INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947

INDUSTRY

INDUSTRY

• Industry means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture, service, employment, handicraft or industrial occupation or avocation of workers

• Industrial dispute refers to any dispute or difference between employer and workers, or between workers and workers, which is connected with employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour , of any person

LAY -off

• Lay-off means the failure, refusal or inability of an employer on account of shortage of coal, calamity or for any other connected reason to give employment to a worker whose name is borne on the muster rolls of his/her industrial establishment and who has not been retrenched.

LOCK OUT

• Lock out means the temporary closing of a place of employment or the suspension of the work , or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him.

RETRENCHMENT

• Retrenchment

• Retrenchment means the termination by the employer of the service of a worker for any reason whatsoever, other than as a punishment inflicted by way of disciplinary acton,but does not include:

• A) voluntary retirement of the worker; or

• B) retirement of the worker on reaching the age of superannuation if the contract of employment between the employer and the worker concerned contains a stipulation in that behalf; or termination of a contract of employment.

• C) termination of the service of a worker on the graounds of continued ill-health;

SETTLEMENT

• Settlement• Settlement means a settlement arrived

at in the course of conciliation proceeding and includes a written agreement between the employer and workers arrived at otherwise than in the course of conciliation proceeding where such an agreement has been signed by the parties.

STRIKE

• Strike means a cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any industry acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal, under a common understanding of any number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment.

WAGES

• Wages means all remuneration capable of being expressed in terms of money, which would be payable to a worker in respect of his/her employment .

• Such allowances (including DA.) • The value of any house accommodation or

supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of .

• Any traveling concession• Any commission payable on the promotion

of sales or business or both.

VARIOUS AUTHORITIES

• Authorities under this Act:

• Works Committee• Conciliation officers• Board of conciliation • Court of inquiry • Labour courts• Tribunals

NOTICE OF CHANGE

• NOTICE OF CHANGE (Chapter IIA) Section 9a

• No employer who proposes to effect any change in the conditions of service applicable to any worker in respect of any matter specified in the Fourth Schedule shall effect such change:

MODEL STANDING ORDERS

• SERVICE RECORD• CERTIFICATION OF SERVICE:• RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS• RECORD OF AGE• AGE OF RETIREMENT • TRANSFER • MEDICAL AID IN CASE OF ACCIDENTS• MEDICAL EXAMINATION

Matters to be provided under Industrial Employment (Standing

Orders) Act, 1946 • Classification of workers: e.g. permanent, temporary,

apprentices, probationers, or badlis.• Shift working• Attendance and late coming• Conditions or procedures of applying for, and the authority that

may grant leave and holidays. Requirement of entering prmises by certain gates and liability to search.

• Closing and re-opening of sections of the industrial establishment, temporary stoppages of work

• Termination of employment and notice thereof to be given by the employer or workers.

• Suspension or dismissal for misconduct and acts or omissions that constitute misconduct.

• Any other matter which may be prescribed.

STANDING ORDERS

» Submission of draft Standing orders.

• Certification of standing orders:

• Appeal:

• Date of operation of standing orders:

• Register of standing orders:

• Posting of standing orders:

MISCONDUCT

• Misconduct:• Theft, fraud, or dishonesty in connection with the

employer’s business or property• Taking or giving of bribes or an illegal gratification.• Willful insubordination or disobedience• Habitual late attendance and habitual absence

without leave• Drunkenness, fighting or riotous, disorderly

behaviour• Habitual neglect of work• Habitual indiscipline.

Payment of subsistence allowance

• At the rate of 50% of the wages which the worker was entitled to immediately preceding the date of such suspension, for the first ninety days of suspension; and

• At the rate of 75% of such wages for the remaining period of suspension if the delay in the completion of disciplinary proceedings against such a worker is not directly attributable to the conduct of the worker.

THE CONTRACT LABOUR (REGULATION AND ABOLITION

ACT, 1970) • Why Contract labour:

• Contract labour is employed for the sake of flexibility and specialization. However in reality they are the most exploited group of workers.

Contd..

• Scope, Objectives, and definitions

• The Act applies to all establishments with 20 or more workers as contract labourers.

• A worker is deemed to be a contract labourer in an establishment when he/she is hired in or in connection with such work by or through a contractor with or without the knowledge of the principal employer.

PRINCIPAL EMPLOYER

• Principal employer:• Principal employer is one who, in relation

to the government or local authority, is the head of the department or officer specified in his behalf.

• The principal employer and the contractor have to register the establishment and obtain a licence from the licensing officer respectively.

PRINCIPAL EMPLOYER

• Liability of a Principal Employer

• Under Section 20, the liabilities of a principal employer include ensuring provision for canteen, rest rooms, sufficient supply of drinking water, latrines and urinals, washing facilities and asking the contractor to provide such amenties or to make deductions from the amount payable.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A CONTRACTOR

• Responsibilities of a Contractor:

• The contractor should: • ensure the timely disbursement of wages in the

presence of the authorised representative of the principal employer

• Pay the rate of wages not less than the rates fixed or prevailing in such employment as fixed by agreement.

• Provide a canteen ( if employing 100 or more contractor workers), first aid facilities, rest rooms, drinking water, latrines and washing facilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain muster rolls and registers of wages, overtime, deductions, fines advances etc. in prescribed forms.

• Issue wage slips, • Display notices showing rates of wages,

hours of work, wage period, dates of payment, and addresses of the inspector, and ;

• Retain a copy of the notices and report any change thereof forthwith to the inspector.

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

• As per the provisions of the employment contract, i.e. notice and/ or pay

• Discharge: This could be on completion of the employment or for say, medical reasons.

• Dismissal: This is for a specific misconduct that has to be proved in a properly conducted domestic inquiry .

RETRENCHMENT

• There are provisions against unfair dismissal in consonance with the principles of natural justice

• Retrenchment: In the wake of an amendment to the Industrial Disputes Act in 1976, companies employing 100 or more employees have to seek prior approval of the appropriate government besides giving notice, holding consultation, and paying compensation ( 15 days for every completed years of service).

• Usually courts rule that retrenchment will be allowed on last-in first out basis and do not usually allow employers to pick and choose employees whom they want to retrench for the fear that may lead to unfairness.

• Retirement : Upon attaining the age of superannuation as per service rules.

• Resignation by the employee

• Voluntary/ early retirement

Right of workmen laid-off for compensation ( Sec. 25)

• Whenever a worker ( other than badli worker or a causal worker), whose name is borne on the muster rolls of an industrial establishment and who has completed not less than one year of continuous service under an employer, is laid-off (whether continuously or intermittently) he shall be paid by the employer for all days during which he is so laid-off, except for such weekly holidays as may intervene. The compensation shall be equal to fifty per cent of the total of the basic wages and dearness allowance that would have been payable to him had he not been so laid-off:

CONTRACT LABOUR CODE (DRAFT)

• Contract labour should not be exploited, but be utilized for specialized jobs only and not for regular production. In other words, not in core activities of the company.

• Member companies should ensure that the labour contractors have valid licence to operate. The law of the land should be strictly followed.

• Member companies could use contract labour if: • The activity is part of supporting infrastructure, such

as security, gardening, canteen, cleaning services , etc. of the establishment.

• The activity is directly dependent; upon on enhanced order book position including export orders.

• The activity is seasonal in character. • The activity is related to project work

involving construction of new facilities, modernization, and up gradation of existing infrastructure, annual shutdowns and emergency breakdowns.

• The activity is related to loading/unloading and material transfer of products and raw materials.

• The activity is a specific time bound action such as market survey, launch of a new product, or initial activities to assess the marked feasibility of a certain product.

• The engagement of contract labour in core areas for temporary periods is needed to meet market demands.

• Companies must ensure that the welfare and health of the contract labour, such as first aid box, drinking water facility, latrines,urinals are taken care of by the contractors .

• Companies should make sure that payment of at least minimum wages to the contract labour are made in the prescribed time. Other benefits such as PF should be given to contract labour and it is the duty of the Principal Employer to ensure that.

• Companies need to ensure that contractors shall maintain registers and records giving particulars of contract labour employed, the nature of work performed by the contract labour, the rate of wages paid to the contract labour, and such other particulars in such form as may be prescribed.

• In case of job opportunities, the existing contract labour ;should be given preference rather than recruiting new people.

MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948

• The principle objective of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is to prevent exploitation of labour through the payment of unduly low wages.

• It was recognized that wage determination cannot be entirely left to market forces, that is, the supply of and the demand for labour.

• The National Commission on Labour stated: • “In a country like ours where the number of

unemployed persons is very large, the legislature realized that if the rule of the market was allowed to prevail, it would be difficult to prevent sweating or exploitation of labour through payment of low wages. It was to prevent this that the law was enacted and specific provisions made for determining minimum wages in respect of scheduled industries .

• Under the Minimum Wages Act, minimum rates of wages are not fixed in respect of all employments. They are fixed only in respect of certain employments specified in the schedule to the Act. The Government may, however, make additions to the list of employments contained in the schedule. Therefore it varies from State to State. As of now, this only about 40 with respect to the Central government and about 1200 in the case of state governments.

•

• The Minimum Wages Act does not define minimum wage and does not contain any guideline regarding what elements should be taken into consideration in prescribing a minimum wage. As a result, different wage fixing authorities have followed sets of principles in fixing or revising the minimum wages. There are wide disparities in respect of rates of minimum wages fixed in respect of different employments within the State and in respect of the same employments fixed by different states.

LIST OF ACTS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY FOR THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS

• Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923• Employees State Insurance Act, 1948• Employees’ Provident Fund Act 1952• Maternity Benefit Act, 1961• Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972• Employers’ Pension Scheme (introduced in 1995)

Occupational Health & safety

• The Factories Act, 1948

• The Mines Act, 1972

• The Dock Workers ( Safety, Health & Welfare)

Procedure for closing down an undertaking (Sec 25o)

• An employer who intends to close down an industrial establishment undertaking to which this Chapter applies shall, in the prescribed manner, apply to the appropriate government for prior permission at least ninety days before the date on which the intended closure is to become effective, stating clearly the reasons for the intended closure of the undertaking and a copy of such application shall also be served simultaneously on the representatives of the workers in the prescribed manner.

Penalty for lay-off and retrenchment without previous

permission • Any employer who contravenes the

provisions of section 25m or of Section 25n shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which extend to one month, or with fine, which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

Penalty of closure

• 1) Any employer who closes down an undertaking without complying with the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 25o shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to six months, or with fine may extend to 5000 thousand or with both

• 2) Any employer who contravenes an order refusing to grant permission to close down an undertaking under sub-section (2) of Section 25o or direction given under Section 25p shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which

Contd…

• May extend to five thousand rupees, or with both, and where the contravention is continuing one, with a further fine which may extend to two thousand rupees for every day during which the contravention continues after the conviction.

Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workmen ( Sec

25n)• in lieu 1) No worker employed in any

industrial establishment to which this Chapter applies, who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until:

• A) the worker has been given three months’ notice in writing; indicating; the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, or the worker has been paid of such notice ,

Contd…

• Wages for the period of the notice; and

• (b) the prior permission of the appropriate government or such authority as may be specified by that government by notification in the Official Gazette has been obtained on an application made in this behalf.