Description
Labour legislation
Name – Prof. Mandakini Rajendra Bhosale
Lecturers P.E. Society?s Institute of Management and Career Development, Nigdi, Pune – 411044 Mobile – 9822789288
Address for Correspondence
Sindhunagar, LIG, Block 46/6, Sector 25, Pradhikaran, Nigdi, Pune - 411044 .
Labour Legislation:
Review of resent evidences
The purpose of this Paper is, to provide an overview of events of the Industrial relations system which have influenced, or are influencing, the development of industrial relations. Labour relations should be seen as an essential part of management systems and techniques, and not as a discipline or activity apart from management. It seeks to explain what sound industrial relations and labour relations policy formulation are, and to underline the importance and objectives of sound industrial relations in the current - and to some extent the future context. It next examines the role of various systems and mechanisms at different levels (national/industry/enterprise) as well as their contribution to promoting sound industrial relations. It also attempts to identify some of the elements which may generally be regarded as features of a good industrial relations system. Finally, the Paper identifies current issues in industrial relations. Following are some resent evidences … I - Third India- European Union seminar on EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS AND RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS (NEW DELHI – SEPTEMBER 22-23, 2008) India and European Union (EU) have entered into a Joint Action Plan to have a policy dialogue and cooperation in the fields of employment and social policy to share experience, periodic exchange of views and information on the following issues
i) Labour and employment issues, including employment policies, restructuring, the global employment opportunities and requirements for trained manpower; (ii) Human resource management in particular through training and skills development; and (iii) Social Security. 2. In line with the Joint Action Plan, the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the European Commission to strengthen dialogue and exchange of views and information on issues of common interests within the area of employment and social policy such as: skills, training and employment, social security, occupational health and safety; workers? participation in management; and other relevant issues jointly identified. 3. Accordingly, the first Seminar on Skills Development and training was held on 27 & 28th November, 2006 at New Delhi. The second seminar on social security and social protection was held on 17-18th September, 2007 at Lisbon, Portugal. It has now been decided to organize the 3rd seminar on “Employment Relations and Resolution of Conflicts” on 22-23 September, 2008 at Symposia Hall, NASC Complex, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, DPS Marg, Pusa, and New Delhi-110 012. The seminar will have the following thematic sessionsi) Trends in Employment Relations and Social Dialogue (ii) Collective Bargaining (iii) Worker?s Participation in Management (iv) Labour Dispute Resolution – Challenges, strategies and Best Practices. Employment and industrial relations scenario in India has been undergoing rapid transformations, coinciding with the advent and spread of globalisation. There are four broad temporal phases (1947-1965, 1966-1977; 1980-1991, and 1991 till date) in the employment and industrial relations history in India. The first phase (1947-1965) was characterized by the development of state-led industrialization, based on import substitution and employment-intensive public sector enterprises. This was a period, which witnessed rapid growth of unionization. Their membership also trebled during this period. The public sector emerged as a major arena for unionization. The tendency towards collective bargaining was effectively curbed as tripartism rather than bipartism became the norm. . This phase was marked by comparative peace and relatively low levels of industrial disputes. The second phase (1966-1977) coincided with severe industrial stagnation and low rates of employment growth. This phase saw a dramatic increase in the levels of industrial disputes owing mainly to the tightening of the labour market. Both strikes and lockouts increased, as did the number of man days lost due to disputes. Centralized structures of industrial relation system showed signs of crisis. The third phase (1980-1991) coincided with the beginning of liberalization and gradual withdrawal of the state from economic activities and the industrial relation scenario. While no overt changes in the labour law and labour market policies were made (except for the 1982 and 1984 amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 which lowered the ceiling of establishment size for requiring permission for closure and retrenchment to 100 workers and introduced the unfair labour practices schedule), there emerged significant subterranean changes affecting the industrial relations system at the level of individual firms, specific industries, and regions.
The final phase (1991 – till present), coinciding with a vigorous acceleration of economic reforms, has seen greater decline in public sector employment. The changing role of the State, competitive pressures of globalisation, technological changes, and changing work organisation, along with the resultant contractualisation and outsourcing, has impacted the employment relations scenario in the country. An overall trend in the industrial relations system in the post independence period is also seen, especially in relation to the change from a state-dominated industrial relations system and centralized wage bargaining structure to a more pluralistic and decentralized industrial relations system. This is particularly important, towards highlighting the centrality of labour and industrial relations, while evolving effective and inclusive socioeconomic policies, aimed at higher levels of economic progress.. As India is passing through process of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalisation, there is a dire need to strengthen social dialogue for promoting harmonious employment relations, both at the national and state level as under the Constitution States have concurrent jurisdiction on matters concerning labour and society. Social dialogue at the sectoral level also needs to be enriched because of the diverse needs and circumstances of different sectors such as IT and Services on the one hand and traditional industries like jute, textiles, mining etc. on the other hand. A strong foundation of social dialogue at the sector and state levels is a pre-requisite to a solid structure of social dialogue at the national level. INDIAN LABOUR CONFERENCE- Labour policy in lndia has been evolving in response to the specific needs of the situation in relation to industry and the working class and has to suit the requirements of a planned economy. A body of principles and practices has grown up as a product of joint consultation in which representatives of Government, the working class and employers have been participating at various levels. The legislation and other measures adopted by Government in this field represent the consensus of opinion of the parties vitally concerned and thus acquire the strength and character of a national policy, operating on a voluntary basis. Joint committees have been set up to assist in the formulation of policies as well as their implementation. At the apex of this tripartite machinery is the Indian Labour Conference. Following are the details of the conferences held since 1940.
Sr.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Date of conference 22-23January,1940 6-7 Sept., 1943 20-21 March, 1950 18-20 May, 1958 7-9 August, 1962 20-21 April, 1968 7-8 Sept., 1992 3-4 April,1998 9-10 Dec., 2005
Session 1st Session* 5th Session# 10 Session 16th Session 20 Session 25th Session 30 Session 35 Session 40th Session
th th th th
Venue New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi
Chairman Sh.Ramaswami Mudaliar Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Sh.Jagjivan Ram Sh.Gulzari Lal Nanda Sh.Gulzari Lal Nanda Sh.Jaisukh Lal Hathi Sh.P.A.Sangma Dr.Satyanarayan Jatiya Sh. K. Chandrashekhar Rao
I-
44th session of Labour conference held in 19 Feb 2012 in New Delhi. Key Recommendations of 44th session of Indian Labour Conference February 19.2012 ? Minimum Wages Act Coverage for all Employments Raising the wage Ceiling in the Employees Provident Fund, enhancement of Pension under Employees Pension Schemes 95, Portability of PF Account, Reduction in the Requirement of Minimum Continuous Service Etc. ? ? Stress on Matching the Large Scale Skilling Targets with Creating Similar Number of Openings in the Area of Employment Maternity Leave Under the Maternity Benefit Act be Increased from the Present Level of 12 Weeks to 24 Weeks
Key Recommendations of 44th Session of Indian Labour Conference February 19, 2012 Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge detailed about the recommendations made during the 44th Indian Labour Conference concluded at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Addressing the media persons he said this Session of the Indian Labour Conference had elaborate discussions on three agenda items – (i) Minimum Wages (ii) Social Security and (iii) Employability and Employment. The Conference was inaugurated by Hon?ble Prime Minister of India. The Conference was attended by Labour Ministers from 14 State Governments. All the major 12 Central Trade Union Organisations and 6 major employers? organisation participated in the Conference. Besides, senior officials from 23 Central Ministries and all State Governments/UTs attended the Conference. The International Labour Organisation Experts based at Delhi were also present. Shri Kharge said our huge unorganized sector poses great challenges in ensuring quality employment and extension social security coverage. Minimum Wages are an important means of protecting the interest of the workers were not in the formal sector. Our flagship health insurance scheme “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana” has covered 2.5 crore Below Poverty Line families and this Scheme is being extended to cover other category of workers.
1. Employment generation and Employability should be top agenda of the Govt. 2. Though lot of focus is being laid on training of 500 million persons by 2022, there is a need measures for creation of employment opportunities to offer the matching employment. to take appropriate
3. There is an urgent need to declare the National Employment Policy in order to provide enabling framework for facilitating employment generation and decent working conditions for all. 4. Investment in labour intensive industries should be promoted and incentivised. 5. Labour Market Information System should be established to get skill requirement from the industry and available skills from the institutes. In this regard, employment exchanges may be modernized for providing virtual job market on real time basis. 6. There should be functional and spatial integration of State and Central infrastructure and other available resources for optimal utilization of resources. 7. Existing employment in the unorganized sector should be safeguarded by assuring access to natural resources for those sectors dependent on them. In order to increase their productivity, appropriate advanced tools and technology for traditional producers should be developed. 8. Skill development should be promoted among the women and differently-abled persons. To increase participation of women in skill development, special measures should be taken. 9. National level consultation with all the stakeholders should be held immediately to finalize the road-map for preparing skill development plan leading to skilled force of 500 million persons by 2022. During the Conference a Committee was constituted to discuss Agenda Item No.(i) concerning Minimum Wages and related issues. These issues, inter alia, include norms for fixation/revision of minimum rates of wages, Variable Dearness Allowance(VDA), National Floor Level Minimum Wages etc. On the basis of detailed discussion, the following points emerged.
1. There was consensus that the Government may fix minimum wages as per the norms/ criteria recommended by the 15th ILC (1957) and the directions of the Hon?ble Supreme Court (Repttakos Co. Vs Workers? Union) 1992. The Government may take necessary steps accordingly. 2. There was a broad consensus that the Minimum Wages Act should cover all employments and the existing restriction for its applicability on the scheduled employments only should be deleted. This will also help India ratify ILO Convention No.131. 3. It was broadly agreed that there should be national minimum wages applicable to all employments throughout the country. 4. There was broad agreement on the amendment proposals as listed out . A Conference Committee was also constituted to discuss the agenda item No. (iii) i.e. “Social Security”. On the basis of detailed discussions, the following points emergedi) There was a broad-based consensus that the wage ceiling for the application of EPF Act be increased from the present level of Rs.6,500/- to Rs.10,000/- or Rs.15,000/- as already applicable for the ESI Corporation. Similarly, the ceiling for workers covered under EPF Act be reduced from 20 to 10. However, Laghu Udyog Bharati was not agreeable to this reduction in ceiling of number of workers. (ii) Minimum pension under the EPS 95 be increased to some floor level, which should not be less than Rs.1,000/, since a large number of workers receive pension which is less than that provided by the State Governments for elderly people which is normally in the range of Rs.400/- to Rs.1000/-. (iii) The PF Accounts be computerized urgently so that the workers are able to avail the facility of PF transfer and settlement immediately. Smart Cards like RSBY be issued to PF account holders. (iv) Minimum ceiling of 5 years of continuous service be reduced in case of gratuity and gratuity be made transferable in case of change of job by the employee. (v) The maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act be increased from the present level of 12 weeks to 24 weeks. This increased maternity benefits be made available only upto two children, while the lower limit be continued for more than two children. (vi) Accountability on the part of organizations implementing the social security schemes befixed in order to ensure that the beneficiaries receive the deliverables in time. Citizen Charters for these organizations be finalized early. II - AK Padmanabhan, President, Centre of Indian Trade Unions Contract workers were earlier hired only to do small jobs, but that has changed now. In most cases, these workers do the job of regular employees. Contract workforce accounts for more than 85% of the total workforce in private factories and over 50% in public sector undertakings now. The situation is ridiculous, given that regular workers are employed for the first shift and contract workers do the same job in the next shift, but are paid less than a quarter of the wages of regular employees. The law prohibits employers from hiring contract workers for jobs that are perennial in nature. However, in many factories, contract workers have been involved in direct production activities for over 25 years. Fraudulent ways have been used to overcome the legislation. Though we moved courts, the Supreme Court has given different rulings in different cases.
III - Labour laws need to be reviewed: PM NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reopened the debate on labour reforms, suggesting that there was need to periodically assess the regulations to ensure that they did not impact employment and industrial expansion. At the same time, Singh sought to play down the concerns saying that "this view has lost its importance in recent years" as state governments are increasingly showing more flexibility on labour restructuring and rationalization. "Though our government remains committed to protecting the interests of our workers, we must periodically take a critical look whether our regulatory framework has some parts which unnecessarily hamper the growth of employment, enterprise and industry without really contributing significantly to labour welfare," the prime minister said. For several years, reform of labour laws has been on the backburner in the wake of protests from the unions. In fact, there have been few statements from the UPA on the subject. But Singh's comments, which come weeks before the budget, are being seen as a sounding board of sorts in many circles. In his address, Singh touched upon two areas where there was a need to revisit the laws. The first dealt with parttime employment of women with characteristics of a full-time job. The second issue was to deal with migrant workers as the prime minister said that the system is at present weak. In recent years, treatment of migrant workers in China has been a major talking point and probably Singh wants to avoid a similar situation in India. IV - ( K.M. Sahni )Secretary Ministry of Labour & Employment says in his report that In the context of preparation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012), the Planning Commission set up a Working Group on Labour Laws and Other Labour Regulations under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, laying down the terms of reference. The subject basically relates to labour law reforms. It is a dynamic and continuous subject, evolving over time. The Report touches upon the historical background, nature and classification of various labour laws and steps already taken and being desired so that our labour laws are in conformity with changing socioeconomic scenario. The basic purpose being to promote interests of all stake holders and arriving at a consensus in the matter, we have immensely benefited from the interactions we had with them in various for a , including the deliberations in this Meeting of the Working Group. The Report tries to put in place the diverse views and at the same time show the path ahead by way of making certain useful recommendations. It is hoped that these would provide valuable input to the formulation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan V - Labour Laws: Amendments under Consideration / Undertaken ? The Present Status of amendments in certain Acts is as under: I – Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 as renamed Employees Compensation Act 1923. – Ministry of Law & Justice New Delhi (Legislative deptt0 PUBLISHED ON 22 ND Dec 2009 The Workmen Compensation (Amendment) Act 2009 enacted by Parliament in 60 th year of Republic India. Workmen Compensation Act 1923 Section 1 of the principal Act in subsection (1) for the word „WORKMEN?S the word employee „ shall be substituted. Throughout the principal Act for the words „Workman? & „workmen?s „ whrever they occur the words „employee? and „employee?s? shall respectively be substituted. (II) The Factories (Amendment) Bill 2005 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 16th August 2005. The Bill proposes to amend the Section 66 of the Factories Act 1948, so as to provide flexibility in the matter of employment of women during night shift with adequate safeguards for their safety, dignity, honour and transportation from the factory premises to their nearest point of their residence. (III) The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, ensures that wages payable to employed persons are timely disbursed and no unauthorized deductions are made from their wages. Presently, it covers only those employees whose wage
ceiling is up to Rs.1600/- per month. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2005 has received the assent of the President on 5th September, 2005. The Payments of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2005 (41 of 2005) has been notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice on 6th September, 2005. Subsequently, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has issued notification No. SO 1577(E) dated the 8th November 2005 to enforce the amended provisions w.e.f 9 th November 2005 . With the amendments, the wage ceiling for applicability of the Act, gets increased from Rs.1600/- to Rs.6500/- per month while empowering the Central Government to further increase the ceiling by way of Notification. It also enhances the penal provisions. (IV) The Cabinet had approved a proposal to amend the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act, 1988 on 11.05.2005, which intends to introduce simplified forms of registers to be maintained by the employees under certain labour laws. The amendments proposed include applicability of the Act to the establishments employing up to 500 persons instead of 19 persons, as at present. Consequently, establishments, which employ not more than 500 persons, shall not be required to file multiple returns and maintain separate registers under various labour laws. This will result in reducing the number of registers from 53 to 2 and number of returns from 11 to 1 under various labour laws, allowing maintenance of registers on computers and transmitting the annual reports or other reports by e-mail, enhancing the applicability of these provisions from 16 Scheduled Acts instead of 9, at present and 20 prescribing uniform penalty for obstruction and non-maintenance of records under the Scheduled Acts. The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on 22.08.2005. Subsequently it was referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour for its examination. As directed by the Committee , two tripartite meetings were held with t he representatives of Employers? and Employees? Group on 23rd January, 2006 and 22nd June, 2006 respectively to arrive at consensus on the Bill. However, no consensus was reached in these Meetings and further direction of the committee is awaited. (V) Amendment of the Apprentices Act, 1961 has been introduced in the Rajya on 19th May, 2006 to provide (i) reservation for Other Backward Classes, (ii) related instructions to be imparted at the cost of employer and (iii) flexibility in respect of ratio?s prescribed for Apprenticeship Scheme. The Bill has been referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour for examination. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour examined the Bill on 3rd July,2006 and decided that after receiving the recommendations of Shri M. Veerappa Moily Committee in case of reservation for OBC, the Bill be reviewed again. ? Further amendments to certain other labour laws like the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 by increasing the eligibility and calculation ceilings from Rs.3500/- to Rs.7500/- per month and from Rs.2500/- to Rs.3500/- per month respectively and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 are at various stages of consideration.
doc_585072718.docx
Labour legislation
Name – Prof. Mandakini Rajendra Bhosale
Lecturers P.E. Society?s Institute of Management and Career Development, Nigdi, Pune – 411044 Mobile – 9822789288
Address for Correspondence
Sindhunagar, LIG, Block 46/6, Sector 25, Pradhikaran, Nigdi, Pune - 411044 .
Labour Legislation:
Review of resent evidences
The purpose of this Paper is, to provide an overview of events of the Industrial relations system which have influenced, or are influencing, the development of industrial relations. Labour relations should be seen as an essential part of management systems and techniques, and not as a discipline or activity apart from management. It seeks to explain what sound industrial relations and labour relations policy formulation are, and to underline the importance and objectives of sound industrial relations in the current - and to some extent the future context. It next examines the role of various systems and mechanisms at different levels (national/industry/enterprise) as well as their contribution to promoting sound industrial relations. It also attempts to identify some of the elements which may generally be regarded as features of a good industrial relations system. Finally, the Paper identifies current issues in industrial relations. Following are some resent evidences … I - Third India- European Union seminar on EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS AND RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS (NEW DELHI – SEPTEMBER 22-23, 2008) India and European Union (EU) have entered into a Joint Action Plan to have a policy dialogue and cooperation in the fields of employment and social policy to share experience, periodic exchange of views and information on the following issues
i) Labour and employment issues, including employment policies, restructuring, the global employment opportunities and requirements for trained manpower; (ii) Human resource management in particular through training and skills development; and (iii) Social Security. 2. In line with the Joint Action Plan, the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the European Commission to strengthen dialogue and exchange of views and information on issues of common interests within the area of employment and social policy such as: skills, training and employment, social security, occupational health and safety; workers? participation in management; and other relevant issues jointly identified. 3. Accordingly, the first Seminar on Skills Development and training was held on 27 & 28th November, 2006 at New Delhi. The second seminar on social security and social protection was held on 17-18th September, 2007 at Lisbon, Portugal. It has now been decided to organize the 3rd seminar on “Employment Relations and Resolution of Conflicts” on 22-23 September, 2008 at Symposia Hall, NASC Complex, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, DPS Marg, Pusa, and New Delhi-110 012. The seminar will have the following thematic sessionsi) Trends in Employment Relations and Social Dialogue (ii) Collective Bargaining (iii) Worker?s Participation in Management (iv) Labour Dispute Resolution – Challenges, strategies and Best Practices. Employment and industrial relations scenario in India has been undergoing rapid transformations, coinciding with the advent and spread of globalisation. There are four broad temporal phases (1947-1965, 1966-1977; 1980-1991, and 1991 till date) in the employment and industrial relations history in India. The first phase (1947-1965) was characterized by the development of state-led industrialization, based on import substitution and employment-intensive public sector enterprises. This was a period, which witnessed rapid growth of unionization. Their membership also trebled during this period. The public sector emerged as a major arena for unionization. The tendency towards collective bargaining was effectively curbed as tripartism rather than bipartism became the norm. . This phase was marked by comparative peace and relatively low levels of industrial disputes. The second phase (1966-1977) coincided with severe industrial stagnation and low rates of employment growth. This phase saw a dramatic increase in the levels of industrial disputes owing mainly to the tightening of the labour market. Both strikes and lockouts increased, as did the number of man days lost due to disputes. Centralized structures of industrial relation system showed signs of crisis. The third phase (1980-1991) coincided with the beginning of liberalization and gradual withdrawal of the state from economic activities and the industrial relation scenario. While no overt changes in the labour law and labour market policies were made (except for the 1982 and 1984 amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 which lowered the ceiling of establishment size for requiring permission for closure and retrenchment to 100 workers and introduced the unfair labour practices schedule), there emerged significant subterranean changes affecting the industrial relations system at the level of individual firms, specific industries, and regions.The final phase (1991 – till present), coinciding with a vigorous acceleration of economic reforms, has seen greater decline in public sector employment. The changing role of the State, competitive pressures of globalisation, technological changes, and changing work organisation, along with the resultant contractualisation and outsourcing, has impacted the employment relations scenario in the country. An overall trend in the industrial relations system in the post independence period is also seen, especially in relation to the change from a state-dominated industrial relations system and centralized wage bargaining structure to a more pluralistic and decentralized industrial relations system. This is particularly important, towards highlighting the centrality of labour and industrial relations, while evolving effective and inclusive socioeconomic policies, aimed at higher levels of economic progress.. As India is passing through process of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalisation, there is a dire need to strengthen social dialogue for promoting harmonious employment relations, both at the national and state level as under the Constitution States have concurrent jurisdiction on matters concerning labour and society. Social dialogue at the sectoral level also needs to be enriched because of the diverse needs and circumstances of different sectors such as IT and Services on the one hand and traditional industries like jute, textiles, mining etc. on the other hand. A strong foundation of social dialogue at the sector and state levels is a pre-requisite to a solid structure of social dialogue at the national level. INDIAN LABOUR CONFERENCE- Labour policy in lndia has been evolving in response to the specific needs of the situation in relation to industry and the working class and has to suit the requirements of a planned economy. A body of principles and practices has grown up as a product of joint consultation in which representatives of Government, the working class and employers have been participating at various levels. The legislation and other measures adopted by Government in this field represent the consensus of opinion of the parties vitally concerned and thus acquire the strength and character of a national policy, operating on a voluntary basis. Joint committees have been set up to assist in the formulation of policies as well as their implementation. At the apex of this tripartite machinery is the Indian Labour Conference. Following are the details of the conferences held since 1940.
Sr.No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Date of conference 22-23January,1940 6-7 Sept., 1943 20-21 March, 1950 18-20 May, 1958 7-9 August, 1962 20-21 April, 1968 7-8 Sept., 1992 3-4 April,1998 9-10 Dec., 2005
Session 1st Session* 5th Session# 10 Session 16th Session 20 Session 25th Session 30 Session 35 Session 40th Session
th th th th
Venue New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi
Chairman Sh.Ramaswami Mudaliar Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Sh.Jagjivan Ram Sh.Gulzari Lal Nanda Sh.Gulzari Lal Nanda Sh.Jaisukh Lal Hathi Sh.P.A.Sangma Dr.Satyanarayan Jatiya Sh. K. Chandrashekhar Rao
I-
44th session of Labour conference held in 19 Feb 2012 in New Delhi. Key Recommendations of 44th session of Indian Labour Conference February 19.2012 ? Minimum Wages Act Coverage for all Employments Raising the wage Ceiling in the Employees Provident Fund, enhancement of Pension under Employees Pension Schemes 95, Portability of PF Account, Reduction in the Requirement of Minimum Continuous Service Etc. ? ? Stress on Matching the Large Scale Skilling Targets with Creating Similar Number of Openings in the Area of Employment Maternity Leave Under the Maternity Benefit Act be Increased from the Present Level of 12 Weeks to 24 Weeks
Key Recommendations of 44th Session of Indian Labour Conference February 19, 2012 Union Labour & Employment Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge detailed about the recommendations made during the 44th Indian Labour Conference concluded at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Addressing the media persons he said this Session of the Indian Labour Conference had elaborate discussions on three agenda items – (i) Minimum Wages (ii) Social Security and (iii) Employability and Employment. The Conference was inaugurated by Hon?ble Prime Minister of India. The Conference was attended by Labour Ministers from 14 State Governments. All the major 12 Central Trade Union Organisations and 6 major employers? organisation participated in the Conference. Besides, senior officials from 23 Central Ministries and all State Governments/UTs attended the Conference. The International Labour Organisation Experts based at Delhi were also present. Shri Kharge said our huge unorganized sector poses great challenges in ensuring quality employment and extension social security coverage. Minimum Wages are an important means of protecting the interest of the workers were not in the formal sector. Our flagship health insurance scheme “Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana” has covered 2.5 crore Below Poverty Line families and this Scheme is being extended to cover other category of workers.
1. Employment generation and Employability should be top agenda of the Govt. 2. Though lot of focus is being laid on training of 500 million persons by 2022, there is a need measures for creation of employment opportunities to offer the matching employment. to take appropriate
3. There is an urgent need to declare the National Employment Policy in order to provide enabling framework for facilitating employment generation and decent working conditions for all. 4. Investment in labour intensive industries should be promoted and incentivised. 5. Labour Market Information System should be established to get skill requirement from the industry and available skills from the institutes. In this regard, employment exchanges may be modernized for providing virtual job market on real time basis. 6. There should be functional and spatial integration of State and Central infrastructure and other available resources for optimal utilization of resources. 7. Existing employment in the unorganized sector should be safeguarded by assuring access to natural resources for those sectors dependent on them. In order to increase their productivity, appropriate advanced tools and technology for traditional producers should be developed. 8. Skill development should be promoted among the women and differently-abled persons. To increase participation of women in skill development, special measures should be taken. 9. National level consultation with all the stakeholders should be held immediately to finalize the road-map for preparing skill development plan leading to skilled force of 500 million persons by 2022. During the Conference a Committee was constituted to discuss Agenda Item No.(i) concerning Minimum Wages and related issues. These issues, inter alia, include norms for fixation/revision of minimum rates of wages, Variable Dearness Allowance(VDA), National Floor Level Minimum Wages etc. On the basis of detailed discussion, the following points emerged.
1. There was consensus that the Government may fix minimum wages as per the norms/ criteria recommended by the 15th ILC (1957) and the directions of the Hon?ble Supreme Court (Repttakos Co. Vs Workers? Union) 1992. The Government may take necessary steps accordingly. 2. There was a broad consensus that the Minimum Wages Act should cover all employments and the existing restriction for its applicability on the scheduled employments only should be deleted. This will also help India ratify ILO Convention No.131. 3. It was broadly agreed that there should be national minimum wages applicable to all employments throughout the country. 4. There was broad agreement on the amendment proposals as listed out . A Conference Committee was also constituted to discuss the agenda item No. (iii) i.e. “Social Security”. On the basis of detailed discussions, the following points emerged
i) There was a broad-based consensus that the wage ceiling for the application of EPF Act be increased from the present level of Rs.6,500/- to Rs.10,000/- or Rs.15,000/- as already applicable for the ESI Corporation. Similarly, the ceiling for workers covered under EPF Act be reduced from 20 to 10. However, Laghu Udyog Bharati was not agreeable to this reduction in ceiling of number of workers. (ii) Minimum pension under the EPS 95 be increased to some floor level, which should not be less than Rs.1,000/, since a large number of workers receive pension which is less than that provided by the State Governments for elderly people which is normally in the range of Rs.400/- to Rs.1000/-. (iii) The PF Accounts be computerized urgently so that the workers are able to avail the facility of PF transfer and settlement immediately. Smart Cards like RSBY be issued to PF account holders. (iv) Minimum ceiling of 5 years of continuous service be reduced in case of gratuity and gratuity be made transferable in case of change of job by the employee. (v) The maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act be increased from the present level of 12 weeks to 24 weeks. This increased maternity benefits be made available only upto two children, while the lower limit be continued for more than two children. (vi) Accountability on the part of organizations implementing the social security schemes befixed in order to ensure that the beneficiaries receive the deliverables in time. Citizen Charters for these organizations be finalized early. II - AK Padmanabhan, President, Centre of Indian Trade Unions Contract workers were earlier hired only to do small jobs, but that has changed now. In most cases, these workers do the job of regular employees. Contract workforce accounts for more than 85% of the total workforce in private factories and over 50% in public sector undertakings now. The situation is ridiculous, given that regular workers are employed for the first shift and contract workers do the same job in the next shift, but are paid less than a quarter of the wages of regular employees. The law prohibits employers from hiring contract workers for jobs that are perennial in nature. However, in many factories, contract workers have been involved in direct production activities for over 25 years. Fraudulent ways have been used to overcome the legislation. Though we moved courts, the Supreme Court has given different rulings in different cases.III - Labour laws need to be reviewed: PM NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reopened the debate on labour reforms, suggesting that there was need to periodically assess the regulations to ensure that they did not impact employment and industrial expansion. At the same time, Singh sought to play down the concerns saying that "this view has lost its importance in recent years" as state governments are increasingly showing more flexibility on labour restructuring and rationalization. "Though our government remains committed to protecting the interests of our workers, we must periodically take a critical look whether our regulatory framework has some parts which unnecessarily hamper the growth of employment, enterprise and industry without really contributing significantly to labour welfare," the prime minister said. For several years, reform of labour laws has been on the backburner in the wake of protests from the unions. In fact, there have been few statements from the UPA on the subject. But Singh's comments, which come weeks before the budget, are being seen as a sounding board of sorts in many circles. In his address, Singh touched upon two areas where there was a need to revisit the laws. The first dealt with parttime employment of women with characteristics of a full-time job. The second issue was to deal with migrant workers as the prime minister said that the system is at present weak. In recent years, treatment of migrant workers in China has been a major talking point and probably Singh wants to avoid a similar situation in India. IV - ( K.M. Sahni )Secretary Ministry of Labour & Employment says in his report that In the context of preparation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012), the Planning Commission set up a Working Group on Labour Laws and Other Labour Regulations under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, laying down the terms of reference. The subject basically relates to labour law reforms. It is a dynamic and continuous subject, evolving over time. The Report touches upon the historical background, nature and classification of various labour laws and steps already taken and being desired so that our labour laws are in conformity with changing socioeconomic scenario. The basic purpose being to promote interests of all stake holders and arriving at a consensus in the matter, we have immensely benefited from the interactions we had with them in various for a , including the deliberations in this Meeting of the Working Group. The Report tries to put in place the diverse views and at the same time show the path ahead by way of making certain useful recommendations. It is hoped that these would provide valuable input to the formulation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan V - Labour Laws: Amendments under Consideration / Undertaken ? The Present Status of amendments in certain Acts is as under: I – Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 as renamed Employees Compensation Act 1923. – Ministry of Law & Justice New Delhi (Legislative deptt0 PUBLISHED ON 22 ND Dec 2009 The Workmen Compensation (Amendment) Act 2009 enacted by Parliament in 60 th year of Republic India. Workmen Compensation Act 1923 Section 1 of the principal Act in subsection (1) for the word „WORKMEN?S the word employee „ shall be substituted. Throughout the principal Act for the words „Workman? & „workmen?s „ whrever they occur the words „employee? and „employee?s? shall respectively be substituted. (II) The Factories (Amendment) Bill 2005 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 16th August 2005. The Bill proposes to amend the Section 66 of the Factories Act 1948, so as to provide flexibility in the matter of employment of women during night shift with adequate safeguards for their safety, dignity, honour and transportation from the factory premises to their nearest point of their residence. (III) The Payment of Wages Act, 1936, ensures that wages payable to employed persons are timely disbursed and no unauthorized deductions are made from their wages. Presently, it covers only those employees whose wage
ceiling is up to Rs.1600/- per month. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill, 2005 has received the assent of the President on 5th September, 2005. The Payments of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2005 (41 of 2005) has been notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice on 6th September, 2005. Subsequently, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has issued notification No. SO 1577(E) dated the 8th November 2005 to enforce the amended provisions w.e.f 9 th November 2005 . With the amendments, the wage ceiling for applicability of the Act, gets increased from Rs.1600/- to Rs.6500/- per month while empowering the Central Government to further increase the ceiling by way of Notification. It also enhances the penal provisions. (IV) The Cabinet had approved a proposal to amend the Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act, 1988 on 11.05.2005, which intends to introduce simplified forms of registers to be maintained by the employees under certain labour laws. The amendments proposed include applicability of the Act to the establishments employing up to 500 persons instead of 19 persons, as at present. Consequently, establishments, which employ not more than 500 persons, shall not be required to file multiple returns and maintain separate registers under various labour laws. This will result in reducing the number of registers from 53 to 2 and number of returns from 11 to 1 under various labour laws, allowing maintenance of registers on computers and transmitting the annual reports or other reports by e-mail, enhancing the applicability of these provisions from 16 Scheduled Acts instead of 9, at present and 20 prescribing uniform penalty for obstruction and non-maintenance of records under the Scheduled Acts. The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on 22.08.2005. Subsequently it was referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour for its examination. As directed by the Committee , two tripartite meetings were held with t he representatives of Employers? and Employees? Group on 23rd January, 2006 and 22nd June, 2006 respectively to arrive at consensus on the Bill. However, no consensus was reached in these Meetings and further direction of the committee is awaited. (V) Amendment of the Apprentices Act, 1961 has been introduced in the Rajya on 19th May, 2006 to provide (i) reservation for Other Backward Classes, (ii) related instructions to be imparted at the cost of employer and (iii) flexibility in respect of ratio?s prescribed for Apprenticeship Scheme. The Bill has been referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour for examination. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour examined the Bill on 3rd July,2006 and decided that after receiving the recommendations of Shri M. Veerappa Moily Committee in case of reservation for OBC, the Bill be reviewed again. ? Further amendments to certain other labour laws like the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 by increasing the eligibility and calculation ceilings from Rs.3500/- to Rs.7500/- per month and from Rs.2500/- to Rs.3500/- per month respectively and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 are at various stages of consideration.
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