour sector being unorganized

was outside the purview of the labour laws, while

the remaining 16 per cent constituting the

organized sector was “overburdened with

regulatory interference at all levels.” Labour being

a Concurrent subject, there was a need to

simplify the labour laws both at the Central and

State levels, it pointed out.

Going specific, the Twelfth Plan said “to

generate overall employment, at least labour

intensive manufacturing industries like textilesand garments, leather and footwear, gems and

jewellery, food processing and so on, must be

permitted to adjust their labour forces, in

response to fluctuations in demand. The focus

should be on promoting labour market flexibility

without compromising fairness to labour.”

While init iating its moves, the present

Government has committed itself to establish

the dignity of labour, transparency and

accountability in the enforcement of Labour Laws

and to promote workers’ welfare through good

governance initiatives. The Government’s mantrais “Shramev Jayate” – that is, work is

celebration only when both partners – the worker

and industry – thoroughly benefit from it.

Undertaking the daunting task of making the

Indian labour legislation easily comprehensible,

the Labour Ministry has begun the process of

rationalizing the entire labour laws into five

Labour codes – Code on Wages, Code on

Safety and Working Conditions, Code on

Industrial Relations, Code on Social Security

and Welfare and a Code on EmploymentTraining and Miscellaneous. An inter-Ministrial



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Group has been formed to consider the

suggestions of the stakeholders and to draft the

Codes. As part of the spirit of tripartism, the

Labour Ministry has begun holding meetings

with the stakeholders on the proposed Codes.

The Labour and Employment Minister held three

tripartite consultation meetings – the third on

6th May, 2015, on the crucial draft Labour Code

on Industrial Relations with representatives from

Central Trade Unions, Employers’ Associations,

Labour Departments of State Government and

Central Ministries and Departments.

The proposed Labour Code on Industrial

Relations seeks to rationalize and amalgamate

the relevant provisions of the Trade Unions Act,

1926, The Industrial Employment (Standing

Orders) Act, 1946 and The Industrial Disputes

Act, 1947. There has been longstanding demand

from industry for flexible labour laws but trade

unions consider that the changes would bring

job insecurity to workers, and it would be difficult

to form unions. To build a consensus, theMinister invited suggestions from the participants

for incorporation in the Labour Code. The

Minister assured the meetings that the rights

of the workers will be protected at all costs,

and views of the participants will be considered

while finalizing the Labour Code on Industrial

Relations.

There have been two similar meetings on the

draft Labour Code on Wages, the second on

the 13th April, 2015, where the participants

discussed the Code which proposes toamalgamate the relevant provisions of the

Minimum Wages Act 1948, The Payment of

Wages Act 1936, The Payment of Bonus Act

1965, and The Equal Remuneration Act 1976.

The Minister briefed the participants about the

proposed Labour Code and invited suggestions

from the participants who included

representatives of the Central Trade Unions,

Employers’ Associations and State

Governments.

In a significant legislative move to make industry-

running attractive, the Centre is holdingconsultative meetings on the draft Small

Factories (Regulation of Employment and

Conditions of Services) Bill, 2014 which will

regulate factories employing less than 40

workers. In addition, the Apprentices Act, 1961

was amended last year to make it more

responsive to industry and to youth. Non-

engineering graduates and diploma holders have

been included. Compliance is portal-based and

there are penalties in the form of fine only.

Signalling that the second-generation economicreforms will be led by the States, the Central

Government helped the Rajasthan Government

get Presidential assent for the three labour law

amendment Bills relating to the Industrial

Disputes Act, 1947, the Contract Labour Act,

1970 and the Factories Act, 1947. Among the

major changes, the Industrial Disputes Act will

allow companies employing up to 300

employees to lay off workers or close down

without taking the government’s prior approval.

Earlier, those with up to 100 employees were

allowed to do so. This amendment is expected

to bring to the organized sector more investors

who were reluctant to do business as they had

to approach authorities over small issues if they

employed more than 100 workers. The small

industries will particularly benefit.

Among the other changes in the Rajasthan laws,

the amended Industrial Disputes Act now

provides that in case of retrenchment, a worker

has to raise an objection within three months.

There was no time limit earlier. Trade unions

can be formed only if they get 30 per cent of theworkers as members. The requirement at

present is 15 per cent. The Factories Act will

apply to factories with 40 workers, if without

electricity; and 20 workers, if with electricity.

The earlier requirement was just half. The

Contract Labour Act will apply to companies

employing more than 50 workers as against 20

earlier. Industries will be able to hire more

temporary workers without passing on to them

the benefits contract workers are entitled to.

The Rajasthan labour reforms have been hailed

by eminent economists, among others. SeveralStates are considering following the Rajasthan

initiative.

The Government launched the ‘Make in

India’ campaign and combined it with a

detailed process and policy re-engineering

to make India a Global Manufacturing Hub

for creation of job opportunities for millions

of youth. Investment policies have been

fine-tuned to bring business to India. The

first year of the Government has generated

the much needed promise and hope, and

it is for administrative dynamisms to fulfillthem.

Outside the influence of labour reform

controversies, the Government in its Budget for

2015-16 announced several initiatives which will

in due course lead to creation of millions of jobs.

The Budget’s tax proposals have kept in view

the case of doing business which will lead to

faster creation of jobs. The Government launched

the ‘Make in India’ campaign and combined it

with a detailed process and policy re-engineering

to make India a Global Manufacturing Hub for creation of job opportunities for millions of youth.



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Investment policies have been fine-tuned to bring

business to India. The first year of the

Government has generated the much needed

promise and hope, and it is for administrative

dynamisms to fulfil them.

The Shramev Jayate Karyakaram, inaugurated

by the Prime Minister on 16 th October 2014,

unveiled the Government’s good governance

package with the belief that the “ease in

compliance” will create massive avenues of

employment for the youth of this country and in

turn promote “transition to formality” in a big

way.

Digital India, as part of the package, will present

a new regime of governance through effective

use of information technology. The Ministry of

Labour & Employment launched the unified Web

Portal ‘Shram Suvidha Portal’ on 16th October,

2014. The portal is catering to four major

Organizations under the Ministry, namely Office

of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central),Directorate General Mines Safety, Employees’

Provident Fund Organization and Employees’

State Insurance Corporation.

The four main features of this Portal are: Unique

Labour Identification Number (LIN) is allotted to

Units to facilitate online registration; Filing of

self-certified and simplified Single Online Return

by the establishments. Unites will only file a

single consolidated Return online instead of filing

separate Returns; Transparent Labour

inspection scheme through computerizedsystem based on risk based criteria and

uploading the inspection reports within 72 hours

by the Labour inspectors; Timely redressal of

grievances will be ensured with the help of the

portal. The Unique Labour Identification Number

(LIN) has been already allotted to more than

9.5 lakh existing establishments. The facility

for filing Common Returns under eight Labour

Acts has been launched recently on 24th April

2015. This service will reduce the transaction

costs of business and make it easy and

convenient to meet their obligations. The e-Biz

portal which integrates 14 regulatorypermissions at one source has been launched.

The Government recognized that employability

or rural youth is the key to unlocking India’s

demographic dividend, as rural population still

forms close to 70 per cent of India’s population.

The Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal

Yojana was launched keeping in view only this.

The Budget 2015-16 has kept Rs.1500 crore

for this scheme. Disbursement will be through

a digital voucher directly into qualified students

bank accounts.

For the unorganized workers, who constitute92 per cent of the work force, the Government

has promised to start their identification and

registration as per the Unorganized Workers

Social Security Act, 2008, leading to creation

of a database of unorganized workers. An

identity card to unorganized workers with

linkages with Aadhaar No. and Bank Account

No. will be issued for convergence of Social

Security Schemes for unorganized workers on

a single platform.

In the organized sector, Universal Account

Numbers have been allotted to more than 4.47

crore workers to pave way for complete

portability of Employees Provident Fund (EPF)

benefits. Here, 99 per cent payments to

members are being made electronically. SMS

alert for monthly contribution and accumulation

are being sent. It is proposed to include contract

and construction workers in UAN to bring them

under formal social security cover.

The Government has put the seal of perpetuity

to the grant of a minimum pension of Rs.1000per month for Employees Pension Scheme

(EPS) subscribers. Notified in September 2014,

the higher pension has now secured the approval

of the Union Cabinet to continue in perpetuity.

Pension is now being credited to about 50 lakh

pensioners every month on the first working day

of the month. Also, a notification has been issued

for enhancement of wage ceiling under the EPF

Scheme from Rs.6500 to Rs.15000. For the first

time every, 15.54 crore member accounts

pertaining to 103 of 122 EPF offices have been

updated on 1st

April 2015, that is, on the firstday of new financial year.

With more than 65 per cent of the

population being young in the working age

category, the Government is responding to

the vision of Skill India to harness the

potential of this unprecedented

demographic dividend. A separate Ministry

for Skill Development has been created.

Over the last one year, there have been

major initiatives to promote Demand

Responsive Vocational Training And Career

Services to enhance employment andemployability of the youth and other

vulnerable sections of the workforce.

With more than 65 per cent of the population

being young in the working age category, the

Government is responding to the vision of Skill

India to harness the potential of this

unprecedented demographic dividend. A

separate Ministry for Skill Development has

been created. Over the last one year, there have

been major initiatives to promote Demand

Responsive Vocational Training And Career Services to enhance employment and



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employability of the youth and other vulnerable

sections of the workforce. The Apprentice

Protsahan Yojana (APY) launched on 16 th

October, 2014, with focus on MSME, aims to

supports one lakh apprentices in next two and

a half years by sharing 50 per cent of the stipend

burden with a vision to have more than 20 lakh

apprentices in next few years against the

present number of 2.9 lakh. Enhanced rates of

stipend indexed to minimum wage of semi-

skilled workers have been notified for trade

apprentices.

The Budget said the Government is establishing

a mechanism to be known as SETI (Self-

Employment and Talent Utilization). SETU will

be a techno-financial incubation and facilitation

programme to support all aspect of start-up

businesses, and other self-employment

activities, particularly in technology-driven

areas. The Budget kept Rs. 1000 crore for this

project in the NITI Aayog.

Employment Services are being modernized.

The National Career Service (NCS) has become

operational in March, 2015. A hundred Model

Career Centers are to be developed to provide

training in Last-Mile Employability skills. Another

milestone was achieved with NCVTMIS Portal

which went l ive from December 2014.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for

construction sector is another unique initiative

to bring the informally-trained constructions

workforce in the ambit of skilled labour. Training

of ITI instructors through distance learningtechnology has been initiated to improve the

quality and delivery of training in ITIs.

The Government considers tripartism as the

hallmark of Labour Policy discourse, the

meetings convened by the Labour and

Employment Ministry have generated good

debate. Chairing a tripartite meeting with State

Governments, Central Trade Unions and

Employers’ Organizations, the Minister of State

for Labour and Employment (independent

Charge), Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya, on 13 th

January this year, said there was need for pro-active involvement of all stakeholders in the

labour matters. Affirming faith in the consultative

process, he said the Ministry of Labour follows

the legacy of social dialogue.

The employers unanimously agreed that the

vision of industrial development can be achieved

only when workers’ interest coincides and is

taken into account in a holistic manner. Tripartite

consultations were held for the second time on

the proposed EPF Act Amendments also on 31

March, 2015. The Minister informed thestakeholders about the major changes being

mulled in the proposals. It is proposed to give

the workers a choice to either join the EPF or

the National Pension Scheme (NPS). The Trade

Unions however, raised the issue of their long-

pending 10-point charter of demands given by

them and sought more consultations with the

Government. The unions plan to give their view

after a national convention at Delhi.

The wide-ranging worker-friendly amendments

proposed in the EPF Act include bringing down

the minimum number of employees required for

coverage under the Act from the existing 20 to

10, doing away with the Schedule Head for

coverage and bringing in a negative list instead,

special provisions for encouraging the

functioning of small-scale units, provisions for

setting up of multiple Appellate Authorities under

the Act and removing ambiguities in the

implementation of the Act. The amendments will

ensure greater clarity in the definitions under

the Act, especially with regard to wages which

qualify for deduction for the purposes of the Act,introducing greater transparency and

accountability in the enforcement of the Act by

having an objective inspection scheme.

The tripartite discussions showed there was

general acceptance for the proposed

amendments. The NPS/EPF choice would

mean greater choice for the workers, they felt.

However, there were also views that NPS cannot

match the benefits offered by EPFO and

therefore, was not comparable. Views were

expressed felt that the amendments would helpin sharpening the competitiveness of Indian

Industry and would enable India to become a

manufacturing hub. There was a need to further

encourage the concessions granted to the small-

scale industries, it was noted. Keeping the

dialogue alive, the Government responded to the

stakeholders saying their concerns will be kept

in view while giving final touches to the legislative

amendments.

------------------------------------------------------------------

TM



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Labour and EmploymentTHE Ministry of Labour & Employment is one

of the oldest Ministries of the Government of

India. The main responsibility of the Ministry is

to protect and safeguard the interest of workers

in general and to poor deprived and

disadvantages sections of the society, in

particular. Further it aims to create a healthy

work environment for higher production and

productivity and to develop and coordinatevocational skill training and employment

services. Government’s attention is also

focused on promotion of welfare and providing

social security to the labour force both in

organized and unorganized sectors, in tandem

with the process of liberalization. These

objections are sought to be achieved through

implementation of various labour laws, which

regulate the terms and conditions of service and

employment of workers. The state governments

are also empowered to enact legislations, as

labour is a subject in the concurrent list under the Constitution of India.

O.W.: http://www.labour.gov.in

LABOUR REFORMS

Labour Reforms essentially means taking steps

to increase production, productivity and

employment opportunities in the economy while

protecting overall interest of labour. Essentially

it means skill development, retraining,

redeployment, updating knowledge base of

workers-teaches, promotion of leadership

qualities etc. Labour Reforms also includes

labour laws reforms. Changes in the labour laws

are also done protecting the interests of workers.

Brief notes on different labour laws are given in

subsequent paragraphs.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 provides for

fixation, review, revision and enforcement of

minimum wage, both by the Central Government

and the State Government, in respect of

scheduled employment in their respective

jur isdi ct ion s. The re are 45 schedu led

employments in the Central sphere whereas thenumber of these employments in the State

sphere is 1628.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 does not allow

discrimination between male and female

workers or different minimum wages for them.

All the provisions of the Act equally apply to

both male and female workers.

In order to protect the minimum wages against

inflation, the Central Government has made

provision of Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA)linked to Consumer Price Index. As regards

States/UT Administrations, 26 of them have

made VDA as a component of minimum wages.

Both Central and State Governments revise the

minimum wages in respect of these scheduled

employments from time to time. Accordingly,

VDA is revised periodically twice a year during

April and October in the Central Sphere and the

rates were last revised w.e.f. 1st October 2013.

National Floor Level Minimum Wage

In orders to have a uniform wage structure and

to reduce the disparity in minimum wages

across the country, a concept of National Floor

Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) was mooted.

The NFLMW has been revised from time to time

primarily taking into account the increase in the

Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial

Workers. The NFLMW was revised from time

to time. The Central Government, has recently

revised the NFLMW from Rs. 100/- to Rs.137/-

per day with effect from 1st July 2013. It however,

needs to be noted that the National Floor Level

Minimum Wage, is a non-statutory measure.

Payment of Wages Act, 1936

The payment of wages Act, 1936, which is a

labour friendly Legislation, ensures primarily

timely payment of wages and that no

unauthorized deductions are made from the

wages of the workers. In exercise of the powers

conferred by sub-section (6) of Section 1 of the

Act, the Central Government, on the basis of

figures of the Consumer Expenditure Survey

published by National Sample Survey

Organization, has enhanced the wage ceilingfrom Rs.10,000/- to Rs.18,000/- per month w.e.f.

11th September 2012.

Payment of Wages (Nomination) Rules,

2009

The Central Government notified the Payment

of Wages (Nomination) Rules, 2009, on 13th

November, 2009 defining the procedure for

nomination and restricting the nomination by

workers to his family members.

Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 provides for payment of bonus to employees of factories and

other establishments employing 20 or more

persons.

The minimum bonus of 8.33 per cent is payable

by every industry and establishment under the

Section 10 of the Act. The maximum bonus

including productivity linked bonus that can be

paid in any accounting year shall not exceed

20 per cent of the salary/wages of an employee

under the sections 11 and 31A of the Act.



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Consequent to the deliberations held in the 40th

and 41st section of the Indian Labour Conference

(ILC), the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 was

amended to enhance the eligibility limit and

calculation ceiling and bring employees

employed through contractors on building

operations within the ambit of the Act.

Acc ording ly, the Paymen t of Bonus

(Amendment) Act, 2007 (45 of 2007) was notified

on 13 December 2007 enhancing the eligibility

limit from Rs. 3,500/- to Rs.10,000/- per month

and calculation ceiling from Rs. 2500/- to Rs.

3500/- per month by amendment of sections 2

(13) and 12 of the Act. Section 32(vi) of the

Payment of Bonus Act 1965 has also been

omitted so as to make the employees employed

through contractors on building operations to

be eligible to receive bonus. The amendment

came into effect from 1st April, 2006.

WAGE BOARDS

In the 1990s and 60s, when the organized labour

sector was at a nascent stage of its developmentwithout adequate unionization or with trade

unions without adequate bargaining power,

Government in appreciation of the problems

which arise in the arena of wage fixation,

constituted various Wage Boards. The Wage

Boards are tripartite in character in which

representatives of workers, employers and

independent members participate and finalize

the recommendations. The utility and

contribution of such boards in the present

context are not beyond question. Except for the

Wage Boards for Journalists and Non-Journalists, newspaper and news-agency

employees, which are statutory Wage Boards,

all other Wage Boards are non-statutory in

nature.

The Second National Commissioner on Labour

(NCL) has recommended that, there is no need

for any wage boards, statutory or otherwise, for

fixing wage rates for workers in any industry.

However, the Government decided not to accept

the recommendations regarding the statutory

wage boards i.e., Wage Boards for Working

Journalists and Non-Journalists Newspaper Employees under the working Journalists and

Non-Journalists Newspaper Employees

(Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous

Provisions Act, 1955.

CONTRACT LABOUR

The system of employing contract labour is

prevalent in most industries for different jobs

including skilled and semi-skilled. It is prevalent

in agricultural and allied operations and to some

extent, in the services sector. A contract labour

is a person who is hired, supervised, contractedand remunerated by a contractor, who, in turn,

is compensated by the user enterprises. The

concern to improve the working and living

conditions of contract labour and the Supreme

Court of India’s observations in the case of

Standard Vacuum Refinery Company Vs. their

Workmen, resulted in the enactment of the

Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,

1970.

The Act seeks to regulate the employment of

contract labour to certain establishments and

to provide for its abolition in certain

circumstances and for matters connected

therewith. The Act and the Contract Labour

(Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules, 1971

came into force on 10 February 1971. The Act

provides for the constitution of Central and State

Advisory Contract Labour Boards to advise the

respective Governments on matters arising out

of the administration of the Act. The Act contains

specific provisions to ensure payment of wages

and certain amenities to be provided by the

contractor to the contract labour.

The Central and State Governments are

empowered to prohibit employment of contract

labour in any activity in an establishment and

also to grant exemption to establishments/

contractors in the case of an emergency, from

the applicability of the provisions of the Act. The

Central Government has issued 84 notifications

prohibiting employment of contract labour in

difference categories of works in different fields.

CHILD LABOURConstitutional Provisions

The Government of India stands committed to

the elimination of child labour in the country.

The Constitution provides for protection of

children from involvement in economic activities

and avocations unsuited to their age. Directive

Principles of State Policy in the Constitution

strongly reiterate this commitment and is also

provided in the Fundamental Rights. Realizing

the multifaceted nature of this problem, the

Government had embarked on a holistic and

multi-pronged programme to eliminate child

labour from the country in a phased manner,beginning with children working in hazardous

occupations and processes and progressively

covering those working in other occupations

also. On the one hand, it provides for legal action

for enforcement purposes and on the other, it

also focuses on general development

programmes for the economic empowerment of

the families of children as well as project based

action in areas of high concentration of child

labour.

Policy

Documents

Apfc2015 Labour Aw Notes Sample Career Quest Delhi 9990840999