18HS71 - Constitution of India and Professional Ethics

RV College of Engineering , Bengaluru – 59
(Autonomous Institution affiliated to VTU, Belagavi)
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
18HS71 - Constitution of India and Professional Ethics
UNIT - IV
Introduction to Labour Legislations - Industrial Relation, Labour Problem and Labour Policy in
India; Labour Welfare and Social Security- Factories Act, 1948, Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013; the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986, Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017; Industrial Dispute Act, 1947,
Reference of Disputes to Boards, Courts or Tribunals.
05 Hrs
Industrial Relations and Labour Laws
Introduction
Productivity in any organisation is the outcome of the joint efforts of two distinct elements
namely technological and human resources. The factor of production other than labour can be
manipulated easily. However, the human aspect in the organisation is the most difficult to
manipulate or manage in a proper perspective. The human elements are the causes and the
result of the interaction, social issues, duties, responsibilities, and other activities. The high
rate of industrial growth, increased pace of technological development and complex nature of
the jobs made the workforce of an organization the source of completive success. Hence,
managing men has become a vital part of the present-day of management. Any negligence of
the human element leads to misunderstanding between the management and workers. The
results of which can be seen in the form of increased labour turnover, absenteeism,
indiscipline, the decline in the quality of work done, increased cost production, and various
problems in the market. Therefore, in this context, the concept of industrial relations receives
widespread attention all over the world.
Definitions of Industrial Relations
The term Industrial Relations comprises Industry and Relations. Industry means any
productive activity in which an individual is engaged. It includes –
(a) primary activities like agriculture, fisheries, plantation, forestry, horticulture, mining, etc
and
(b) secondary activities like manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, commerce,
banking, communication, etc. Economically speaking, industry means the secondary
sector where factors of production (land, labour, capital and enterprise or four M‘s – men,
materials, money, machines) are gainfully employed for the purpose of production, and
where a business organisation exists. Relations means the relations that exist in the
industry between the employer and his workforce. Different authors have defined the
terms of industrial relations in a somewhat different way.
Objectives of Industrial Relations
Two-fold objectives of good industrial relations are to preserve industrial peace and to secure
industrial co-operation. If we have to establish industrial peace, the workers must be assured
of fair wages, good conditions of work, reasonable working hours, holidays and minimum
amenities of life.
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1.1 Types of Industrial Relations
Industrial Relations is chiefly concerned with the management and the worker‘s relations or
employer-employee relations. But its scope is not limited only to this aspect. It also includes
labour relations and public or community relations. The industrial relations includes four
types of relations:
(i)
Labour relations
(ii)
Group relations
(iii) Employer-Employee Relations
(iv)
Community or Public Relations.
Model’s of Industrial Relations
1. Dunlop’s Industrial Relations System Model-Four Interrelated Elements.
(i)
Actors
(ii)
Shared Ideology
(iii) Contexts
(iv)
Rules 2.
Craig’s Industrial Relation System Model
(i)
Adds an actor – end-user
(ii)
Elements from the external environment converted into outputs.
(iii) Series of conversion mechanisms.
(iv)
Outputs flow back into the environment through a feedback loop.
Layers of Industrial Relations
The following are the layers of Industrial Relations:
 The Employer
 The Employee
 The Government
 Trade Unions
Approaches To Industrial Relations
The various approaches to Industrial Relations are as follows:
 Psychological Approach
 Gandhian Approach
 Sociological Approach
 Unitary Approach
 Human Relations Approach
 Pluralistic Approach
 Socio Ethical Aspects
 Marxist Approach
Five Year Plan and Industrial Relations
A country like India which is in the progress of transforming its economy from a backward
agricultural economy to a developed industrial one, peaceful relations between management
and labour is the need of the hour. Emphasis on increased production for the smooth and
steady 19 economy growth, India cannot afford work stoppages due to protracted friction
between employers and employees which will jeopardise the main objectives of our five-year
plan. For economic progress, India in her First Five Year Plan (1951-56) concentrated on five
aspects of labour policy:
(i)
industrial relations
(ii)
wages
(iii) working conditions
(iv)
productivity
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Labour Laws Background
The Ministry of Labour and Employment seeks to protect and safeguard the interests of
workers in general and those who constitute the poor, deprived and disadvantaged sections of
the society, in particular, with due regard to creating a healthy work environment for higher
production and productivity, and developing and coordinating vocational skill training and
employment services. Government‘s attention is also focused on the promotion of welfare
activities and providing social security to the labour force both in the organised and
unorganised sectors, in tandem with the process of liberalisation. These objectives are sought
to be achieved through enactment and implementation of various labour laws, which regulate
the terms and conditions of service and employment of workers.
The following are the thrust areas of the Government concerning labour laws:
 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 Central Government Industrial Tribunalscum-Labour Courts and National Industrial Tribunals;
 Workers‘ education;
 Labour and employment statistics;
 Emigration of labour for employment abroad;
 Employment services and vocational training;
 Administration of central labour and employment services; and
 International cooperation in labour and employment matters.
The various labour legislation enacted by the Central Government can be classified into the
following different broad categories:
 Laws relating to Industrial Relations
1. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
2. Trade Unions Act, 1926
 Laws relating to Wages
1. Minimum Wages Act, 1948
2. Payment of Wages Act, 1936
3. Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
 Laws relating to Social Security
1. Employees‘ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
2. Employees‘ State Insurance Act, 1948
3. Labour Welfare Fund Act (of respective States)
4. Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 5.
5. Employee‘s Compensation Act, 1923
Laws relating to Working Hours, Conditions of Services and Employment
1. Factories Act, 1948
2. Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946
3. Shops and Commercial Establishments Act (of respective States)
4. Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
5. Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service)
Act, 1979
6. Weekly Holiday Act, 1942
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7. National and Festival Holidays Act (of respective States) 1963
8. The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
9. The Mines Act, 1952 10. The Dock Workers (Safety, Health & Welfare) Act, 1986 5
Laws relating to Equality and Empowerment of Women
1. Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
2. Maternity Benefits Act, 1961
Prohibitive Labour Laws
1. Bonded Labour System (Abolition), Act, 1976
2. Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986
3. The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966
4. The Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,
2013 7.
Laws relating to Employment and Training
1. Apprentices Act, 1961
2. Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959
Problems of Unorganized labor
90% workforces are engaged in huge informal sectors. They, by and large, face various types
of problems in their regular life like they stay very close to their workplace; extending
working hours is a regular practice, exploitation and hazardous workplace are very common.
1. Very low wages is the main problem for unorganized workers: – Minimum wage act
in most of the time applies for labours working under the purview of organized sectors or
formal sectors
2. Maximum workers do not have any perfect living areas near to their work place:
Maximum workers working in organized sectors avail house rent allowance, in addition
to that they get house from housing board and also get bank loan from various statutory
banks for making their own particular house yet, unfortunately the workers from
unorganized sectors are deprived form all these facilities, subsequently they have a
propensity to make cluster inside the restricted space in their living region where they do
not have appropriate washing facilities, because of that they regularly deal with the
unbalanced circumstance particularly women workers. They likewise battle with various
unhygienic conditions sewer seepage frameworks, overflowing drainage systems flooding
amid storm.
3. They do not have any knowledge about work hazardous and occupational safety:
Introduction of different hazardous machinery, high rise in construction, unguarded
machinery, various toxic chemical, coal dust, lime dust, blazes crude materials for
synthetic generation leads quantities of tragic deaths of many unorganized labors because
the working condition is more severe as compared to that organized sectors furthermore
the knowledge of occupational health and safety is negligible of the workers of
unorganized sectors.
4. Overtime, paid holiday or sick leave are not provided to them: In spite of the fact that
the overtime, paid holiday and sick leave go under the domain of labour laws still may
casual laborers are denied from that rights however the use of those laws are normal in
formal segments.
5. They do not have idea on Trade Union/ labour union: Maximum numbers of informal
workers do not have any knowledge about the existence and rules of labour union. Many
workers of unorganized sectors, like union of agricultural workers, brick workers, hosiery
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workers, construction rakes, fish and forest workers, domestic workers, biri rollers,sex
workers, liquor shop employees have joined Shramajivi Swikriti Manch and Asanghathit
Kshetra Shramik Sangrami Manch a with unorganised sector assembled them under in
one platform.
6. High level job insecurity is a common phenomenon unorganized sector: Social
Security can be defined as ―the provision of benefits to households and individuals
through public or collective arrangements to protect against low or declining standard of
living arising from a number of basic risks and needs.
7. Women and child workers are vulnerable and draw very low wages: It has observed
that women and child labour are most vulnerable amongst the unorganized labour. A
developing wonder is utilizing children and women as household laborers as a part of
urban territories. The conditions in which children and women work is totally unregulated
and they are regularly made to work without nourishment, and low wages, looking like
circumstances of subjection. They are being paid wages low as compare to adult male
labour despite their commitment of same working hours There are instances of physical,
sexual and psychological mistreatment of women and child household laborers
8. Maximum workers are leaving in a very deplorable condition: So far as living
condition is concerned; they leave in cluster in a very unhygienic condition. They
normally stay by making hut in a row. 9. Lack of quality employment due to fraudulent
acting of contractor: Many unorganized sectors are not registered with the government
and the employment term of workers is not regular. No act like Bonus act, Pension act,
Provident fund act, Maternity act, Factories act are followed in unorganized sectors.
Unorganized segment is not managed by the legal system and subsequently taxes are not
collected. The working hours of workers are not settled. In addition, now and again they
need to chip away at Sundays and occasions. They get day by day compensation for their
work, which is nearly not exactly the compensation recommended by the Government.
9. Loss of employment due to silly reason is a natural incident: There are innumerable
illustrations of losing employment in unorganized sectors because of immaterial reason.
There are numerous lawful commitments have been outlined to stop the embarrassment in
the occupation although the majority of those lawful conventions are connected only in
organized sectors.
10. Numbers of harassment issues at work place for working Women: Issues of
harassment are very frequent of workers working in unorganized sectors. For illustration,
five female salespersons at Kalyan Sarees in Thrissur had gone on strike in December
2013, demanding better working conditions. Management used to cut their salaries with
very silly reason. Women workers are not allowed to sit and even not allowed to go to
toilet for more than ten hours. A safe workplace is a woman's legal right but
unfortunately, still many working women in the unorganized sectors experience a wide
range of physical and psychological ailments due to eve teasing and sexual harassment.
11. Susceptible to diseases: Health problem is a very common happening of workers
working in unorganized sectors. Occupational diseases like pneumoconiosis, tuberculosis,
and asthmatic are out of control in informal sectors. In addition to that, problem in
digestive system, circulatory system, urinary tract, blood pressure and affect on various
sensory organs (like loss of eye sight, hearing etc.) are also very common happenings.
They do not get proper facilities for treatment except the health center of Employees‘
State Insurance Scheme.
12. Bonded labor (Dadan): Bonded labour is an obligatory bond between an employer and
an employee. This type of relationship had begun since king‘s dynasty in India. There
was a myth of slave traders in the history of world also but it had no proper reason except
the muscle power. But in bonded labour, the force is derived from outstanding debt.
Occasionally, few labours do not get job in unorganized sector so alternately they prefer
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18HS71 - Constitution of India and Professional Ethics
to incline toward the security of any work once someone offers in bonded labour form.
Though the bonded labour system is unlawful still it is making functional by force by few
people. Sometime, it is also made live with help of different customs.
Labour Policy in India
Industrial Policy refers to a framework set by the government to regulate the manufacturing
sector. It controls the industrial undertakings of the country. Through industrial policies, the
government tries to influence the ownership & structure of industries, along with their
performance.
This is an important topic under the Economic Reforms in India section of the Economic &
Social Issues paper for RBI Grade-B Main Exam. Questions, especially from the objectives
of the industrial policy, developments in industrial policy over the years, new industrial
policy and labor laws, are asked. Let‘s have a brief overview of each of these topics.
Objectives of the Industrial Policy in India
The objectives of the Industrial Policy in India are:
1. Maintaining a sustained growth in productivity
2. Enhancing employment in industries
3. Achieving optimum utilization of human resources
4. Attaining international competitiveness
5. Transforming India into a leader in the global arena
Development of Industrial Policy Since Independence
The first Industrial Policy Resolution was announced on April 8, 1948. It stipulated the model
of the Indian economic system to be a Mixed Economy. Since then, different policy
resolutions & statements (Industrial Policy Resolution 1956, Indian Policy Statement 1969,
1973, 1977, 1980, 1985 and 1986) have been passed to revise and rectify their forerunner.
However, soon, the government realized that all these policies had one major loophole, which
was the dependence on often costlier foreign capital. This made it very difficult for India to
service the external borrowings. Moreover, external events, like the Gulf War, etc., added to
the situation.
To rectify the situation, a New Economic Policy was adopted as a part of Economic reforms
in India.
The Government took measures to change the very nature of Industrial Policies, which led to
the formulation of the New Industrial Policy, 1991.
Factory Act,1948
There has been rise of large scale factory/ industry in India in the later half of nineteenth
century. Major Moore, Inspector-in- Chief of the Bombay Cotton Department, in his Report
in 1872-73 first of all raised the question for the provision of legislation to regulate the
working condition in factories; the first Factories act was enacted in 1881.
Since then the act has been amended on many occasions. The Factories Act 1934 was passed
replacing all the previous legislation in regard to factories. This act was drafted in the light of
the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Labour. This Act has also been amended
suitably from time to time.
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The experience of working of the Factories Act, 1934 had revealed a number of defects and
weakness which have hampered effective administration of the Act, and the need for
wholesale revision of the act to extend its protective provisions to the large number of smaller
industrial establishments was felt.
Therefore, the Factories Act, 1948 consolidating and amending the law relating to labour in
factories, was passed by the Constituent Assembly on August 28, 1948. The Act received the
assent of Governor General of India on 23 September 1948 and came into force on April 1,
1949.
Objective of Factories Act ,1948
The main objectives of the Indian Factories Act, 1948are to regulate the working conditions
in factories, to regulate health, safety welfare, and annual leave and enact special provision in
respect of young persons, women and children who work in the factories.
1. Working Hours:
According to the provision of working hours of adults, no adult worker shall be required or
allowed to work in a factory for more than 48 hours in a week. There should be a weekly
holiday.
2. Health:
For protecting the health of workers, the Act lays down that every factory shall be kept clean
and all necessary precautions shall be taken in this regard. The factories should have proper
drainage system, adequate lighting, ventilation, temperature etc.
Adequate arrangements for drinking water should be made. Sufficient latrine and urinals
should be provided at convenient places. These should be easily accessible to workers and
must be kept cleaned.
3. Safety:
In order to provide safety to the workers, the Act provides that the machinery should be
fenced, no young person shall work at any dangerous machine, in confined spaces, there
should be provision for manholes of adequate size so that in case of emergency the workers
can escape.
4. Welfare:
For the welfare of the workers, the Act provides that in every factory adequate and suitable
facilities for washing should be provided and maintained for the use of workers.
Facilities for storing and drying clothing, facilities for sitting, first-aid appliances, shelters,
rest rooms‘ and lunch rooms, crèches, should be there.
5. Penalties:The provisions of The Factories Act, 1948, or any rules made under the Act, or any order
given in writing under the Act is violated, it is treated as an offence. The following penalties
can be imposed:(a)
Imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year;
(b)
Fine which may extend to one lakh rupees; or
(c)
Both fine and imprisonment.
If a worker misuses an appliance related to welfare, safety and health of workers, or in
relation to discharge of his duties, he can be imposed a penalty of Rs. 500/-.
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Applicability of Factories Act, 1948
The Act is applicable to any factory whereon ten or more workers are working, or were
working on any day of the preceding twelve months, and in any part of which a
manufacturing process is being carried on with the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried
on, or whereon twenty or more workers are working, or were working on any day of the
preceding twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried
on without the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried on; but this does not include a mine, or
a mobile unit belonging to the armed forces of the union, a railway running shed or a hotel,
restaurant or eating place.
Importance of Factories Act, 1948
The Factories Act, 1948 is a beneficial legislation. The aim and object of the Act is
essentially to safeguard the interests of workers, stop their exploitation and take care of their
safety, hygiene and welfare at their places of work. It casts various obligations, duties and
responsibilities on the occupier of a factory and also on the factory manager. Amendments to
the Act and court decisions have further extended the nature and scope of the concept of
occupier, especially vis-a-vis hazardous processes in factories.
Definitions
1.Who is an Occupier?
According to section 2(n) "occupier" of a factory means the person, who has ultimate control
over the affairs of the factory,
Provided that1. in the case of a firm or other association of individuals, any one of the individual
partners or members thereof shall be deemed to be the occupier;
2. in the case of a company, any one of the directors, shall be deemed to be the occupier:
3. in the case of a factory owned or controlled by the Central Government or any State
Government, or any local authority, the person or persons appointed to manage the
affairs of the factory by the Central Government, the State Government or the local
authority, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the occupier:
Provided further that in the case of a ship which is being repaired, or on which maintenance
work is being carried out, in a dry dock which is available for hire,
1) the owner of the dock shall be deemed to be the occupier for the purposes of any matter
provided for by or under(a) section 6, section 7, section 7A, section 7B, section 11 or section 12;
(b) section 17, in so far as it relates to the providing and maintenance of sufficient and
suitable lighting in or around the dock;
(c) section 18, section 19, section 42, section 46, section 47 or section 49, in relation to
the workers employed on such repair or maintenance;
2) the owner of the ship or his agent or master or other officer-in-charge of the ship or any
person who contracts with such owner, agent or master or other officer-in-charge to carry
out the repair or maintenance work shall be deemed to be the occupier for the purposes of
any matter provided for by or under section 13, section 14, section 16 or section 17 (save
as otherwise provided in this proviso) or Chapter IV (except section 27) or section 43,
section 44 or section 45, Chapter VI, Chapter VII, Chapter VIII or Chapter IX or section
108, section 109 or section 110, in relation to(a) the workers employed directly by him or by or through any agency; and
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(b) the machinery, plant or premises in use for the purpose of carrying out such repair or
maintenance work by such owner, agent, master or other officer-in-charge or person.
ION Exchange India Ltd. V.Deputy Chief Inspector of factories, Salem (1996).It was held
that owner can nominate any person tobe in ultimate control over the affairs of a factory. If
no one else has been nominated to be in ultimate control over the affairs of the company,
Director of a company or any partner of partnership is deemed to be the occupier.
2. What is a factory?
According to section 2(m) "factory" means any premises including the precincts thereof(i) whereon ten or more workers are working, or were working on any day of the preceding
twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried on with
the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried on, or
(ii) whereon twenty or more workers are working, or were working on any day of the
preceding twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being
carried on without the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried on, - but does not include a
mine subject to the operation of the Mines Act, 1952 (XXXV of 1952) or a mobile unit
belonging to the armed forces of the Union, a railway running shed or a hotel, restaurant
or eating place;
Explanation I--- For computing the number of workers for the purposes of this clause all
the workers in different groups and relays in a day shall be taken into account;
Explanation II.---For the purposes of this clause, the mere fact that an Electronic Data
Processing Unit or a Computer Unit is installed in any premises or part thereof, shall not
be construed to make it a factory if no manufacturing process is being carried on in such
premises or part thereof;
3. Who is a Worker?
According to section 2(l) ‖worker" means a person employed directly or by or through any
agency (including a contractor) with or without the knowledge of the principal employer
whether for remuneration or not in any manufacturing process, or in cleaning any part of the
machinery or premises used for a manufacturing process, or in any other kind of work
incidental to, or connected with the manufacturing process, or the subject of the
manufacturing process but does not include any member of the armed forces of the Union;
4. What is a Manufacturing Process?
According to section 2(k) "manufacturing process" means any process for(i) making, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, packing, oiling, washing, cleaning,
breaking up, demolishing or otherwise treating or adopting any article or substance with a
view to its use, sale, transport, delivery or disposal; or
(ii) Pumping oil, water, sewage, or any other substance; or
(iii) Generating, transforming or transmitting power; or
(iv) composing types for printing, printing by letter press, lithography, photogravure or other
similar process or book-binding; or
(v) Constructing, reconstructing, repairing, refitting, finishing or breaking up ships or vessels;
or
(vi) Preserving or storing any article in cold storage;
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5. What is hazardous process?
According to section 2(cb) "hazardous process" means any process or activity in relation to
an industry specified in the 'First Schedule where, unless special care is taken, raw materials
used therein or the intermediate or finished products, bye-products, wastes or effluents
thereof would(i) cause material impairment to the health of the persons engaged in or connected therewith,
or
(ii) result in the pollution of the general environment:- Provided that the State Government
may, by notification in the official Gazette, amend the First Schedule by way of addition,
omission or variation of any industry specified in the said Schedule;
Duties of Occupier
The Duties of Occupier have been clearly mentioned in the following sections of Factories
Act, 1948:1. Notice by Occupier (Section 7)
The occupier shall, send to the Chief Inspector a written notice in respect of all
establishments which come within the scope of the Act for the first time, before a factory
engaged in a manufacturing process which is ordinarily carried on for less than one hundred
and eighty working days in the year resumes working, whenever a new manager is appointed.
During any period for which no person has been designated as manager of a factory or during
which the person designated does not manage the factory, any person found acting as
manager, or if no such person is found, the occupier himself, shall be deemed to be the
manager of the factory for the purposes of this Act.
2. General Duties of the Occupier(Section7A)
 To ensure the health, safety and welfare of all workers while they are at work in the
factory.
 To provide and maintain the plant and systems of work in the factory that are safe and
without risk to health of the workers.
 To provide arrangements in the factory for ensuring safety and absence of risk to health in
connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
 To provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as are necessary to
ensure the health and safety of all workers at work.
 To maintain all places of work in the factory in a condition that is safe and without risks
to health and to provide and maintain such means of access to, and egress from, such
places as are safe and without such risks.
 To provide, maintain or monitor such working environment in the factory for the workers
that is safe, without risk to health and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for
their welfare at work.
 To prepare a written statement of his general policy with respect to the health and safety
of the workers at work and the organization and arrangements in force for carrying out
that policy.
3. Appointment of Safety officers. (Section 40-B)
It shall be the duty of the of the Occupier to Appoint a Safety officer in a factory:(i) Wherein one thousand or more workers are ordinarily employed, or
(ii) Wherein, in the opinion of the State Government, any manufacturing process or
operation is carried on, which process or operation involves any risk of bodily injury,
poisoning or disease, or any other hazard to health, to the persons employed in the
factory, if so required by the State Government by notification in the official Gazette.
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4. Compulsory Disclosure of Information by the Occupier. (Section 41-B)
Compulsory disclosure of information by the occupier –
 The occupier of every factory involving a hazardous process shall disclose in the manner
prescribed to the Chief Inspector and the local authority.
 The occupier shall, at the time of registering the factory involving a hazardous process,
lay down a detailed policy with respect to the health and safety of the workers employed
therein and intimates such policy to the Chief Inspector and the local authority.
 Every occupier shall, with the approval of the Chief Inspector, draw up an on-site
emergency plan and detailed disaster control measures for his factory and make known to
the workers employed therein and to the general public living in the vicinity of the factory
the safety measures required to be taken in the event of an accident taking place.
 The occupier of a factory involving a hazardous process shall, with the previous approval
of the Chief Inspector, lay down measures for the handling, usage, transportation and
storage of hazardous substances inside the factory premises and the disposal of such
substances outside the factory premises and publicise them in the manner prescribed
among the workers and the general public living in the vicinity.
5. Specific Responsibility of the occupier in relation to Hazardous Process. (Section 41-C)
Every occupier of a factory involving any hazardous process shall maintain accurate and up-to-date health records or, as the case may be, medical
records, of the workers in the factory
 appoint persons who possess qualifications and experience in handling hazardous
substances
 Provide for medical examination of every worker.
6. Worker’s Participation in safety management. (Section 41-G)
The occupier shall, in every factory where a hazardous process takes place, or where
hazardous substances are used or handled, set up a Safety Committee consisting of equal
number of representatives of workers and management to promote co-operation between the
workers and the management in maintaining proper safety and health at work and to review
periodically the measures taken in that behalf.
7. Right of Workers to be warned about imminent dangers. (Section 41-H)
It shall be the duty of such occupier, agent, manager or the person in charge of the factory or
process to take immediate remedial action if he is satisfied about the existence of such
imminent danger and send a report forthwith of the action taken to the nearest Inspector.
8. Facilities for sitting and Canteens. (Section 42 to 49)
It is the duty of occupier to provide welfare facilities like Lunch rooms, Canteen, Crèche,
Washing facilities, first-aid appliances etc. to all workers and to appoint a welfare officer.
9. Annual Leave with Wage.(Section 79)
For the purpose of ensuring the continuity of work, the occupier or manager of the factory, in
agreement with the Works Committee of the factory constituted under section 3 of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), or a similar Committee constituted under any
other Act or if there is no such Works Committee or a similar Committee in the factory, in
agreement with the representatives of the workers therein chosen in the prescribed manner,
may lodge with the Chief Inspector a scheme in writing whereby the grant of leave allowable
under this section may be regulated.
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10. Safety and Occupational Health Survey. (Section 91-A)
The occupier or manager of the factory or any other person who for the time being purports
to be in charge of the factory, undertake safety and occupational health surveys, and such
occupier or manager or other person shall afford all facilities for such every, including
facilities for the examination and testing of plant and machinery and collection of samples
and other data relevant to the survey.
Duties of Factory Manager
The Duties of Factory Manager are mentioned in the following Sections of Factory Act,
1948:1. Right of Workers to be warned about imminent danger. (Section 41-H)
It shall be the duty of such occupier, agent, manager or the person in charge of the factory or
process to take immediate remedial action if he is satisfied about the existence of such
imminent danger in the factory where the worker is engaged in any hazardous process and
send a report forthwith of the action taken to the nearest Inspector.
2. Notice of periods of work for adults. (Section 61)
The manager of the factory shall display correctly and maintained in every factory in
accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 108, a notice of periods of work
for adults, showing clearly for every day the periods during which adult workers may be
required to work, fix the periods during which each relay of the group may be required to
work, classify them into groups according to the nature of their work indicating the number
of workers in each group, shall draw up a scheme of shifts where under the periods during
which any relay of the group may be required to work.
3. Register of Adult Workers. (Section 62)
The manager of every factory shall maintain a register of adult workers, to be available to the
Inspector at all times during working hours, or when any work is being carried on in the
factory.
In State of Maharashtra v. Sampat Lal Mensukh Bothra (1992),it was held that the
obligation to maintain registers is imposed on the manager and
4. Annual Leave with Wage. (Section 79)
For the purpose of ensuring the continuity of work, the occupier or manager of the factory, in
agreement with the Works Committee of the factory constituted under section 3 of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), or a similar Committee constituted under any
other Act or if there is no such Works Committee or a similar Committee in the factory, in
agreement with the representatives of the workers therein chosen in the prescribed manner,
may lodge with the Chief Inspector a scheme in writing whereby the grant of leave allowable
under this section may be regulated.
5. Notice of Certain Dangerous Occurrences. (Section 88A)
Notice of certain dangerous occurrences. —Where in a factory any dangerous occurrence of
such nature as may be prescribed occurs, whether causing any bodily injury or disability or
not, the manager of the factory shall send notice thereof to such authorities, and in such form
and within such time, as may be prescribed.
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6. Notice of Certain Disease. (Section 89)
Where any worker in a factory contracts any disease specified in 1[the Third Schedule], the
manager of the factory shall send notice thereof to such authorities, and in such form and
within such time, as may be prescribed.
7. Safety and Occupational Health Survey. (Section 91-A)
The occupier or manager of the factory or any other person who for the time being purports
to be in charge of the factory, undertake safety and occupational health surveys, and such
occupier or manager or other person shall afford all facilities for such every, including
facilities for the examination and testing of plant and machinery and collection of samples
and other data relevant to the survey.
8. Notice of Certain Accidents. (Section 88)
Where in any factory an accident occurs which causes death, or which causes any bodily
injury by reason of which the person injured is prevented from working for a period of fortyeight hours or more immediately following the accident, or which is of such nature as may be
prescribed in this behalf, the manager of the factory shall send notice thereof to such
authorities, and in such form and within such time, as may be prescribed to the Chief
Inspector.
General Procedure As To Filing of Cases In Case of Factory Accidents
Whenever an accident takes place in a factory the Occupier or Factory Manager shall inform
the Chief Inspector within a period of forty eight hours or so (Section 88) and shall send
Form No. 22 containing all the information regarding the said accident to Labour
Department, Industrial Health And Safety, which shall inquire into the matter by factory
inspector who shall inspect the accident spot, take the witness of the victims, then he shall
issue a show cause notice to the Occupier and Factory Manager to reason out the causes of
the mis happening. If the Factory Inspector is not satisfied with the reply given by the factory
management he shall institute a case against the Occupier and Factory Manager before
Judicial Magistrate First Class, Labour Court (Section 105).Then in case if the party to the
disputes are not satisfied with the judgement they shall refer the case to the High Court or and
to the Supreme Court respectively.
Penalties under factory act, 1948
Section 92. General penalty for offences. –
Save as is otherwise expressly provided in this Act and subject to the provisions of section
93, if in, or in respect of, any factory there is any contravention of the provisions of this Act
or of any rules made there under or of any order in writing given there under, the occupier or
manager of the factory shall each be guilty of an offence and punishable with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees
or with both, and if the contravention is continued after conviction, with as further fine which
may extend to one thousand rupees for each day on which the contravention is so continued.
Provided that where contravention of any of the provisions of Chapter IV or any rule made
there under or under section 87 has resulted in an accident causing death or serious bodily
injury, the fine shall not be less than twenty-five thousand rupees in the case of an accident
causing death, and five thousand rupees in the case of an accident causing serious bodily
injury.
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Explanation. - in this section and in section 94 "serious bodily injury" means an injury which
involves, or in all probability will involve, the permanent loss of the use of, or permanent
injury to, any limb or the permanent loss of, or injury to sight or hearing, or the fracture of
any bone, but shall not include, the fracture of bone or joint (not being fracture of more than
one bone or joint) of and phalanges of the hand or foot.
General Manager, Wheel & A. P, Bangalore v. State of Karnataka (1996) .It was held in
this case that the requirement of obtaining sanction to prosecute is mandatory and taking
cognizance of an offence in the absence of sanction cannot be allowed to stand and has to be
quashed.
Provincial Government v. Ganpat, AIR 1943 Nag 243.It was held in this case where the
occupier or the manager of the factory admits the guilt under Section 92 of the Act, but
alleges the clerk of the Factory to be the actual offender, the onus of establishing the
innocence is on such occupier or the manager as the case maybe.
Section 94. Enhanced penalty after previous conviction. –
1. If any person who has been convicted of any offence punishable under section 92 is again
found guilty of an offence involving a contravention of the same provision, he shall be
punishable on a subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
three years or with fine, which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may
extend to two lakh rupees or with both;
Provided that the Court may, for any adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the
judgment, impose a fine of less than ten thousand rupees:
Provided further that where contravention of any of the provisions of Chapter IV or any
rule made there under or under section 87 has resulted in an accident causing death or
serious bodily injury, the fine shall not be less than thirty-five thousand rupees in the case
of an accident causing death and ten thousand rupees in the case of an accident causing
serious bodily injury.
2. For the purpose of sub-section (1), no cognizance shall be taken of any conviction made
more than two years before the commission of the offence for which the person is
subsequently being convicted.
Section 95. Penalty for obstructing inspector. –
Whoever wilfully obstructs an Inspector in the exercise of any power conferred on him by or
under this Act, or fails to produce on demand by an Inspector any register or other documents
kept in his custody in pursuance of this Act or of any rules made there under, or conceals or
prevents any workers, in a factory from appearing before, or being examined by, an inspector,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with
fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.
Section 96A. Penalty for contravention of the provisions of sections 41B, 41C and 41H.(1) Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions of sections 41B, 41C
or 41H or the rules made there under, shall, in respect of such failure or contravention, be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine
which may extend to two lakh rupees, and in case the failure or contravention continues,
with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which
such failure or contravention continues, after the conviction for the first such failure or
contravention.
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(2) If the failure or contravention referred to in sub-section (1) continues beyond a period of
one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to ten years.
Section 97. offences by workers. –
(1) Subject to the provisions of section 111, if any worker employed in a factory contravenes
any provision of this Act or any rules or orders made thereunder, imposing any duty or
liability on workers, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred
rupees.
(2) Where a worker is convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) the occupier
or manager of the factory shall not be deemed to be guilty of an offence in respect of that
contravention, unless it is proved that he failed to take all reasonable measures for its
prevention.
Exemptions of occupier or manager from liability in certain cases Section 101.
Exemption of occupier or manager from liability in certain cases.Where the occupier or manager of a factory is charged with an offence punishable under this
Act he shall be entitled, upon complaint duly made by him and on giving to the prosecutor
not less than three clear days' notice in writing of his intention so to do, to have any other
person whom he charges as the actual offender brought before the Court at the time appointed
for hearing the charge; and if, after the commission of the offence has been proved, the
occupier or manager of the factory, as the case may be, proves to the satisfaction of the Court
(a)
that he has used due diligence to enforce the execution of this Act, and
(b)
that the said other person committed the offence in question without his knowledge,
consent or connivance, that other person shall be convicted of the offence and shall be
liable to the like punishment as if he was the occupier or manager of the factory, and
the occupier or manager, as the case may be, shall be, discharged from any liability
under this Act in respect of such offence:
Provided that in seeking to prove as aforesaid, the occupier or manager of the factory, as the
case may be, may be examined on oath, and his evidence and that of any witness whom he
calls in his support, shall be subject to cross-examination on behalf of the person he charges
as the actual offender and by the prosecutor:
Provided further that, if the person charged as the actual offender by the occupier or manager,
cannot be brought before the court at the time appointed for hearing the charge, the court
shall adjourn the hearing from time to time for a period not exceeding three months and if by
the end of the said period the person charged as the actual offender cannot still be brought
before the court, the court shall proceed to hear the charge against the occupier or manager
and shall, if the offence be proved, convict the occupier or manager.
Changes brought about by the Factory Act,1948
The following changes were made by the factories Act, 1948:  The definition of the term ―Factory‖ was widened to cover all industrial establishments
employing ten or more workers where power was used and 20 or more workers in all
other cases.
 The distinction between seasonal and non-seasonal factories was abolished.
 Under the Act of 1934 the State Governments had power to extend the application of the
Act to establishments where more than 10 Workers were employed. Under the Act of
1948, the State Government may extend the provisions of this Act to any establishment
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
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
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
irrespective of the number of the workers employed therein and irrespective of the
number of the workers employed on therein and irrespective of the fact that
manufacturing work is carried by power or otherwise. The only exception is an
establishment where the work is done solely by the members of a family.
Chapter III of the Act of 1934 was split into three parts, dealing with health, safety and
welfare of workers. The Act specifies very clearly the minimum requirements under three
heads stated above.
The basic provisions of the old Act relating to Health, safety, and welfare are extended to
all work places irrespective of the number of workers employed, except premises where
processes are carried on by the occupier with the sole aid of his family.
The minimum age for the admission of children to employment has been raised from 12
to 14 years and the minimum permissible daily hours of work of children were reduced
from five to four and a half hour.
Provisions are made for the licensing and registration of factories and the prior scrutiny
by the Factories Inspectorate of the Plans and specifications of factory buildings.
Employment of Children and women between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. is prohibited. For
overtime work the workers are entitled to twice their normal rate of wages.
The State Government are empowered to make rules requiring the association of the
workers in the management of arrangements for the welfare of the workers.
State Government is obliged to see that all the factories are registered and take a licensing
for working, which should be periodically renewed. Prior approval of the State
Government has been made necessary for every New The installation of a Factory or for
the extension of an existing factory. Besides mines, the new Act also excludes railway
running sheds from the definition of Factories.
Changes made in Factories Act, 1948in 2016
The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016
The Factories Act 1948was an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the
Labour government of Clement Attlee. It was passed with the intention of safeguarding the
health of workers and adopted by India.
The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 10, 2016 by
the Minister for Labour and Employment, Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya. The Bill amends the
Factories Act, 1948. The Act regulates the safety, health and welfare of factory workers. The
Bill amends provisions related to overtime hours of work.
Key Amendments
(Section 2) Power to make rules on various matters: The Act permits the state government to
prescribe rules on a range of matters, including double employment, details of adult workers
to be included in the factory‘s register, conditions related to exemptions to certain workers,
etc. The Bill gives such rule making powers to the central government as well.
Powers to make rules for exemptions to workers: Under the Act, the state government may
make rules to (i) define persons who hold management or confidential positions; and (ii)
exempt certain types of adult workers (e.g. those engaged for urgent repairs) from fixed
working hours, periods of rest, etc. The Bill gives such rule making powers to both, the
central and state governments.
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Under the Act, such rules will not apply for more than five years. The Bill modifies this
provision to state that the five-year limitation will not apply to rules made after the enactment
of this Bill.
(Section 64) Overtime hours of work in a quarter: The Act permits the state government to
make rules related to the regulation of overtime hours of work. However, the total number of
hours of overtime must not exceed 50 hours for a quarter. The Bill raises this limit to 100
hours. Rules in this regard may be prescribed by the central government as well.
(Section 65) Overtime hours if factory has higher workload: The Act enables the state
government to permit adult workers in a factory to work overtime hours if the factory has an
exceptional work load. Further the total number of hours of overtime work in a quarter must
not exceed 75. The Bill permits the central or state government to raise this limit to 115
Overtime in public interest: The Bill introduces a provision which permits the central or state
government to extend the 115-hour limit to 125 hours. It may do so because of (i) excessive
work load in the factory and (ii) public interest
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)
Act 2013.
Sexual harassment at a workplace is considered violation of women's right to equality, life
and liberty. It creates an insecure and hostile work environment, which discourage women's
participation in work, thereby adversely affecting their social and economic empowerment
and the goal of inclusive growth1. With this idea the legislature formulated the Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.
The need for such legislation was observed first time by the Supreme Court, in Vishaka v
State of Rajasthan2. In the absence of any law at that time providing measures to check the
evil of sexual harassment of working women, the Supreme Court, in exercise of power
available under Article 32 of the Constitution, framed guidelines to be followed at all
workplaces or institutions, until a legislation is enacted for the purpose. The Supreme Court
incorporated basic principles of human rights enshrined in Constitution of India under Article
14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21, and provisions of Convention on Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which has been ratified in 1993 by the
Government of India. The guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court were to be treated as
the law declared under Article 141 of the Constitution.
Brief Analysis of The Posh Act and Rules
After 16 years of Vishaka, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 ("the Act") was enacted with the objective to provide
protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace3 and for the prevention and
redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matter connected therewith or incidental
thereto.
The Act defines sexual harassment as unwelcome acts or behavior (whether directly or by
implication) namely, physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favors,
making sexually colored remarks, showing pornography, any other unwelcome physical,
verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature4. Any act of unwelcome and sexual nature shall
be considered as sexual harassment. The Delhi High Court in Shanta Kumar vs CSIR held
that "undoubtedly, physical contact or advances would constitute sexual harassment provided
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such physical contact is a part of the sexually determined behaviour. ...a physical contact
which has no undertone of a sexual nature and is not occasioned by the gender of the
complainant may not necessarily amount to sexual harassment."
The Act also provides the circumstances under which an act may amount to sexual
harassment. These are:
(i) implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in her employment; or
(ii) implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in her employment ; or
(iii)implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status; or
(iv) interference with her work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work
environment for her; or
(v) humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety.
The important feature of the Act is that it envisages the setting up of Internal Complaints
Committee at every office of the organisation or institution, having more than 10 employees,
to hear and redress complaints pertaining to sexual harassment7. Where the number of
employees are less than 10, the Act provide for setting up of Local Committee in every
district by the District Officer.8 The committee while inquiring into such complaint shall have
the same power as vested in a civil court. The Delhi High Court in its judgment in Ruchika
Singh Chhabra vs M/s Air France India and Anr. "...directed that the ICC should
be constituted in strict compliance with the requirements under law...".
An aggrieved woman can file a written complaint to ICC/LC from three months from the date
of the incident and in case of series of such incidents within three months from the last such
incident. However, any delay in filing the complaint can be condoned by the committee upto
further three months. In case of physical or mental incapability of the aggrieved woman, her
legal heirs or such other person as described in Rule 6 of The Sexual Harassment of Women
at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 ("the Rules") may make a
complaint.
On receiving the complaint the committee, before initiating an inquiry, may take steps to
settle the matter between her and the respondent through conciliation and when a settlement
is arrived no further inquiry is conducted. If the conciliation fails or any term of the
settlement arrived at has not been complied with by the respondent, the committee shall
proceed further with the inquiry.
In case of a domestic worker, the Local Committee shall, if prima facie case exists, forward
the complaint to the police, within a period of seven days for registering the case under
Section 509 of Indian Penal Code or any other relevant provisions of the said Code where
applicable.
Where both the parties are employees, the principle of natural justice is followed and both the
parties are heard and opportunity is given to make representations against the findings of the
committee. For the purpose of making an inquiry, the committee shall have the same powers
as are vested in a civil court. The committee has to complete the inquiry within a period of 90
days.11 The committee can give certain interim reliefs to the aggrieved woman during the
pendency of the inquiry.
The committee within 10 days after completion of the inquiry shall provide the report of its
findings to the employer/District Officer and the concerned parties. When the allegation
against the respondent has been proved the committee shall recommend the employer/District
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Officer to take action for sexual harassment as misconduct in accordance with provisions of
service rules or where no such rules have been made, as prescribed in Rule 9 of the Rules and
to pay such sum to the aggrieved woman as it consider appropriate, in accordance with the
provisions of section 15, from the salary of the respondent. The employer/District Officer
shall act upon the recommendations within 60 days.
In case of filing of false or malicious complaint or false evidence the committee may
recommend to the employer or District Officer to take action in accordance with the
provisions of service rules or where no such service rules exist, in such manner as prescribed
in Rule 10 of the Rules.
An appeal15 can be filed against the recommendations made by the committee before the
court or tribunal, within 90 days from the recommendations, in accordance with service rules
and in absence of service rules, to the Appellate Authority under Section 2 of the Industrial
Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.
There is a prohibition on publication of identity of the aggrieved woman, respondent,
witnesses, contents of the complaint, inquiry proceedings or recommendations of the
committee, except information regarding the justice secured to any victim of sexual
harassment. In contravention of Section 16 of the Act, such person shall be liable for penalty
in accordance with service rules and in absence of service rules, in accordance with Rule 12.
The Act lays down certain duties of the employer and District Officer under Section 19 and
20 respectively such as creating awareness on sexual harassment at workplace, sensitize the
employees, assist the complaints committee in conducting the inquiry, act upon
recommendations of the committee, monitor timely submissions of reports of the committee
etc.
The non compliance of the provisions of the Act by the employer may result in fine which
may extend to fifty thousand rupees and can also lead to cancellation of his license or
withdrawal, or non-renewal, or approval, or cancellation of the registration, as the case may
be.
Even though the Act is in force since 2013, the awareness regarding consequences of sexual
harassment and its redressal against the same is limited. The effective implementation of
POSH Act not only requires creating an environment where women can speak up about their
grievances without fear and get justice but sensitization of men towards treatment of women
at workplace is equally necessary.
Children are always considered close to God. They are considered as bringer of happiness,
joy and hope, no matter where they go. The future of the nation depends on the children as
they are undoubtedly the stepping stone in shaping the future of any nation. If a nation treats
its children properly and provides them with the basic facilities then it would get reflected in
the future performance of the nation. The moral duty of the nation is to ensure that the
childhood of every child is protected.
Child Labour
Child labour is a global phenomenon, it is not restricted to only one country. ―Child labour‖
is defined as the employment of children in any manual work. According to the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, a ―child” is a person who has not yet attained the age
of 14 years. In this tender age where a child is expected to grow, enjoy his or her childhood to
the fullest, seek education, gain a strong value system, he/she is forced to work and earn a
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living for himself/herself and his/her family. It not only affects his/her physical and mental
development but it also puts a very heavy burden of responsibility on the child to support
his/her family. It is frequently observed that the children are forced to become labour due to
some hardships like lack of strong financial support, lack of proper food, clothing, shelter,
livelihood etc.
International Labour Organisation [ILO] defines child labour as a work that not only
affects their childhood but also doesn‘t let the children attend the school regularly, or have a
proper education. Child labour also deprives children of their dignity, potential and
childhood. Children working below the age of 14 years are not able to develop mentally,
socially, physically or morally.
According to India’s Census 2001, when a child below the age of 17 years participate in
economic activity with or without compensation, either physically, or mentally, or both ways.
Part-time help or unpaid work on farms, a family business or any other economic activity like
cultivation and milk production for sale or domestic consumption will be included in child
labour. Child labour is classified into two groups in India:
1. Main workers: Main workers are those workers who work for at least some months or
more per year, and
2. Marginal child workers: Marginal child workers are those workers who work for less than
6 months in a year and work at any time during the year.
Child labour issue
Child labour is a major issue not only in India but in every developing country because it
destroys a child‘s physically as well as mentally. Because of poverty, child labour has
become more prevalent, not only in India but globally. Children are the hope and future of a
nation that is why it constitutes a social problem. Many laws have been enacted in order to
prohibit child labour, however they haven‘t been effective in curbing the problem. The
statistic report of 2017 explains that India is one of the leading countries in Asia as it has 33
million children employed in child labour. According to the 2011 Census, total child
population was 259.6 million out of which 10.1 million are either working as main worker or
as marginal workers.
Causes of child labour in India
In India, the major causes of child labour are:
1. Poverty: Children are considered helping hands of their family. In developing countries, it
is almost impossible to control child labour as children not only have to support
themselves but their families also and provide them with a living. Due to poverty, the rate
of unemployment and underemployment are also very high and so the parents have to
send their children to work on low wages.
2. Previous debts: Due to their poor economic condition people take loans. But they don‘t
have sufficient money to pay back the loans so they not only work day and night to pay
off the loans but they also drag their children to work so that the loan could be paid off
before time and easily.
3. Professional needs: Some industries require delicate and soft hands rather than rough
hands that are required in bangle industries. So they prefer children and not adults for
such work.
4. Bonded labour: Children often work for long hours in the sun and they are deprived of
water, food. These children are seldom paid. Bonded labour further adds to the large scale
increase in child labour.
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5. Domestic help: Small children often work for educated families and irrespective of
several laws that violate the employment of children, they often welcome small children
so that these children can take care of their homes as well as their children.
6. Child sex workers: Often, girls who attained the age of puberty are forced into
prostitution in lieu of a promise that they would be given opportunities to do glamorous
jobs.
7. Forced begging: Families who can‘t support themselves force their children to beg on the
roads in subhuman conditions. They get their children maimed in order to get more
money from the people.
Consequences of child labour in India
Child labour affects the economic welfare of a country to a great extent. Children who work
are not able to get an education and they are not able to develop themselves physically,
intellectually, emotionally, and psychologically. Children are neither equal to adults nor do
they have the strength that the adults have and so they are not able to work for longer hours
because they totally become exhausted and this reduces their physical strength which makes
them more prone to diseases.
For India, child labour has long term adverse effects. The economy of a country will only
prosper when the country will have an educated workforce, skills, technology and the
younger generation will be a part of human capital in the future. If child labour at a huge
extent continues then there will be a trade-off with human capital accumulation. 70% of child
labour is employed in agriculture because it requires less skilled work whereas other children
are employed in heavy industries.
Mining
2013
Meghalaya
This state using child labour were discovered and exposed by international media.
Types of child labour in India
There is an increasing involvement of children in home-based work and in the informal
sector. Children are involved in the domestic, manual, agricultural sector, in hazardous
factories, rag-picking, beedi-rolling, matchbox, brick kilns etc.
According to ILO, the worst types of child labour are:
1. Slavery: Slavery is when one person works for another person. Slaves don‘t have the
power to demand anything. They have to work according to the commands of their
master.
2. Child Trafficking: Buying and selling of children either for labour or for sexual
exploitation.
3. Debt Bondage: When people cannot pay off their loans with their money and belongings
they are often forced to work as a labour.
4. Serfdom: When a person works on land that belongs to another person, it is known as
serfdom. The labour will either be provided with some pay or no pay will be given.
5. Forced Labour: When a child works against his/her will then it is termed as forced
labour.
6. Beggary: When poor parents don‘t have any other way to earn a living they often beg on
roads. They also cut their child‘s body part in order to gain sympathy and to get more
money. Small children are seen on red lights asking for money for their treatments.
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Effects of child labour
Child labour is not something that needs recognition, in fact, if there is an increase in child
labour then it shows that the country has failed in providing basic necessities to its citizens,
especially children. In such cases, the effects of childhood are only negative. It not only
deprives a child of a proper childhood but also make them the victim of physical or mental
torture. The child becomes emotionally and mentally mature at an early age which is not a
good sign. It does not create but also extends poverty as the child is not able to get basic
education and he earns very less amount of money due to this, for his/her family. The child is
also paid less. Other effects of child labour are:
1. Children might suffer from malnutrition, drug dependency and depression.
2. It might endangers children dignity and morals.
3. Children may be employed forcefully and they may be sexually exploited.
4. They might become victims of sexual and physical violence.
Child labour laws in India
As compared to other countries, child labour in India is more prevalent. Out of 179 million
children, 90 million who are in the age group of 6 to 14 years are employed and they don‘t go
to school. It contributes to 50% of children in our country who are involved in child labour.
Since 1933, various laws have been made in India to control child labour. These laws
include:
1. Minimum Wages Act, 1948: The State Government fixes minimum wages that are to be
provided to the workers/labourers including the child labourers. The government fixed
wages according to the type of work and according to the class of workers.
2. The Plantation Labour Act, 1951: This Act prohibits the employment of children below
the age of 12 years, but a child above the age of 12 years can be employed only when the
appointed doctor issues a fitness certificate to that child.
3. The Mines Act, 1952: This Act provides that no child should be present where the work
of mining is going on and no child should be employed for such work.
4. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958: Except for a training ship, this Act does not allow the
employment of children below the age of 14 years in a ship. Also, a person under the age
of 18 years cannot be appointed as trimmers under this Act. They can only be appointed
under some specific conditions mentioned in this Act.
5. The Apprentices Act, 1961: Unless a child attains the age of 14 years and satisfy the
standard of education and physical fitness test, he cannot undergo an apprenticeship
training.
6. The Indian Factories Act, 1948: No child below the age of 14 years shall be employed in
a factory. Also, there are rules that a factory has to follow if they employ pre-adults that
are between 15-18 years of age.
7. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: No child who is less than 14
years of age shall be employed in any hazardous occupations that are provided in a list by
law. This list is explained further in the article. This list was amended not only in 2006
but also in 2008.
8. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2000: If any person employs
a child in any of the hazardous work or use the child as a bonded labour then that person
will be punishable under this Act.
9. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009: Free and
compulsory education must be provided to each and every children below 14 years of
age. In fact, to follow this Act efficiently, 25% of seats are also reserved in every private
school for children who belongs to the disadvantaged group and for children who are
physically challenged.
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10. Other Acts are:
 Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933.
 Employment of Child Act, 1938.
 The Bombay Shop and Establishment Act, 1948.
 The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.
 The Atomic Energy Act, 1962.
 Bidi and Cigar Workers (Condition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
 State Shops and Establishment Acts
Children below the age of 14 years are not allowed to work in a factory and it is expressly
provided in Article 24 of the Indian Constitution and Section 67 of the Factories Act, 1948.
Free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years is provided by the
Directive Principle of State Policy under Article 45 of the Indian Constitution.
On 10th December 1996, the Supreme Court issued a direction which provided for the
recovery notice that was issued to the offending officers to collect a sum of Rs. 2,000 per
child that was employed under the provision of the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986. A child should not be employed in hazardous occupations. Moreover
many states including Haryana have opened child labour rehabilitation cum welfare funds.
This is opened at a district level. Separate labour cells have also been made to address the
issue of child labour. To provide non-formal education and pre-vocational skills, in 1998
National Child Projects have been implemented by the Central Government. To educate poor
and employed children in all the states Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan have been launched in 2001.
Non-formal education and vocational training are provided by the Ministry of Women and
Child Development. For children‘s welfare and their physical, mental, educational
development Anganbadies have also been set up.
Obstacles in the proper implementation of child labour laws
The big obstacle in the proper implementation of child labour laws are as follows:
1. Non-awareness: Non-awareness among people about the labour laws in India is a cause
for its poor implementation.
2. Poverty: There is a vicious circle of poverty. Many families live below the poverty line
and they cannot support their living so they send their children to work.
3. Illiteracy: People who are illiterate are not aware of the rules and regulations due to lack
of education.
4. Lack of political will: Another obstacle is lack of political will as well as the ineffective
role played by the government in removing child labour.
5. Lack of efficiency: Due to inefficient administrative machinery the labour laws are not
implemented properly.
6. Unemployment: People are not able to earn due to unemployment so they send their
children to work in order to earn more.
7. Will of parents: Some parents don‘t wish to send their children to school rather than they
send them to fields to work for them.
8. Lack of educational and health facilities: Due to the lack of these facilities labour laws are
not implemented properly.
Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017
With the consultation of the stakeholders, the Government of India amended the Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Central Rules, 1986. Broad rules were provided on
prevention, protection, prohibition, rescue and rehabilitation of child and adolescent workers.
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Artists have been provided with safeguards like working hours or working conditions. These
safeguards are provided to those who have been given permission to work under this act. It
also gives the definition of family with respect to the child. It lays down the duties and
responsibilities of enforcement agencies so that all work is done according to the provisions
that are provided in this act.
Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016
This Act came into force on 1.9.2016. This act completely prohibits the employment of
children who are less than 14 years of age and adolescent employment in case of hazardous
occupations and processes. This Act also regulated the working conditions where the
employment of an adolescent is not prohibited. This Act also provides for punishment in case
of violation of any provision of this Act and the employment of children below the age of 14
years would be considered as a cognizable offence. The Appropriate Government can
empower the District Magistrate with some powers and duties for the enforcement of the
provisions of this Act. For effective implementation of this Act, the State Action Plan is
provided to all the States/Union Territories.
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
This Act provides the definition of a child. It states that a child is a person who has not yet
completed 14 years of age. This Act not only regulates the hours of work but also the
working conditions of child labourers and prohibit employment of child labour in hazardous
industries. Article 24 of the Indian Constitution provides that no child who is less than 14
years of age should be employed in any hazardous industries.
Child Labour Act, 2016
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 was passed by the
Parliament in July 2016. This Act not only amends the Child Labour Prohibition and
Regulation Act, 1986 but also widen its scope and provides for strict punishments in case of
its violation. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986 ban the employment in
83 hazardous occupations and processes for the children who are less than 14 years of age.
The salient provisions of this Act are as follows:
1. In every occupations and enterprise, this Act completely prohibits the employment of
children who are less than 14 years of age. But if the child is employed in a family
business and his/her education is not hampered then he/she can continue to be employed.
2. A new category of persons is added in this act which is known as ―adolescent‖. These are
the children who are more than 14 years of age but less than 18 years. They are prohibited
to take employment in any hazardous occupations.
3. Child labour is made a cognizable offence through this Act. If a child is employed when
he/she is less than 14 years of age then the employer will be liable for imprisonment from
6 months to 2 years or he/she will be liable for a penalty of twenty thousand or fifty
thousand or both for the first time. But in the case of a habitual offender, the employer is
liable for jail between 1 year to 3 years. If the parent is the offender then a sum of
Rs.10,000 is made payable as a fine and the parents are subject to relaxed penal
provisions.
4. Rehabilitation Fund for the purpose of rehabilitation of children is created under this Act.
5. The hazardous occupation is brought down from 83 to 3. The Union Government is
empowered under this act to add or delete any occupation from the list that is provided in
this act. The three occupations that are considered as hazardous are mining, inflammable
substances and hazardous processes that are provided in the Factories Act, 1948.
6. This Act provides power to the Government to make a periodic inspection to areas where
the employment of children is banned.
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7. In order to ensure that the provisions of the law are properly implemented, for this, the
Government can give power to the District Magistrate.
After the passing of this Act, now, the Indian law is also aligned with the convention of ILO.
A complete ban on child labour is put so that under the Right to Education every child can get
a compulsory education. The Act also realised and allowed children to help their families and
run their family business. The penalty for violating the provisions of this act is also increased
and it is made as a cognizable offence.
Constitutional Provisions for Child Upliftment
Various constitutional provisions have been provided for the child upliftment such as:
Article 21A: Right to Education
Article 21A of the Indian Constitution states that free and compulsory education must be
provided to each and every child who is between the age of 6 to 14 years. Free and
compulsory education must be provided in a manner laid down by the State and in a manner
law determines.
Article 24: Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.
Article 24 of the Indian Constitution states that no child who is less than 14 years of age shall
be employed in any hazardous factories or occupations or industries.
Article 39: The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing
Article 39(e) of the Indian Constitution states that the factories or industries in which labours
are employed, the employer should not abuse the health and strength of the workers be it
man, woman or children of tender age. It also provides that citizens due to their economic
necessity should not be forced to enter into any employment that is unsuited to their age,
health or strength.
Legislative Provisions Prohibiting and Regulating Employment of Children
There are some legislative provisions that not only prohibits but also regulate the
employment of children. These are:
1. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 a child is a person
who is less than 14 years of age.
2. Section 3 of this Act contains a schedule which provides with various hazardous
occupations and processes that abolishes the employment of children.
3. A Technical Advisory Committee is also constituted under this Act which can add more
occupations and processes which they considered hazardous for children.
4. This Act also regulates the conditions of employment and working hours in all the
occupations and processes which are not covered under Part III.
5. If there is a violation under Section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act, 1986 then he/she will be liable for penalties under Section 14 of the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. He/she will be punished with imprisonment not
less than three months and it can extend to 1 year or fine which is not less than ten
thousand rupees which can also extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both.
6. The provision of this Act is enforced by the Central and the State Government in their
respective spheres.
Article 23 of the Indian Constitution
Article 23 and 24 of the Indian Constitution provides for the Right against Exploitation.
Human trafficking and forced labour like beggar is prohibited under Article 23 of the Indian
Constitution. The term ―beggar‖ was defined when the British Government and the
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zamindars used to force the people to carry their goods along with them when they move
from one place to another, these people were called beggars. This was called forced labour
also because no remuneration was provided to such people. Human trafficking is the modern
form of slavery as there is an illegal trade of human beings for various commercial purposes
like sexual exploitation, prostitution or forced labour.
The government passed the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 and the Bonded Labour
System (Abolition) Act, 1976 according to the provisions that are provided in the
Constitution of India. The State cannot pay workers less than the prescribed minimum wages
even if it takes up any relief work. Reasonable wages are to be paid to the prisoners who are
sent for rigorous imprisonment. The Supreme Court has provided that if the prisoners are not
provided with any such wages then this will not be considered as a violation of Article 23 of
the Indian Constitution. The persons who are under simple imprisonment or preventive
detention cannot be made to do manual work but they can do the work if they want and they
would require wages.
Forced Labour arises not only out of physical and legal force but also out of compulsion due
to the economic circumstances. It is completely banned. The Supreme Court of India in the
case of People‘s Union for Democratic Rights and others Vs. Union of India and
others which is also known as Asiad Workers Case provided that when a person provides a
service that is a labour service and in return he/she gets remuneration less than the minimum
wage then this case falls clearly in the scope of forced labour which is covered by Article 23
of the Indian Constitution.
Minimum age for domestic help in India
According to the Constitution of India, if a child is below the age of 14 years then he/she can
not be employed in any factory or mine or any hazardous occupation. The minimum age that
is required for employment is 14 years. If this rule is violated then fine and imprisonment can
be imposed. For more than six hours a day, no child is allowed to work. These six hours
include one hour of rest after three hours of work. Children are not allowed to work at night
that is between 7 p.m and 8 a.m and they are also not allowed to do overtime.
Minimum age for hazardous work
The minimum age requirement for hazardous work is 18 years. The children cannot do night
work between (22:00 to 6:00) and overtime for more than four and a half hours. All
hazardous occupations and processes are defined in the above Article. These are contained in
Section 3 of the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986 in Part A and Part B.
Children under 14 Years of Age
Any child who has not yet crossed the age of 14 years will not be employed in any
occupation. But this restriction is not applicable if the child is employed in his/her own
family business and his/her education is also not hampered. Also, a child of this age can work
as an artist in industries like audio-visual entertainment, advertisements, films, television
serials or any other sports activities but the circus is not included in this.
Adolescents – 14 to 18 Years of Age
According to Section 7 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 no child
is allowed to work for more than the prescribed hours. No child will work between 7 p.m and
8 a.m and no child will work for more than three hours per day and the period of three hours
can be extended if the child gets a rest interval for one hour. No overtime is allowed.
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To employ an adolescent following conditions must be satisfied:
1. The period of work should not exceed three hours.
2. Work in more than one establishment is not allowed for an adolescent.
3. A holiday of one whole day must be provided to every adolescent.
4. After working for three hours there should be a rest interval for one hour.
5. An adolescent can only work for six hours a day and not more than that.
6. Between 7 p.m and 8 a.m, no adolescent can work.
7. They cannot be forced to do overtime.
Rules for Employing Adolescents
A register with the following information must be maintained by each and every employer
employing an adolescent worker:
1. Name and date of birth of the adolescent worker.
2. Hours and periods of work he/she is employed for.
3. The amount of rest interval provided.
4. The nature of work the adolescent is doing.
The following information must be sent by the employer to the Local Inspector within 30
days of employing an adolescent:
1. Location and the name of the establishment.
2. The name of the person who has the authority of actual management of the
establishment.
3. Address on which communications can be sent.
4. The nature of processes or occupation that is carried out in the establishment.
Punishment for Violation of Child Labour Laws
The punishment that is provided in case of violation of labour laws are:
If there is a violation under Section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986 then the employer will be liable for penalties under Section 14 of the Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. He/she will be punished with imprisonment for not
less than three months and it may be extended to 1 year or fine which is not less than 10,000
rupees which can also extend to 20,000 rupees or with both. If the offender is liable for
continuing offence under Section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986 then he/she will be punishable for not less than 6 months and it can extend to 2 years.
An overview on the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
Introduction
The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill 2016 (the ―Amendment Bill‖), an amendment to
the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (―Act‖), was passed in Lok Sabha on March 09, 2017 , in
Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2016 and received an assent from President of India on March
27,2017. The provisions of The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 (MB Amendment
Act) is effective from April 01, 2017. However, provision on crèche facility (Section 11 A)
shall be effective from July 01, 2017.
Applicability:
The Act is applicable to all establishments which are factories, mines, plantations,
Government establishments, shops and establishments under the relevant applicable
legislations, or any other establishment as may be notified by the Central Government.
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Eligibility:
As per the Act, to be eligible for maternity benefit, a woman must have been working as an
employee in an establishment for a period of at least 80 days in the past 12 months. Payment
during the leave period is based on the average daily wage for the period of actual absence.
Key highlights of the Amendment Increase in Maternity Benefit:
The period of paid maternity leave (―Maternity Benefit‖) that a woman employee is entitled
to has been increased to 26 (twenty six) weeks. Further, the Act previously allowed pregnant
women to avail Maternity Benefit for only 6 (six) weeks prior to the date of expected
delivery. Now, this period is increased to 8 (eight) weeks. Maternity benefit of 26 weeks can
be extended to women who are already under maternity leave at the time of enforcement of
this Amendment.
 No increased benefit for third child: The increased Maternity Benefit is only available for
the first two children. The Amendment provides that a woman having two or more
surviving children shall only be entitled to 12 (twelve) weeks of Maternity Benefit of
which not more than 6 (six) shall be taken prior to the date of the expected delivery.
 Adoption/Surrogacy: A woman who adopts a child below the age of 3 (three) months, or
a commissioning mother (means a biological mother, who uses her egg to create an
embryo implanted in any other woman), will be entitled to Maternity Benefit for a period
of 12 (twelve).
 Paid Maternity leave increased to 26 weeks. Leave Prior to expected delivery date - 8
weeks weeks from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother or the
commissioning mother.
 Creche Facility: Every establishment having 50 (fifty) or more employees are required to
have a mandatory creche facility (within the prescribed distance from the establishment),
either separately or along with other common facilities. The woman is also to be allowed
4 (four) visits a day to the creche, which will include the interval for rest allowed to her.
 Work from home: If the nature of work assigned to a woman is such that she can work
from home, an employer may allow her to work from home post the period of Maternity
Benefit. The conditions for working from home may be mutually agreed between the
employer and the woman.
 Prior Intimation: Every establishment will be required to provide woman at the time of
her initial appointment, information about every benefit available under the Act.
Conclusion The MB Amendment Act is a welcome move towards protection for women
to exercise her right to carry profession guaranteed under Indian Constitution. However,
the amendments has few shortfalls like the women working in an unorganized sector are
not included; the concept of ―Paternity Leave‖ not considered; Rules has to provide a
better clarity on prescribed distance for crèche facility; paid leave for 26 weeks shall be
an additional cost for employers so, this may impact the hiring of women employees.
Industrial Dispute Act, 1947
Before the Industrial Dispute Act, there was no machinery to solve the dispute. The whole
system was based on the common law and according to common law, dispute solved
according to the contract between the parties. Therefore, the Common Law system does not
apply to the industrial system. Hence, Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 was passed to meet the
needs which were based on socialistic law. This act is for social welfare.
Before the Industrial Dispute Act, there was no machinery to solve the dispute. The whole
system was based on the common law and according to common law, dispute solved
according to the contract between the parties. Therefore, the Common Law system does not
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apply to the industrial system. Hence, Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 was passed to meet the
needs which were based on socialistic law. This act is for social welfare.
Objectives and Scope of The Industrial Dispute Act, 1947:
Before the Industrial Dispute Act, there was no machinery to solve the dispute. The whole
system was based on the common law and according to common law, dispute solved
according to the contract between the parties. Therefore, the Common Law system does not
apply to the industrial system. Hence, Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 was passed to meet the
needs which were based on socialistic law. This act is for social welfare.
Objectives and Scope of The Industrial Dispute Act, 1947:
1. The promotion of measure for securing amity and good relationship between the
employer and workmen.
2. An investigation and settlement of the industrial dispute between employers and
employers, employers and workmen or workmen and workmen with the right of a
presentation by a registered trade union.
3. Prevention of illegal strikes and lock-outs.
4. Relief to workmen in the matter of lay-off, retrenchment and closure of undertaking.
5. Collecting bargaining.
6. To achieve industrial peace, harmony, good relations, and economic justice. For this,
machinery was provided called Workers committee, which discusses the issues of
common interest, to maintain co-operation, accommodation, mutual trust, etc. But this
machinery was not functioning. This objective suffers from idealism. It is not practically
reliable because there is always a clash between the interests of the two.
7. To fulfil the industrial needs like work as a unit, mutual trust and tolerance.
8. Cooperation between employer and employee. They must develop the spirit to work
together and help one another.
9. The protect the democratic right of strike and lock-out.
10. To provide effective, easy mechanism, efficient, speedy and professionalise for the
settlement of the industrial dispute. 3 types of Machinery: Conciliation, Adjudication and
Voluntary arbitration.
11. Protection of Trade Union‘s right.
12. To regulate lay-off and retrenchment.
13. Production and productivity should be regulated.
14. To provide social justice:
 It has big and transforaminal objectives. It is the mechanism of striking balance
between conflicting interest or competing interest with a minimum of waste.
 According to Lincoln, ‗Social Justice does not mean to make the rich poor or vice
versa but to balance the interest of both.‘ The objective of IDA,1947 that to establish
a machinery for the protection of rights, but because of common law, which decided
cases on the contractualism concept, does not provide justice to the worker so the
objective is that the case will be decided on the basis of socialistic law.
 Social justice provides compensation to workers who are in trouble. In industries,
employers want maximum profits and returns and employees want maximum wages
on least work.
15. To protect the employee:
 Compensation should be paid to the person who will be terminated so one can carry
on the expenses of his family.
 In future, if there is any vacancy, then terminated worker will be appointed.
 Social justice tells in the situation what is the more appropriate action.
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

Social justice is different from legalistic justice. It observes surroundings and
circumstances, moral statute, human values, but all those things are not observed in
legalistic justice.
Contractualism concept of social justice is necessary for the smooth functioning of
society as well as for the economic system.
Main features of The Industrial Dispute Act:
1. Strike and lock-outs are prohibited during the pendency of conciliation, adjudication
settlement preceding.
2. Any industrial dispute may be referred to an industrial tribunal by an agreement of parties
to dispute or by State Government.
3. An award shall be binding on both the parties to the dispute for a specified period not
exceeding one year enforced by the government.
4. In public interest or emergency, the appropriate government has the power to declare the
transport, coal, iron and steel industry to be public utility services for the purpose of The
Industrial Dispute Act, for a maximum period of six months.
5. In case of lay off or retrenchment of workmen, the employer is required to pay
compensation.
6. Provision has also been made for payment of compensation to workmen.
7. A number of authorities such as works committee, Conciliation Officer, Board of
Conciliation, Labour court, Tribunal are provided for settlement of industrial disputes.
Work Committee:
It consists of representatives of employers and workmen constituted by democratic principles.
It works for serving amity and good relations and co-operation. It discusses matters of
common interests.
Functions of The Industrial Dispute Act:
1. Aspires for co-operation and good relation among employer and employees.
2. Constructed by the representatives of employer and employees by democratic pattern.
3. To provide a piece of effective machinery for the settlement of the industrial dispute.
There are 3 types of machinery:
 Conciliation
 Adjudication
 Voluntary arbitration
4. During the post-independence era, we have witnessed the development of a new
jurisprudence, namely ‗Industrial Law‘.
5. The economic growth of the country depends upon the industrial development.
6. Industrial Law plays an important role in the national economy of a country.
Section 2: Definition:
a) Closure: It means the permanent closing down of a place of employment or part thereof.
b) Conciliation Proceeding: means any proceeding held by conciliation officer or Board
under this act.
c) Controlled Industry: It means any industry the control of which by the union has been
declared by any central act to be expedient in the public interest.
d) Employer: Section 2(g) of the act states the meaning of the word ‗employer‘ in relation
to industries carried on by or under the authority.
e) Industry: means any business, trade, undertaking manufacture or calling of employer and
includes any calling, service, employment or avocation of workmen.
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f) Triple Test: where there is (i) systematic activity, (ii) organised by co-operation between
employer and employee, (iii) for the production of goods and services calculated to
satisfy human want and wishes, there is an industry is that enterprise. This is a Triple
Test.
The amended definition of Industry: Any systematic activity carried on by co-operation
between an employer and his workmen for the production, supply or distribution of goods or
service with a view to satisfying human want.
Industrial Dispute: The preamble is to make provision for the investigation and settlement
of Industrial Dispute.
1. A dispute or difference between (a) employers and employers, (b) employers and
workmen, (c) workmen and workmen.
2. The dispute or difference should be connected with (a) employment or non-employment
(b) terms of employment (c) conditions of labour of any person.
3. The dispute may be in relation to any workmen or any other person in whom they are
interested as a body.


Labour Court: means the labour court constituted under Section 7 of the Industrial
Dispute Act, 1947.
Lay-off: Salient feature of lay-off:
1. An employer, who is willing to employ, fails or refuse or is unable to provide
employment for reason beyond his control.
2. Any such failure or refusal to employ workmen may be on account of:
3. Shortage of coal, power or raw material
4. The accumulation of stock;
5. The breakdown of machinery;
6. Natural calamity.
7. Work must not have been retrenched.
Meaning of Lay-off: means putting aside workmen temporarily. The duration of lay-off is
not for a period longer than a period of emergency.
(l). Lock-out: means the closing of a place of employment, or the suspension of work, or the
refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of person employed by him.
Four Ingredients:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Temporary closing of a place of employment by the employer.
Suspension of work by the employer.
Refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him.
Above mentioned acts of the employer should be motivated by coercion.
An industry is defined in the act.
A dispute in such industry.
Difference between Lock-out and Lay-off:
1. Lock-out is an act on the part of the employer taken to coerce or pressurise the labour,
Lay-off is for trade reason beyond the control of the employer.
2. Lock-out is due to an industrial dispute and continues during the period of dispute, Layoff is not concerned with a dispute with the workmen.
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Difference between Lock-out and retrenchment:
1. Lock-out is temporary, retrenchment is permanent.
2. In lock-out, the relationship of employer and employee is only suspended, it does not
come to an end, in retrenchment such a relationship is served at the instance of the
employer.
3. Lock-out is with a motive to coerce the workmen, the intention of retrenchment is to
dispense with surplus labour.
4. Lock-out is due to and during an industrial dispute, whereas, in the case of retrenchment,
there is no such dispute.
 Major port: means ―any port which the Central Government may by notification in the
official Gazette declare, or may by any law for the time being in force have declared to be
a major port‖.
 Retrenchment: means the termination by the employer of the service of workmen, the
termination may be for any reason. But the termination should not be a measure of
punishment by way of disciplinary action.
 Settlement: arrived at in the course of a conciliation proceeding and the second is a
written agreement between employer and workmen arrived at otherwise than in the course
of conciliation proceeding.
 Strike:
1. Cessation of work by a body of a person employed in any industry acting in combination.
2. A concerted refusal of any number of persons who are or have been employed in any
industry to continue to work or to accept employment.
3. A refusal under a common understanding of any number of persons who are or have been
employed in the industry to continue to work.
Kinds of Strike:
1. General Strike: A general strike is one where the workmen join together for common
cause stay away from work, depriving the employers of their labour needed to run his
factory.
 The general strike is for a longer period.
 It is generally resorted to when employees fail to achieve their object by other means
including a token strike which generally precedes a general strike.
2. Stay-in-strike: It is also known as ‗tools-down-strike‘ or ‗pens-down-strike‘. It is that
form of strike where the workmen report to their duties, occupy the premises but do not
work.
3. Go-slow: The workmen do not stay away from work, they do come to their work and
work also but with slow speed in order to lower down the production and thereby cause
loss to the employer.
Sympathetic Strike: It aims to encourage or extend moral support to or indirectly to aid the
striking workmen.
Hunger Strike: Group of workmen resort to fasting on or near the place of work or the
residence of the employer with a view to coerce the employer to accept their demands.
Work to Rule: Strictly adhere to the rules while performing their duties which ordinarily they
do not observe.
 Trade Union: means trade union registered under the Trade Union Act, 1926.
 Tribunal: Section 2(r) of The Industrial Dispute Act states that the ‗Tribunal‘ means an
industrial tribunal constituted under Sec.-7 A of the act.
 Unfair Labour Practice: means any of the practice specified in the fifth schedule.
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
Wages: means all remuneration capable of being expressed in terms of money, which
would if the term of employment, expressed or implied were fulfilled, be payable to a
workman in respect of his employment or of work done in such employment.
Proper Wages
 Overtime
 Bonus: It is a kind of cash payment in addition to wages. Demand for bonus two
conditions must be satisfied; (a) the wages fell short of the living standard, and (b) the
industry made a huge profit due to the joint contribution of the capital and labour.
Workman: means any person employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled,
technical or supervisory work for hire or reward, whether the term of employment is express
or implied and for the purpose of any proceeding under The Industrial Dispute Act.
INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS ( Section 7A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 )
a) Appointment - The appropriate government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
constitute one or more Industrial Tribunals .
b) Purpose and objective - Adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matter, whether
specified in the Second Schedule or the Third Schedule
c) Composition- A Tribunal shall consist of one person only to be appointed by the
appropriate government. The appropriate government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint two
persons as assessors to advise the Tribunal in the proceeding before it.
d) Qualification - A person qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a Tribunal
must possess the following qualificationsi. he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court; or
ii. he has, for a period of not less than three-years, been a District judge or an Additional
District Judge ,or ,
iii. .iii) he is or has been a Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) or Joint
Commissioner of the State Labour Department, having a degree in law and minimum
7 years experience in the Labour Department including 3 years of experience as a
Conciliation Officer , or
iv.
he is an officer of Indian Legal Service in Grade III with 3 years experience in that
Grade.
National Tribunals ( Section 7B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 )
a) Appointment - The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
constitute one or more National Industrial Tribunals
b) Purpose and objective- Adjudication of industrial disputes which, in the opinion of the
Central Government, involve questions of national importance or are of such a nature that
industrial establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be interested in, or
affected by, such disputes.
c) Composition - A National Tribunal shall consist of one person only to be appointed by
the Central Government. The Central Government may, if it so thinks fit, appoint two
persons as assessors to advise the National Tribunal in the proceeding before it.
d) Qualifications- A person to be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a
National Tribunal he is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court.
CASE- LAWSI) Vijaya Bank V/s. Shyamal Kumar Lodh - SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL
APPEAL Nos. 4211 & 4212 OF 2007 Decided on 06-07-2010 CORAM- C.K. PRASAD,
J. HELD - Labour Court constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 , within the
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local limits of whose jurisdiction the establishment is situated, has jurisdiction to decide
any dispute regarding subsistence allowance. Here in the present case undisputedly
dispute pertains to subsistence allowance and the Labour Court where the workman had
brought the action has been constituted under Section 7 of the Industrial Disputes Act,
1947 and further the appellant bank is situated within the local limits of its jurisdiction.
II) State of Maharashtra V/s. Labour Law Practitioners's Association
BOMBAY HIGH COURT O.S. Appeal No. 450 of 1979 CORAM –
S.P. Bharucha and ; S.N. Variava, JJ. Decided on -09-12-1986 HELD –
The Labour Court adjudicates upon disputes which are essentially of a civil nature. The
Labour Court's functions were held as far back as 1968 to be 'quasi-civil' in nature. This must
apply to the Industrial Court. The Industrial Court has original jurisdiction under the statue. It
is also a principle Court, exercises supervision over the Labour Court and Hears Appeals
from the decisions of the Labour Courts. Accordingly, a member of the Industrial Court may
well be said to be a district judge. The Industrial Court and the Labour Court constitute a
hierarchy or system of courts, the latter being inferior to the former. The posts of Labour
Court judges would, being thus inferior to the post of the district judge, i.e., the Industrial
Court Judge, form part of the judicial service.
REFERENCE OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES TO THE AUTHORITIES – Section 10 of
industrial Disputes Act, 1947 APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT REFERENCE OF
EXISTING INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE OR APPREHENDED INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE
POWERS OF THE CIVIL COURTS BOARD OF CONCILIATION, LABOUR COURTS,
AS PER CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE,1908 INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS & NATIONAL
TRIBUNALS
a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath.
b) compelling the production of documents and material objects.
c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses. d) in respect of such other matters
as may be prescribed. The Appropriate Government may by an order in writing , refer an
existing industrial dispute or an apprehended Industrial Dispute to the following –
i. The Boards of Conciliation to promote the settlement of industrial dispute.
ii. Court of Enquiry , regarding any matter connected with or relevant to the industrial
dispute.
iii. Labour Court or Industrial Tribunals for Adjudication of industrial dispute.
iv.
National Tribunal by the Central Government of any matter involving question of
national importance or any industrial dispute of an industry situated in more than one
State.
v. Application made in the prescribed manner by the parties to the industrial dispute ,
whether jointly or separately , for a reference of the industrial dispute to a Board,
Labour courts, Industrial Tribunals or National Tribunal, the appropriate government
will make the reference accordingly , if satisfied that the persons applying represent
the majority of the party concerned . When the appropriate government refers an
industrial dispute to the Boards, Labour Courts or Industrial Tribunals, the
government may prohibit any strike or lockout which may be in connection with that
dispute. Main objective of reference of industrial dispute by the appropriate
government are –
 Promotion to the speedy settlement of industrial dispute .
 Mediate to bring a quick and amicable/peaceful settlement of industrial
dispute.
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

Maintain a good cordial relations between the employer and the workmen .
Maintain Industrial peace .
CASE- LAWS –
1) State of Bombay V/S K.P.Krishnan SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ( 1961) 1 S.C.R.
227 .
Held - The Supreme Court has interpreted the scope of Section 10 (1) of the Industrial
Dispute Act, 1947 in the following manner –
i.
Discretion exercised by the Appropriate Government to either refer or refuse to refer an
industrial dispute to the Authorities like Boards , Labour Courts or Industrial Tribunals &
ii.
The appropriate cannot go into the merits of the dispute, but they can take the initiative to
promote the settlement of the industrial dispute in a peaceful manner by referring the
dispute to the Authorities in order to maintain industrial peace within that particular
industry, where there is an existing dispute or an apprehension of industrial dispute.
2
Telco Convoy Drivers Mazdoor Sangh V/S State of Bihar - 1989 (3) S.C.C. 271
Held- The Apex Court held that while exercising the power under Section 10 (1) of the
Industrial Disputes act, 1947 , the function of the Appropriate Government is an
administrative function and not a judicial or quasi-judicial function as the Appropriate
Government cannot decide the merits of the case like a judicial or quasi-judicial authority,
but can refer an existing industrial dispute or apprehended industrial dispute to the Concerned
Authority .
Strikes and Lockouts under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 –
Section 2(q) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines the term strike, it says, "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 accept
employment. Whenever employees want to go on strike they have to follow the procedure
provided by the Act otherwise there strike deemed to be an illegal strike.
Section 2 ( l ) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, defines lock-out means the temporary
closing of a place of employment or the suspension of work, or the refusal by an employer to
continue to employ any number of persons employed by him Restrictions & Prohibitions
Strikes and Lockouts may be Legal but on Illegal Strikes and Lockouts unjustified or may be
Illegal but justified Strikes and Lockouts must be Legal and Justified as per the Provisions of
the Act.
Section 22(1) of The Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 put certain prohibitions on the right to
strike. It provides that no person employed in public utility service shall go on strike in
breach of contract: a. Without giving to employer notice of strike within six weeks before
striking; or b. Within fourteen days of giving such notice; or c. Before the expiry of the date
of strike specified in any such notice as aforesaid; or d. During the pendency of any
conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer and seven days after the conclusion of
such proceedings. It is to be noted that these provisions do not prohibit the workmen from
going on strike but require them to fulfil the condition before going on strike. Further these
provisions apply to a public utility service only. The Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 does not
specifically mention as to who goes on strike. However, the definition of strike itself suggests
that the strikers must be persons, employed in any industry to do work. General prohibition of
strike
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The provisions of section 23 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 are general in nature. It
imposes general restrictions on declaring strike in breach of contract in the both public as
well as non- public utility services in the following circumstances mainly: a) During the pendency of conciliation proceedings before a board and till the expiry of 7
days after the conclusion of such proceedings;
b) During the pendency and 2 month‘s after the conclusion of proceedings before a Labour
court, Tribunal or National Tribunal;
c) During the pendency and 2 months after the conclusion of arbitrator, when a notification
has been issued under sub- section 3 (a) of section 10 A;
d) During any period in which a settlement or award is in operation in respect of any of the
matter covered by the settlement or award. The principal object of this section seems to
ensure a peaceful atmosphere to enable a conciliation or adjudication or arbitration
proceeding to go on smoothly. This section because of its general nature of prohibition
covers all strikes irrespective of the subject matter of the dispute pending before the
authorities. It is noteworthy that a conciliation proceedings before a conciliation officer is
no bar to strike under section 23.
Illegal Strike or Lockout - Section 24 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 , provides that a
strike in contravention of section 22 and 23 is illegal. This section is reproduced below:
1) A strike or a lockout shall be illegal if, i. It is commenced or declared in contravention of
section 22 or section 23; or ii. It is continued on contravention of an order made under sub
section (3) of section 10 or sub section (4-A) of section 10-A.
2) Where a strike or lockout in pursuance of an industrial dispute has already commenced
and is in existence all the time of the reference of the dispute to a board, an arbitrator, a
Labour court, Tribunal or National Tribunal, the continuance of such strike or lockout
shall not be deemed to be illegal;, provided that such strike or lockout was not at its
commencement in contravention of the provision of this Act or the continuance thereof
was not prohibited under sub section (3) of section 10 or sub section (4-A) of 10-A. 3. A
strike declared in the consequence of an illegal lockout shall not be deemed to be illegal.
Consequence of illegal Strike –
Dismissal of workmen
M/S Burn & Co. Ltd. V/s Their Workmen , The Supreme Court was laid down that mere participation in the strike would not justify
suspension or dismissal of workmen. Where the strike was illegal the Supreme Court held
that in case of illegal strike the only question of practical importance would be the quantum
or kind of punishment. To decide the quantum of punishment a clear distinction has to be
made between violent strikers and peaceful strikers.
Punjab National Bank V/s Their Employees ,
- Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court held that in the case of strike, the employer
might bar the entry of the strikers within the premises by adopting effective and legitimate
method in that behalf. He may call upon employees to vacate, and, on their refusal to do so,
take due steps to suspend them from employment, proceed to hold proper inquires according
to the standing order and pass proper orders against them subject to the relevant provisions of
the Act Section 25 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 –
Prohibition of financial aid to illegal strikes and Lockouts No person shall knowingly expend
or apply any money in direct furtherance or support of any illegal strike or lock-out.
Section 26 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 - Penalty for illegal strikes and Lockouts
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1) Any workman who commences, continues or otherwise acts in furtherance of, a strike
which is illegal under this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to fifty rupees, or with both.
2) Any employer who commences, continues, or otherwise acts in furtherance of a lock-out
which is illegal under this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with
both.
Section 27 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 - Penalty for instigation, etc. Any person who
instigates or incites others to take part in, or otherwise acts in furtherance of, a strike or lockout which is illegal under this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with
both.
Section 28 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947- Penalty for giving financial aid to illegal
strikes and Lockouts Any person who knowingly expends or applies any money in direct
furtherance or support of any illegal strike or lock-out shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand
rupees, or with both.
Lakshmi Devi Sugar Mills Pvt. Ltd. V/S PT. Ram Sarup - 1957 I L.L.J. 17 S.C. Held –
The Supreme Court Held that Sudden stoppage of work by the Workmen adopting the
attitude of ― tools down‖ in a public utility service industry , without giving any advance
Notice to the Employer will amount to Illegal Strike on the part of the workmen 2. Crompton
Greaves Ltd. V/S Its Workmen - Supreme Court of India , 1978 II L.L.J.89 S.C. Held- The
Supreme Court Held that an order of the Industrial Tribunal to entitle the workmen to wages
for the entire period of strike should be legal as well justified . In this case , the workmen of
Crompton Greaves Ltd. Had resorted to a legal and justified strike as the Employer had
retrenched as many as 93 workers, without informing the Authority , during the pendency of
a industrial dispute before the Authority i.e. The Assistant Labour Commissioner . It was also
held that the allegation of the management that the workmen were violent during the strike
could not be proved. Hence the Appeals filed by the Management was dismissed, as the strike
was peaceful and non-violent , along with the strike being legal and Justified.
The main purpose of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is to ensure fair terms between
employers and employees, workmen and workmen as well as workmen and employers.. The
objective of the Industrial Disputes Act is to secure industrial peace and harmony by
providing machinery and procedure for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes
by negotiations.
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
An Act to make provision for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes, and for
certain other purposes.
Citation Act No. 14 of 1947, Enacted by Central Legislative Assembly - Date enacted 11
March 1947 - Date assented to 11 March 1947 - Date commenced 1 April 1947 - The
Industrial Disputes Act 1947 extends to the whole of India and regulates Indian labour law so
far as that concerns trade unions. It came into force April 1, 1947.
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Objectives:
The objective of the Industrial Disputes Act is to secure industrial peace and harmony by
providing machinery and procedure for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes
by negotiations.
The laws apply only to the organised sector. Chapter V-B, introduced by an amendment in
1976, requires firms employing 300 or more workers to obtain government permission for
layoffs, retrenchments and closures. A further amendment in 1982 (which took effect in
1984) expanded its ambit by reducing the threshold to 100 workers.
The Act also lays down:
The provision for payment of compensation to the workman on account of closure or lay off
or retrenchment.
The procedure for prior permission of appropriate Government for laying off or retrenching
the workers or closing down industrial establishments
Unfair labour practices on part of an employer or a trade union or workers.
Applicability:The Industrial Disputes Act extends to whole of India and applies to every industrial
establishment carrying on any business, trade, manufacture or distribution of goods and
services irrespective of the number of workmen employed therein.
Every person employed in an establishment for hire or reward including contract labour,
apprentices and part-time employees to do any manual, clerical, skilled, unskilled, technical,
operational or supervisory work, is covered by the Act.
This Act though does not apply to persons mainly in managerial or administrative capacity,
persons engaged in a supervisory capacity and drawing > 10,000 p.m or executing managerial
functions and persons subject to Army Act, Air Force and Navy Act or those in police service
or officer or employee of a prison.
What is the Indian Industrial Dispute Act of 1947?
The Industrial Dispute Act of 1947 has been described as the latest milestone in the industrial
development in India. The Act has seen new additions in the past few years. However, the
principal objectives of the Industrial Dispute Act of 1947 are:
Objectives of Indian Industrial Dispute Act:
1) To encourage good relations between labor and industries, and provide a medium of
settling disputes through adjudicator authorities.
2) To provide a committee for dispute settlement between industry and labor with the right
of representation by a registered trade union or by an association of employers.
3) Prevent unauthorized strikes and lockouts.
4) Reach out to labor that has been laid-off, unrightfully dismissed, etc.
5) Provide labor the right to collective bargaining and promote conciliation.
New Indian Industrial Dispute Act Principles:
1) A permanent conciliation committee for the speedy settlement of industrial disputes.
2) Compulsory arbitration in public utility services and enforcement of arbitration awards.
3) Strikes during proceedings of conciliation and arbitration meetings are prohibited.
4) Set aside specific times for conciliation and arbitration meetings.
5) Employers have to be obliged to communicate with labor unions.
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Mutual consultation has to be set up between industry and labor by the Works
Committee.
7) Disputes between labor and industry have to be forwarded to an Industrial Tribunal. If the
Industrial tribunal fails to handle the case, the case should be forwarded to the appropriate
government.
6)
Introduction
The main purpose of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is to ensure fair terms between
employers and employees, workmen and workmen as well as workmen and employers. It
helps not only in preventing disputes between employers and employees but also help in
finding the measures to settle such disputes so that the production of the organization is not
hampered. In this unit, we are going to discuss the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and its
importance. This unit encompasses the different authorities and their duties in the settlement
of disputes. It also discuss about the reference of disputes. Through this unit, you will be able
to know about the different award given by the different authorities under the Act. Thus, you
will able to understand through this unit, the procedures of settlement of the disputes as well
as the duties of different authorities as well as the way of reference of disputes.
Industrial Dispute-Sec. 2 (k)
Industrial Dispute is ―any dispute of difference 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.‖
Industrial dispute as defined under Sec. 2(k) exists betweenParties to the dispute who may be
Employers and workmen
Employers and Employers
Workmen and workmen
a) There should be a factum of dispute not merely a difference of opinion
b) It has to be espoused by the union in writing at the commencement of the dispute.
Subsequent espousal will render the reference invalid. Therefore date when the dispute
was espoused is very important.
c) It affects the interests of not merely an individual workman but several workmen as a
class who are working in an industrial establishment.
d) The dispute may be in relation to any workman or workmen or any other person in whom
they are interested as a body.
Cases :
Chandrakant Tukaram Nikam and others vs. Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad
and another [i]: It was held by the Supreme Court that the Jurisdiction of the Civil Court
was impliedly barred in cases of the dismissal or removal from service, The appropriate
forum for such relief was one constituted under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Jadhav J. H. vs. Forbes Gobak Ltd.[ii]: In this case, it was held that, a dispute relating to a
single workman may be an industrial dispute if either it is espoused by the union or by a
number of workmen irrespective of the reason the union espousing the cause of workman was
not the majority of the union.
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Reference of Disputes
Authorities Under The Act And Their Duties
The Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 makes provision for the investigation and settlement of
disputes that may hamper the peace of the industry. It ensures harmony and cordial
relationship between the employers and employees. The Act provides self-contained code to
compel the parties to resort to industrial arbitration for the resolution of disputes. It also
provides statutory norms besides helping in the maintaining of cordial relation among the
employers and employees ,reflecting socio-economic justice.
The act provides for the following authorities for Investigation and Settlement of industrial
disputes:
(i)
Works Committee
(ii)
Conciliation officer
(iii) Boards of Conciliation
(iv)
Court of Inquiry
(v)
Labour Court
(vi)
Labour Tribunals
(vii) National Tribunals
Let us discuss these authorities in detail:
Works Committee (Section 3):
The works committee is a committee consisting of representatives of employers and
workmen (section3). The works committee is a forum for explaining the difficulties of all the
parties.The main objective of the works committee is to solve the problems arising in the dayto-day working of a concern and to secure industrial harmony. The function of the working
committee is to ascertain the grievances of the employees and to arrive at some agreement.
The committee is formed by general or special order by the appropriate Government in an
industrial establishment in which 100 or more workmen are employed or have been
employed on any day in the preceding 12 months. It consists of the representatives of
employers and workmen engaged in the establishment.
It shall be the duty of the working committee to promote measures for securing and
preserving amity and good relations between the employers and workmen and, to that end, to
comment upon matters of their common interest or concern and to endeavour to compose any
material difference of opinion in respect of such matters and decision of the works
committees are not binding.
Conciliation officer (Section 4):
For promoting and settlement of industrial disputes the appropriate Government may by
notification in the official Gazette, appoint such number of conciliation officer as it thinks fit.
The main objective of appointing conciliation officer is to create congenial atmosphere within
the industry and reconcile the disputes of the workers and the employers. He may be
appointed for a specified area or for specified industries in a specified area or for one or more
specified industries and either permanently or for a limited period.
The duty of the conciliation officer is not judicial but administrative. He has to hold
conciliation proceedings, investigate the disputes and do all such things as he thinks fit for the
purpose of inducing the parties to arrive at a fair settlement of the disputes. The conciliation
officer is entitled to enter an establishment to which the dispute relates, after reasonable
notice and also to call for and inspect any document which he consider relevant. He has to
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send a report and memorandum of settlement to appropriate Government. The report by the
conciliation officer has to be submitted within 14 days of the commencement of the
conciliation proceeding or shorter period as may be prescribed by the appropriate
Government. The conciliation officer has the power to enter the premises as well can call for
and inspect documents.
Boards of Conciliation (Section 5):
The appropriate Government may by notification in the official Gazette, constitute a Board of
Conciliation for the settlement of industrial disputes. The Board shall consist of a chairman
and 2 or 4 other members in equal numbers representing the parties to the disputes as the
appropriate Government thinks fit. The Chairman shall be an independent person. A person is
―independent‖ for the purpose of appointment to a Board, Court or Tribunal if he is
uncommitted with the dispute or with any industry directly affected by such dispute.
He may be a shareholder of a company connected with or likely to be affected by such
disputes. But in such a case he must disclose to the Government the nature and intent of his
share [Section 2(i)]. Where the appropriate Government is of the opinion that any industrial
disputes exist in an industry, it may refer by order in writing to the Board of Conciliation for
settling industrial disputes.
The Board of Conciliation has to bring about a settlement of the dispute. He has to send a
report and memorandum of settlement to appropriate Government. He has to send a full
report to the Appropriate Government setting for the steps taken by the Board in case no
settlement is arrived at. The Board of Conciliation has to communicate the reasons to the
parties if no further reference is made. The Board has to submit its report within 2 months of
the date on which the dispute was referred to it within the period what the appropriate
Government may think fit. The report of the Board shall be in writing and shall be signed by
all the members of the Board.
Court of Inquiry (Section 6):
The appropriate Government may by notification in the official Gazette, constitute a court of
inquiry into any matter appearing to be connected with or relevant to settlement of industrial
disputes having an independent person or of such independent persons as the appropriate
Government may think fit. The court consists of two or more members one of whom shall be
appointed by the Chairman. Within a period of 6 months, the court has to send a report
thereon to the appropriate Government from the commencement of its any inquiry. This
period is not mandatory and it may be extend.
It has the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908,
in the following mattersa) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath,
b) compelling the production of documents and material objects,
c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses,
d) in respect of such other matters as may be prescribed.
The report of the Court must be signed by all the members. A member can submit a note of
dissent. The Report together with the dissenting note must be published by the appropriate
Government within 30 days from its report. A court of enquiry has no power to improve any
settlement upon the parties.
Labour Court (Section 7):
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The appropriate Government may by notification in the official Gazette, constitute one or
more labour court for adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matters specified in
the Second Schedule. A labour court consists of one person only to be appointed by the
appropriate Government.
The main function of the labour court is to hold its proceedings expeditiously and submit its
award as the proceeding concludes.
A person shall be presiding officer of a labour court unless—
a) he is or has been, a Judge of the High court,
b) he has for a period of not less than three years, been a District Judge or an Additional
District Judge or
c) he has held any judicial office in India for not less than seven years; or
d) he has been the presiding officer of a Labour Court constituted under any provincial Act
or State Act for not less than five years.
e) He must be an ― independent ― person and must not have attained the age of 65 years.
Labour Tribunals (Section 7- A):
The appropriate Government may by notification in the official Gazette, constitute one or
more Industrial Tribunals for adjudication of industrial disputes. A Tribunal shall consist of
one person to be appointed by the appropriate Government. The Appropriate Government
may appoint two persons as assessors to advise the Tribunel. The person shall be not
qualified unless—
a) he is, a Judge of the High court,
b) he has for a period of not less than three years, been a District Judge or an Additional
District Judge.
c) The appropriate Government may, if it so thinks fit, may appoint two persons as assessors
to advise the Tribunal in the proceeding before it.
The functions of the Tribunals are very much like those of a body discharging judicial
functions, although it is not a Court. Its power is different from that of a Civil Court. The
proceedings before an Industrial Tribunal are quasi-judicial in nature with all the attributes of
a Court of Justice. The Government is empowered under Section 7-A of the Act to constitute
for a limited time which comes to an end automatically on the expiry of the said period for
any particular case. The duties of Industrial Tribunal are identical with the duties of Labour
Court, i.e. on reference of any industrial disputes; the Tribunal shall hold its proceedings
expeditiously and submit its award to the appropriate Government.
National Tribunals ( Section 7 B)
The Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute one or more
National Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes. National Industrial
Tribunals are involve only incase of the questions of national importance or if they are of
such a nature that industrial establishments situated in more than one State are likely to be
interested in, or affected by, such industrial disputes. It consists of one person only to be
appointed by the Central Government.
The person shall not be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer unless he is, or has
been, a Judge of a High Court. Beside these, the Central Government may, if it thinks fit,
appoint two persons as assessors to advise the National Tribunal in the proceedings before it.
Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management
18HS71 - Constitution of India and Professional Ethics
Reference of Disputes
Any industrial disputes should have to referred by the Appropriate Government under section
10 for adjudication, to the Conciliation Board, Labour Court, Court of Inquiry or Industrial
Tribunal or National Tribunal.
A. Reference of disputes to various Authorities:
A matter is referred to the Conciliation Board for promoting the settlement of the disputes.
The Conciliation Board is to promote settlement and not to adjudicate.
But if the purpose of reference of the matter is investigatory instead of conciliatory or
adjudicatory, it should be referred to Court of Inquiry. Again, if the matter is related to the
Second Schedule or Third Schedule, it is referred to the Labour court. On the other hand, any
matter of the industrial disputes which may relate to the Second Schedule or Third Schedule
may refer to the Industrial Tribunal.
Where the disputes relate to a public utility service and a notice of the same is given, it
becomes mandatory of the Appropriate Government or the Central Government to refer the
matter for adjudication. But the power of the Appropriate Government to make a reference is
discretionary and it is open to judicial review.
B. Reference of disputes to National Tribunal involving question of importance, etc:
When industrial disputes are of national importance or they are likely to be affect the
industrial establishments situated in more than one State then they are referred to the National
Tribunal by the Appropriate Government for adjudication. Again if any matter referred to
National Tribunal is pending in a proceeding before a Labour Court or Tribunal, the
proceeding before Labour Court or Tribunal becomes invalid. On the other hand, it is not
lawful to refer any matters which are under adjudication before the National Tribunal to
Labour Court or Tribunal.
C. Reference on application of parities:
If a person individually or jointly applies any matter in a prescribed manner to the
Conciliation Board, Labour Court, and Court of Inquiry, Industrial Tribunal or National
Tribunal for adjudication and the Appropriate Government on being satisfied on the same
specifies such time limit as it these proper to submit the award.
D. Time limit for submission of awards:
Section 10 (2A) of the Act specifies the time period for submitting award by the Appropriate
Government, when any reference is made to the Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal or
National Tribunal for adjudication.
Voluntary Reference of Disputes To Arbitration:
The settlement of industrial disputes may be done through voluntary reference under section
10-A.
i. When an industrial dispute is not referred to Conciliation Board, Labour Court, and
Court of Inquiry, Industrial Tribunal or National Tribunal for adjudication, the employer
and the workmen through a written agreement forward the matter for arbitration
specifying the names of the arbitrator.
ii. The arbitration agreement should be made in prescribed form and should be signed by
the parties.
Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management
18HS71 - Constitution of India and Professional Ethics
iii. Within one month from the receipt of the arbitration agreement which should be
forwarded to Appropriate Government and the Conciliation officer, a copy of the same
has to be published in the official Gazette.
iv. The arbitrator or arbitrators shall have to investigate the disputes and submit to the
Appropriate Government the award.
v. The award should be signed by the arbitrator or the arbitrators.
vi. The strike or lock-out in connection with the disputes should be prohibited by an order
of the Appropriate Government.
Procedure And Powers of Authorities
Section 11 provides that every Conciliation officer or member of a Board or Court or
Presiding officer of a Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal or National Tribunal after giving
notice can enter the premises occupied by any establishment to which the disputes relate and
follow such procedure as the arbitrator or other authority concerned may think fit. They have
the same power as are vested in the Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
while trying a suit in matters like:
a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath,
b) compelling the production of documents and material objects,
c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses,
d) in respect of other such other matters as may be prescribed.
An assessor or assessors may be appointed by the Conciliation Board, Labour Court, and
Court of Inquiry, Industrial Tribunal or National Tribunal for advice having special
knowledge on that matter. The Conciliation officer may enforce the attendance of any person
for the purpose of examination of such person or call for and inspect the documents. The
Conciliation Board, Labour Court, and Court of Inquiry, Industrial Tribunal or National
Tribunal has the full power to determine to what extent, by whom and subject to what
conditions costs are to be paid.
Thus, it is seen that section 11 (1) has given wide power to the Conciliation Board, Labour
Court, and Court of Inquiry, Industrial Tribunal or National Tribunal in the settlement of
industrial disputes.
Award And Settlement
Award means an interim or a final determination of any industrial disputes or of any question
relating thereto by any Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal and includes an
arbitration award made under section 10A Section 2 (b).
The report of the Board of Conciliation or the Court of Inquiry shall be in writing and shall be
signed by all the members and the award of a Labour Court and Industrial Tribunal shall be
in writing and shall be signed by the Presiding officer. Section 21 requires certain matters to
be kept confidential and it is further provided by the section that certain matters are not
disclosed without the written consent of the secretary of the trade union or firm or company
in question as the case may be of any information obtained by Conciliation Board, Labour
Court, and Court of Inquiry, Industrial Tribunal or National Tribunal. An award usually is
enforceable on the expiry of 30 days from the date of its publication except when the
Appropriate Government declares that the award given by the Labour Court and Industrial
Tribunal shall not be enforceable on the expiry of 30 days from the date of its publication.
Again, it may not be enforceable on the expiry of 30 days from the date of its publication, if
the Central Government get the opinion regarding the award given by the National Tribunal.
Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management
18HS71 - Constitution of India and Professional Ethics
In such case, the Appropriate Government or the Central Government may within 90 days
from the date of publication of the award under section 17 make an order rejecting or
modifying the award. But, if it appears that the award given by the Industrial Tribunal is fair
and just, it is authorised to issue direction that the award takes effect retrospectively.
Persons on whom settlements and awards are binding (Section 18):
1. Settlement and awards are binding on all the parties under the agreement arrived at
between the employers and workers in the course of conciliation proceedings.
2. An arbitration award is binding on the concerned parties of the agreement who referred
the disputes to arbitration.
3. An arbitration award or settlement award or award of Labour Court, and Industrial
Tribunal or National Tribunal is binding on—
a) All the parties to the disputes,
b) On all other parties who are summoned to appear in the proceeding as parties to the
disputes, unless the Board, Arbitrator, Labour Court, Industrial Tribunal or National
Tribunal in the settlement of industrial disputes as the case may be, records the
opinion that they were so summoned without proper cause.
c) Where a party referred to Clause (a) and Clause (b) is an employer, his heirs,
successors assigned in respect of the establishment to which the dispute relates.
d) But if the parties referred to in Clause (a) or Clause (b) is of workmen, all person who
were employed in the establishment or part of the establishment, as the case may be,
to which the disputes relates on the date of the dispute and all persons who
subsequently become employed in that establishment or part.
A settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings before a Conciliation officer
shall come into operation on such date as is agreed upon by the parties to the disputes and on
the date on which the memorandum of the settlement is signed by the parties to the disputes
when no date is agreed. But, if a person breaches any term of any settlement or award which
is binding on him he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6
months or with fine or both.
Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management