Dr.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW

PROJECT TITLE: LABOUR LEGISLATION AND

PROTECTION OF WOMEN

SYNOPSIS
SUBJECT: WOMEN AND LAW

SEMESTER IX

Submitted to: Dr. Aparna Singh

Faculty, Women and Law

Submitted by: Monisha Purwar

Enrolment ID: 150101082
Semester IX, Section B
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to all those who have helped me in the completion
of this project. Special thanks to my faculty Dr. Aparna Singh who constantly guides us in the
learning of the subject Women and Laws. It would not have been possible to complete this
project without her teachings, support and her constant encouragement to us to pursue research
in this subject. I would also like to thanks all my friends and family who have shared their
valuable insights about the topic “Labour Law and its interaction with working women in the
current age India” and have assisted my work by their research and readings. Thanks to my
mother for her constant belief in me and for standing strong as an epitome of a strong woman
throughout my life.

--- Monisha Purwar

INTRODUCTION

As India has been advancing in its journey to become a global power since the last century, it has
witnessed a change in everyday dynamics and the rules of interaction of the various sections of
the society. Hitherto the disadvantaged sections of the Indian society which remained in the
backdrop of the growth of our country but could never become a part of the mainstream Indian
culture are now seeing an exponential rise in their income and an unprecedented inclusion in the
Indian society. The caste dynamics are fading away and the religious identities of people now
stand smeared as the Indian youth governs its decision by a scientific acumen.

But a sad reality of today’s India is the treatment of women across all sections of society- rich/
poor, upper-caste/ lower-caste, Muslim/ Hindu/Christian. Most cultures around the world and
most religions have for long treated women as inferior beings. As the Indian society makes its
journey towards a developed nation, it is an essential requirement of the country to include the
women folk which constitute about half of the nation in its growth process. Not only does it
require that we impart our women a professional education, but it also requires that women be
treated equally at workplaces. If women themselves feel less motivated to work, the loss of these
many good female workers with strong brains can add up to a slow growth of the nation. This
may leave our country at a disadvantage when compared to other nations that have removed the
barriers of differences long before and are advancing towards an advanced economy with full
force.
 OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT

The recent changes in the maternity laws of the country as well as the maternity policies of big
corporate giants like Zomato and Novartis to allow a maternity leave of 26 weeks over the earlier
norm of 11 weeks are a sign of change in the corporate governance around women. Similarly, the
adoption of new workplace laws for women that mandate a workplace to be accessible 24 hours
in a day and make a provision for safe work environments, security systems and cab services for
women are a sign of the new changing India which acknowledges the need of better labour laws
for women in order to foster the inclusion of women in its workforce. In light of these new
measures, this project shall study the journey of the labour legislations that have been governing
women at workplaces since before independence and shall also look at the reforms and
legislations that have been made over the years to bring changes to the workplace culture, salary
and other labour incentives that our offered to women. The project shall also study the loopholes
in the present system and suggest measures to overcome them so that India has more women
inclusive workplaces in all tiers of industry and in order to get rid of the discriminatory practices
against womenfolk.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This project shall analyse the labour legislations that govern the female workers in industries
across different sectors- organised as well as unorganised to learn their role in promoting/
discouraging women workers to participate at workplaces. It shall not only tend to learn about
the professional opportunities that are available to women in terms of their work hours, maternity
leaves, salaries and promotions but shall also throw light on more subjective factors that make a
workplace more conducive to work for women, for example, the treatment meted out to them
vis-à-vis the male employees or the acknowledgment of their work in a male patriarchal setup.
The methodology used in order to foster this shall be primarily qualitative supported by some
quantitative insights, wherever needed. The comparative method shall also be used to compare
the incoming labour legislations with the past laws to study their effect on the society in practice.

TENTATIVE CHAPTERISATION

1. History and Growth of Indian Labour Legislation

2. Women and Labour Laws
3. Legislative Support for Women
4. Protective Labour Legislations
i. The Factories Act, 1948
ii. The Mines Act, 1952
 iii. Plantations Labour Act, 1951
iv. The Bihar Shops and Establishment Act, 1953
5. Social Security Legislations
i. The Employee State Insurance Act, 1948
ii. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
iii. Domestic Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2008
iv. Unorganised Worker’s Social Security Act, 2008
6. Legislations concerning Wages and Bonus
i. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
ii. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
iii. The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
iv. The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
7. Recent and proposed legislations
i. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
ii. Draft Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2019
iii. The Code on Wages, 2017
8. Recommendations and Objects
9. Latest Data according to 2001 census
10. Conclusion

TENTATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites

1. PRS Legislative Research, “http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/field_bill_category/all”

2. Government Of India, Ministry of Labour & Employment, “https://labour.gov.in”

Books

1. Women Workers and the Law- New Delhi: Anmol Publication, 2002.
2. Justice for Women: Concerns and Expressions- 3rd Edition- New Delhi: Universal Law
Publications, 2008.
3. Equal Pay- Law and practice- 1st Edition- New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
4. Handbook of Law, Women and Employment: policies, issues, legislation and case law:
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2009.