{"id":54232,"date":"2019-12-18T15:31:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T10:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54232"},"modified":"2020-02-26T15:39:07","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T10:09:07","slug":"7-pm-bearing-the-brunt-of-slack-laws-on-labour-laws-in-india-18th-december-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-bearing-the-brunt-of-slack-laws-on-labour-laws-in-india-18th-december-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"7 PM | Bearing the brunt of slack laws: On labour laws in India | 18th December 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Context:\n<\/strong>Labour\nlaws in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More\nin news:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A huge fire engulfed a\nresidential-cum-production unit in a congested part of Delhi on December 8,\nkilling over 40 people.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Labour\nLaws:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Labour law also known as employment law\nis the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the\nlegal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. <\/li><li>As such, it mediates many aspects of the\nrelationship between trade unions, employers and employees. <\/li><li>In other words, Labour law defines the\nrights and obligations as workers, union members and employers in the\nworkplace. <\/li><li>Generally, labour law covers:&nbsp; <\/li><li>Industrial\nrelations \u2013 certification of unions, labour-management relations, collective\nbargaining and unfair labour practices;&nbsp; <\/li><li>Workplace\nhealth and safety; <\/li><li>Employment\nstandards, including general holidays, annual leave, working hours, unfair\ndismissals, minimum wage, layoff procedures and severance pay. <\/li><li>There are two broad categories of labour\nlaw. <\/li><li>collective\nlabour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer\nand union. <\/li><li>individual\nlabour law concerns employees&#8217; rights at work and through the contract for\nwork.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>History\nof Labour laws:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Labour law arose due to the demands of\nworkers for better conditions, the right to organize, and the simultaneous\ndemands of employers to restrict the powers of workers in many organizations\nand to keep labour costs low.<\/li><li>International Labour Organisation (ILO)\nwas one of the first organisations to deal with labour issues. The ILO was\nestablished as an agency of the League of Nations following the Treaty of\nVersailles, which ended World War I. Post-war reconstruction and the protection\nof labour unions occupied the attention of many nations during and immediately\nafter World War I.<\/li><li>The history of labour legislation in\nIndia is interwoven with the history of British colonialism. Indian textile\ngoods offered stiff competition to British textiles in the export market and\nhence in order to make India labour costlier the Factories Act was first\nintroduced in 1883.<\/li><li>The earliest Indian statute to regulate\nthe relationship between employer and his workmen was the Trade Dispute Act,\n1929<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Purpose\nof labour legislation: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Labour\nlegislation that is adapted to the economic and social challenges of the modern\nworld of work fulfils three crucial roles:&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>it establishes a legal system that\nfacilitates productive individual and collective employment relationships, and\ntherefore a productive economy;&nbsp; <\/li><li>by providing a framework within which\nemployers, workers and their representatives can interact with regard to\nwork-related issues, it serves as an important vehicle for achieving harmonious\nindustrial relations based on workplace democracy;&nbsp; <\/li><li>it provides a clear and constant\nreminder and guarantee of fundamental principles and rights at work which have\nreceived broad social acceptance and establishes the processes through which\nthese principles and rights can be implemented and enforced.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Constitutional\nprovisions with regard to labour laws: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The relevance of the dignity of human\nlabour and the need for protecting and safeguarding the interest of labour as\nhuman beings has been enshrined in <\/li><li>Chapter-III\n(Articles 16, 19, 23 &amp; 24) and <\/li><li>Chapter\nIV (Articles 39, 41, 42, 43, 43A &amp; 54) of the Constitution of India <\/li><li>Labour is a concurrent subject in the\nConstitution of India implying that both the Union and the state governments\nare competent to legislate on labour matters and administer the same. The bulk\nof important legislative acts have been enacted by the Parliament.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Labour\nMarket: Fact Sheet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Economic Survey of 2018-19,\nsays&nbsp;\u201calmost 93%\u201d&nbsp;of the total workforce is&nbsp;\u2018informal\u2019.&nbsp;But\nthe Niti Aayog\u2019s Strategy for New India at 75, said: \u201cby some estimates,\nIndia\u2019s informal sector employs approximately 85% of all workers\u201d.<\/li><li>There is yet another government\nreport,&nbsp;\u2018Report of the Committee on Unorganised Sector Statistics\u2019&nbsp;of\nthe National Statistical Commission (NSC), 2012, which says the share of\nthe&nbsp;informal workforce is \u201cmore than 90%\u201d&nbsp;of the total.<\/li><li>Stressing the importance of labour law\nreforms, it said that according to the latest comparable figures available with\nthe&nbsp;International Labour Organisation, the&nbsp;man-days lost in\nIndia&nbsp;were a staggering&nbsp;23.34 lakh&nbsp;as compared with 1.7 lakh in\nthe UK and 7.4 lakh in the US, with Russia at a low of only 10,000.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Regulation\nof Labour Market:&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Currently, there are 44 labour laws\nunder the purview of Central Government and more than 100 under State\nGovernments, which deal with a host of labour issues.&nbsp; <\/li><li>Unfortunately, these labour laws protect\nonly 7-8 percent of the organised sector workers employed at the cost of 93 per\ncent unorganised sector workers.&nbsp; <\/li><li>Following are some of the Central\nlegislations passed under different articles of the Constitution: <\/li><li>Minimum\nWages Act, 1948. <\/li><li>Industries\n(Regulation and Development) Act of 1951. <\/li><li>Industrial\nDisputes Act, 1947. <\/li><li>Factories\nAct of 1948. <\/li><li>Contract\nlabour Act 1970. <\/li><li>Trade\nUnions Act 1926.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Issues\nwith Labour Law:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Labour laws involving safety at\nworkplace, wages, social security and industrial relations.<\/li><li>Distorted the labour market.<\/li><li>Due to the complex and massive numbers\nof labour laws, industries prefer to hire contractual labourers not covered\nunder these laws and without any social security or termination protection.<\/li><li>Another major problem of labour market\nin India is that there are a growing number of unskilled labourers in the\ncountry.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Current labour reforms are less focus on\napprenticeship.<\/li><li>Labour market in India is suffering from\nsurplus labour force.<\/li><li>lack of adequate information regarding\njobs<\/li><li>child labour practices<\/li><li>lack of proper manpower planning etc.<\/li><li>Weak labour unions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Initiatives\nof Central Government:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Legislative\nInitiatives<\/strong><\/li><li>Under&nbsp;<strong>Payment of Bonus Amendment Act,<\/strong>&nbsp;eligibility\nlimit for payment of bonus enhanced from Rs 10000\/- to Rs. 21000\/- per month\nand the Calculation Ceiling from Rs. 3500\/- to Rs. 7000\/- or the minimum wages.<\/li><li><strong>Payment of Wages (Amendment) Act, 2017<\/strong>&nbsp;enabling\npayment of Wages to employees by Cash or Cheque or crediting it&nbsp;to their\nbank account.<\/li><li><strong>Child Labour (Prohibition and\nRegulation) Amendment Act, 2016<\/strong>&nbsp;provides for complete ban\non employment of children below 14 years in any occupation or process.<\/li><li><strong>Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017<\/strong>,&nbsp;increases\nthe paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.<\/li><li><strong>The Employee Compensation (Amendment)\nAct<\/strong>,\nseeks to rationalize penalties and strengthen the rights of the workers under\nthe Act.<\/li><li><strong>The Payment Of Gratuity (Amendment) Act,\n2018,<\/strong>\nprovides flexibility to the Central Government firstly to increase the ceiling\nlimit of gratuity to such amount as may be notified from time to time and\nsecondly to enhance the calculation of continuous service for the purpose of\ngratuity in case of female employees who are on maternity leave to such period\nas may be notified from time to time.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Governance\nReforms<\/strong><\/li><li>Ministry\nhas notified <strong>\u201cEase of Compliance to\nmaintain Registers under various Labour Laws Rules, 2017\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;on\n21st&nbsp;February 2017 which has in effect replaced the 56 Registers\/Forms\nunder 9 Central Labour Laws and Rules made there under in to 5 common\nRegisters\/Forms. This will save efforts, costs and lessen the compliance burden\nby various establishments.<\/li><li><strong>A&nbsp;Model Shops and Establishments\n(RE&amp;CS) Bill, 2016<\/strong>&nbsp;has been circulated to all\nStates\/UTs for adoption with appropriate modification. The said Bill inter alia\nprovides for freedom to operate an Establishment for 365 days in a year without\nany restriction on opening\/closing time and enables employment of women during\nnight shifts if adequate safety provisions exist.<\/li><li>Under\n<strong>Industrial Employment (Standing Orders)\nAct, 1946<\/strong>, the category i.e.&nbsp;Fixed Term Employment, with all Statutory\nBenefits,&nbsp;has been extended to all Sectors to impart flexibility to an\nestablishment to employ people to meet the fluctuating demands,&nbsp;vide the\nIndustrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2018.<\/li><li>Ministry\nhas also notified&nbsp;<strong>Rationalization\nof Forms and Reports under Certain Labour Laws Rules, 2017<\/strong> for reduction of\nnumber of Forms \/ Returns under 3 Central Acts \/ Rules from 36 to 12 by\nreviewing redundant and overlapping fields.<\/li><li><strong>Unified Annual Return&nbsp;<\/strong>&#8211;\n&#8220;Unified Annual Return returns have been made mandatory in respect of the\nthese Central Labour Acts [the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages\nAct, 1948, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, the\nIndustrial Disputes Act, 1947] on the <strong>Shram\nSuvidha Portal<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Way\nForward:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Simplification and consolidation&nbsp;of\nlabour laws apart, the government must focus on the&nbsp;key issue of job\ncreation.<\/li><li>The Periodic Labour Force\nSurvey&nbsp;that was finally made public clearly pointed to the dire situation\nin job creation in recent years.<\/li><li>While the proportion of workers in\nregular employment has increased, unemployment has reached a 45-year high. In\nsuch a situation, the government should be&nbsp;better off building a broader\nconsensus&nbsp;on any major rule changes to existing worker rights rather than\nrushing through them for the sake of simplification.<\/li><li><strong>Labor\nto be shifted to \u2018State List\u2019<\/strong>: Labor being in the concurrent list of\nthe constitution, both central and state government legislate on it. But the\nState Governments have limited space to enact labor laws to address their own\nrequirements &#8211; promoting investment and employment generation. It is in best\ninterest of all to shift labor in State list.<\/li><li><strong>Improving\nEnforcement of Labor Laws:<\/strong> <\/li><li>Strengthening\nof enforcement machinery: Increased manpower, improved infrastructure is\nessential for effective implementation of labor laws. &nbsp;<\/li><li>All\nIndia Service for labor administration must be formed that will provide\nprofessional experts in the field of labor administration. <\/li><li>Dispute\nresolution: Regular Lok Adalats could enable faster disposal of cases<\/li><li>The consolidated code bills should\nbe&nbsp;thoroughly discussed in Parliament&nbsp;and also&nbsp;with labour\nunions&nbsp;before being enacted.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/bearing-the-brunt-of-slack-laws\/article30332651.ece\">https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/bearing-the-brunt-of-slack-laws\/article30332651.ece<\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context: Labour laws in India. More in news: A huge fire engulfed a residential-cum-production unit in a congested part of Delhi on December 8, killing over 40 people. Labour Laws: Labour law also known as employment law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-bearing-the-brunt-of-slack-laws-on-labour-laws-in-india-18th-december-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">7 PM | Bearing the brunt of slack laws: On labour laws in India | 18th December 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,955,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","category-7-pm-brief-infograph","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704778504},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}